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Battle of the Linguist Mages by [Scotto Moore]

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Scotto Moore

Battle of the Linguist Mages Kindle Edition

by Scotto Moore (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

237 ratings

Editors' pick Best Science Fiction & Fantasy

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“It reads like Snow Crash had a dance-off with Gideon the Ninth, in a world where language isn't a virus from outer space, it's a goddamn alien invasion.” —Charles Stross

Isobel is the Queen of the medieval rave-themed VR game Sparkle Dungeon. Her prowess in the game makes her an ideal candidate to learn the secrets of "power morphemes"—unnaturally dense units of meaning that warp perception when skilfully pronounced.

But Isobel’s reputation makes her the target of a strange resistance movement led by spellcasting anarchists, who may be the only thing stopping the cabal from toppling California over the edge of a terrible transformation, with forty million lives at stake.

Time is short for Isobel to level up and choose a side—because the cabal has attracted much bigger and weirder enemies than the anarchist resistance, emerging from dark and vicious dimensions of reality and heading straight for planet Earth!

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Print length

438 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Tordotcom
Publication date

January 11, 2022
File size

3067 KB
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Ava Reid
338
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B.R. Myers
277
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Scotto Moore
76
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H.M. Long
380
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Ursula K. Le Guin
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Jodi Lynn Anderson
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Scotto Moore is the author of YOUR FAVORITE BAND CANNOT SAVE YOU on Tor.com.

Review

“This is a stand-alone novel with material enough for six... By the halfway point, it had blown my mind twice... an audacious, genre-bending whirlwind.” ―New York Times

“It reads like Snow Crash had a dance-off with Gideon the Ninth, in a world where language isn't a virus from outer space, it's a goddamn alien invasion.” ―Charles Stross

“Sparklepunk meets Snow Crash! One of those books that hits you with an amazing new idea every couple of pages, and it makes for a wild ride.” ―Django Wexler

“A frenetic romp... a whole lot of fun... Glitter-bombed popcorn fiction at its finest.” ―Kirkus STARRED REVIEW

“A roller coaster of weird in this wildly entertaining gonzo adventure... Readers will love it as much for the outlandish ideas as for the narrative complexity and sense of fun.” ―Publishers Weekly

More praise for Scotto Moore:

“Scotto Moore understands a key truth about Ziggy Stardust: Rock and roll messiahs are really fucking scary.” ―Kieron Gillen on Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You

“Absolutely stunning. A fast-paced, psychedelic blur of music, tech, and things way beyond either. I picked it up, and it simply would not let me go until the final page was read.” ―Ramez Naam on Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You

“Moore writes with a playful jauntiness that buoys the growing darkness rather than undercutting it. His details about a certain subset of music nerds give the story some great texture... the ride is a fun one and the soundtrack is killer.” ―Locus on Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You

“A wickedly clever amalgam of science fiction, horror, and contemporary music that makes one reconsider whether Ziggy Stardust’s arrival here on Earth might not, in fact, be such a good thing... I could have read Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You in one sitting, but I stretched it over two nights because I couldn’t bear for it to end... Buy this book.” ―Elizabeth Hand in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction on Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You

“A lean, quick read with no fat. The clever, exciting story mixes weird fiction with an engaging and mysterious plot.” ―Library Journal on Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0927D791J
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tordotcom (January 11, 2022)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 11, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3067 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 438 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #111,742 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #506 in Galactic Empire Science Fiction eBooks
- #1,128 in First Contact Science Fiction (Books)
- #1,165 in First Contact Science Fiction eBooks

Customer Reviews:
237 ratings

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Scotto Moore

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Scotto Moore is the author of BATTLE OF THE LINGUIST MAGES, a science fantasy novel, and YOUR FAVORITE BAND CANNOT SAVE YOU, a sci-fi/horror novella, both published by Tor.com. For fourteen years, he was an active playwright in Seattle, with major productions nearly every year during that time, and 45 short plays produced during that time as well. He wrote book, lyrics, and music for the a cappella sci-fi musical SILHOUETTE, which won the 2018 Gregory Falls Award for Outstanding New Play, presented by Theatre Puget Sound. He also wrote, directed and produced three seasons of the sci-fi/comedy web series THE COFFEE TABLE; and wrote and starred in the horror/comedy play H.P. LOVECRAFT: STAND-UP COMEDIAN!

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5

237 global ratings

5 star		51%
4 star		24%
3 star		21%
2 star		4%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Andrea J. Santa Maria

Snowcrash meets Ready Player One

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 18, 2022

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This is a deeply weird book about how language shapes reality, virtual and otherwise. It's zany, fun, smart, and explores ethical situations that are relevant to our current and near future lives.

2 people found this helpful

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Theodore J. Mallinson

A fun romp through some linguistics concepts taken to scifi/fantasy worlds

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 1, 2022

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This was a well paced book - similar concepts to Ready Player One and its earlier inspirations, but with a linguistics twist. The "power" in this universe can be harnessed by spoken word, a bit like the gnosis of R Scott Bakker's Apocalypse books. Characters were fun and I enjoyed the occasional heel/face turn as motivations were exposed. Lots of surface and subsurface pop culture and literature references should you like that sort of thing, but not as pop culture heavy as Ready Player One was.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 21, 2022

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This was a crazy read but I loved it. Very interesting-didn’t read every word, just let it wash though the brain :-)

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Alicia

Put on your diamond armor and strap in

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 27, 2022

Verified Purchase

I was hooked from the first line of this book. “I am the Queen of Sparkle Dungeon”. I was ready to recommend this book to everyone I know after the first five minutes I spent in it. Is this book long? Yes. Is it dense? Yes. Is it absolutely ridiculous at times? Yes.

I love that the main character is LGBTQ+ and the use of pronouns throughout the book. The commitment to the character’s tone and voice, to this glittering world that she inhabits, to her sarcasm and jadedness and wit…wonderfully executed.

Stop what you’re doing and read this book. I don’t want to give away too much. Read the description if you must. Just read this book. I really, really, really hope this book gets made into a movie or a TV show. I would watch the heck outta that.

5 people found this helpful

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Kevin L. Matheny

This book is insane and I love it

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 11, 2022

Verified Purchase

I refuse to spoil the delightful surprises to be found in this book. I will just say that it is the maddest thing I have read in years and it is fabulous. It is a wild ride through a fantastical landscape of disco balls and deep house music on the way to musings about the nature of existence and wicked snark.

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Perry Young

More tiresome than atlas shrugged

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 10, 2022

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The story started off interestingly but turns into a form of atlas shrugged where everyone rants and rants and gives long speeches. So dull.

Helpful

Dashia Magee

Small Print, Big Story!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 30, 2022

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Incredibly imaginative.

So well written.

Turns and twists.

Intersecting worlds.

It's compact, full of world building details, that aren't just there for feel, but have true pay-off. A total breath of fresh air in an otherwise overly-simplistic, culturally reinforcing, repetitive, toxic and killbot driven playing field. Thank you for a story that is written starting from the world today and not 1982. (ps print is pretty small)

One person found this helpful

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Adelheid

I can't wait for more from Mr. Moore

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 16, 2022

Verified Purchase

Battle of the Linguist Mages Reads like Ready Player One was written by Neil Stephenson and edited by Becky Chambers. It is funny, enlightened and geeky. Exciting action! Weird philosophy! Technobabble! I loved it from cover to cover.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer

Great fun, original and thoroughly engaging throughout

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 26, 2023

Verified Purchase

When I began to read this book I thought I may have made a terrible mistake. Neon characters obsessed with a bizarre sparkly music game world are not my usual first choice. But the interesting characters and hectic plot drove me forward and I found myself satisfied but bereft and wanting more at the end of the book.

Kittie La Rue

Epic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 27, 2022

Verified Purchase

This is a novel th at MMO players can really enjoy, with plenty of reinventions and reimaginings. It features a strong, confident and witty female lead with decent queer representation and a non-binary character.

It's "Ready Player One" meets "Fringe" with a twist of "The End of Mr Y" in a wonderful bundle with a fabulous aesthetic

An absolute pleasure to read.

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