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Lost in Translation
Kathryn and Jarrikk-she a human translator and he is a S'sinn translator-had every reason to hate one another. Yet only by working together do they stand any chance of averting interstellar war.
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published October 3, 2006
2 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Edward Willett
170 books117 followersEdward Willett is an award-winning author of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction for both children and adults.
Born in Silver City, New Mexico, Willett lived in Bayard, New Mexico and Lubbock and Tulia, Texas, before moving to Weyburn, Saskatchewan with his family when he was eight years old.
He studied journalism at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, then returned to Weyburn as a reporter/photographer for the weekly Weyburn Review, eventually becoming news editor. In 1988 he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, as communications officer for the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and in 1993 he became a fulltime freelance writer. He still resides in Regina.
Willett is now the author or co-author of more than 60 books, ranging from computer books and other nonfiction titles for both children and adults, to science fiction and fantasy for all ages.
His science fiction novel Marseguro (DAW Books) won the 2009 Aurora Award for best English-language science fiction or fantasy book by a Canadian author. He has also won a Saskatchewan Book Award for his YA fantasy Spirit Singer. He has been shortlisted for the Aurora Award and Saskatchewan Book Awards multiple times.
His most recent novels include Worldshaper and Master of the World, the first two books in his new series Worldshapers, and The Cityborn, a stand-alone science fiction novel from DAW Books; the Masks of Aygrima trilogy, YA/adult crossover novels published by DAW and written as E.C. Blake; the five-book YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, published by Coteau Books; and the stand-alone YA fantasy Flames of Nevyana (Rebelight Publishing). He's also the author of the Peregrine Rising duology for Bundoran Press (Right to Know and Falcon's Egg).
Other novels include SF novel Lost in Translation (DAW Books), Terra Insegura (sequel to Marseguro, DAW Books), Magebane (DAW Books, written as Lee Arthur Chane), YA SF novels Andy Nebula: Interstellar Rock Star, Andy Nebula: Double Trouble, and The Chosen; and YA ghost story The Haunted Horn.
Shadowpaw Press recently released his short story collection Paths to the Stars and re-released Spirit Singer, a YA fantasy that won a Saskatchewan Book Award and other awards.
His non-fiction titles run the gamut from science books for children on topics as diverse as Ebola Virus and the Milky Way to local history books like Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw for Red Deer Press, awarded a Municipal Heritage Award by the City of Regina in the education category and A Safe and Prosperous Future: 100 years of engineering and geoscience achievements in Saskatchewan, published by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). He's also written biographies for children of Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Andy Warhol, Orson Scott Card, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Ayatollah Khomeini.
You can find Ed online at www.edwardwillett.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter @ewillett.
His is represented by literary agent Ethan Ellenberg (www.ethanellenberg.com).
Besides being a writer, Willett is a professional actor and singer who has performed in dozens of plays, musicals and operas in and around Saskatchewan, hosted local television programs, and emceed numerous public events.
He's married to a telecommunications engineer and has one daughter.
Born in Silver City, New Mexico, Willett lived in Bayard, New Mexico and Lubbock and Tulia, Texas, before moving to Weyburn, Saskatchewan with his family when he was eight years old.
He studied journalism at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, then returned to Weyburn as a reporter/photographer for the weekly Weyburn Review, eventually becoming news editor. In 1988 he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, as communications officer for the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and in 1993 he became a fulltime freelance writer. He still resides in Regina.
Willett is now the author or co-author of more than 60 books, ranging from computer books and other nonfiction titles for both children and adults, to science fiction and fantasy for all ages.
His science fiction novel Marseguro (DAW Books) won the 2009 Aurora Award for best English-language science fiction or fantasy book by a Canadian author. He has also won a Saskatchewan Book Award for his YA fantasy Spirit Singer. He has been shortlisted for the Aurora Award and Saskatchewan Book Awards multiple times.
His most recent novels include Worldshaper and Master of the World, the first two books in his new series Worldshapers, and The Cityborn, a stand-alone science fiction novel from DAW Books; the Masks of Aygrima trilogy, YA/adult crossover novels published by DAW and written as E.C. Blake; the five-book YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, published by Coteau Books; and the stand-alone YA fantasy Flames of Nevyana (Rebelight Publishing). He's also the author of the Peregrine Rising duology for Bundoran Press (Right to Know and Falcon's Egg).
Other novels include SF novel Lost in Translation (DAW Books), Terra Insegura (sequel to Marseguro, DAW Books), Magebane (DAW Books, written as Lee Arthur Chane), YA SF novels Andy Nebula: Interstellar Rock Star, Andy Nebula: Double Trouble, and The Chosen; and YA ghost story The Haunted Horn.
Shadowpaw Press recently released his short story collection Paths to the Stars and re-released Spirit Singer, a YA fantasy that won a Saskatchewan Book Award and other awards.
His non-fiction titles run the gamut from science books for children on topics as diverse as Ebola Virus and the Milky Way to local history books like Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw for Red Deer Press, awarded a Municipal Heritage Award by the City of Regina in the education category and A Safe and Prosperous Future: 100 years of engineering and geoscience achievements in Saskatchewan, published by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). He's also written biographies for children of Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Andy Warhol, Orson Scott Card, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Ayatollah Khomeini.
You can find Ed online at www.edwardwillett.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter @ewillett.
His is represented by literary agent Ethan Ellenberg (www.ethanellenberg.com).
Besides being a writer, Willett is a professional actor and singer who has performed in dozens of plays, musicals and operas in and around Saskatchewan, hosted local television programs, and emceed numerous public events.
He's married to a telecommunications engineer and has one daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 15, 2012
I picked this book up from my comic shop's bargain bin along with some others because I had been in one of my "I have no idea what to read next..." phases. And... for the first time in years, I had serious trouble putting a book down. Even when I finally went to bed (laaate), my brain went "...another chapter wouldn't hurt, would it?"
In a way, this is "classic" science fiction. You got aliens, distant planets, spaceships, war, diplomacy, all the good stuff. The plot keeps moving at a nice pace, I can relate to (and like) the main characters, and in the end, everything wraps up nicely. A quick, simple, and enjoyable read.
Of course, there are negative things to poke. My second biggest issue: the book reminds me of old superhero comics when it comes to the powers the main characters get through their (awesome) stunt early on. Powers with no real explanation that develop further just as the plot demands are slightly cheap. Also just like old superhero comics, the plot wraps up maybe a bit too nicely.
And the thing that irks me the most is that after such a wild ride with potential for more, this book is a stand-alone title and not part of a series, meaning that the only way to see more of Kathryn and Jarrik is to read this book again. :(
In a way, this is "classic" science fiction. You got aliens, distant planets, spaceships, war, diplomacy, all the good stuff. The plot keeps moving at a nice pace, I can relate to (and like) the main characters, and in the end, everything wraps up nicely. A quick, simple, and enjoyable read.
Of course, there are negative things to poke. My second biggest issue: the book reminds me of old superhero comics when it comes to the powers the main characters get through their (awesome) stunt early on. Powers with no real explanation that develop further just as the plot demands are slightly cheap. Also just like old superhero comics, the plot wraps up maybe a bit too nicely.
And the thing that irks me the most is that after such a wild ride with potential for more, this book is a stand-alone title and not part of a series, meaning that the only way to see more of Kathryn and Jarrik is to read this book again. :(
December 20, 2018
This wonderful book came to me as a recommendation from a friend who saw that I liked the first "Sholan Alliance" and "The Pride of chanur"; at first "Lost in translation" seemed like a short space opera, but it quickly turned into a page-turner. The writing was as direct and as fast-paced as Harry Harrison's "deathworld"; The stakes are very high and the story is a vicarious experience for the reader despite a lot of technobabble; the intrigue is complex, and since I read it right after "Leviathan wakes", while the latter was still fresh in my memory, I can say "Lost in translation" can stand on its own next to the best of sci-fi. Maybe if I had read more xenofiction I would not have found this novel so original, but the fact that you really grow to care about the characters (i've recommended it several times since and that's not an isolated reaction) seems to suggest that it is indeed a very good book. If only there was a sequel.
April 18, 2023
Willett, Edward. Lost in Translation. DAW, 2006.
Lost in Translation by journeyman science fiction author Edward Willett is not so much about language as it is about the power of empathy.
As a child, Kathryn lost her parents in an interstellar war with a satanic-looking winged species. Jarrikk, a member of that species, is rendered flightless when humans shoot him down. Jarrikk and Kathryn are rescued by the Translators’ Guild, which brokers peace and trade between species. The best translators are those with empathic skills. Jarrikk and Kathryn form an unlikely bond that supercharges their empathy and makes them the keys to interstellar peace. Willett uses a shifting third-person point of view to keep us engaged with both characters. Nicely done. 4 stars.
Lost in Translation by journeyman science fiction author Edward Willett is not so much about language as it is about the power of empathy.
As a child, Kathryn lost her parents in an interstellar war with a satanic-looking winged species. Jarrikk, a member of that species, is rendered flightless when humans shoot him down. Jarrikk and Kathryn are rescued by the Translators’ Guild, which brokers peace and trade between species. The best translators are those with empathic skills. Jarrikk and Kathryn form an unlikely bond that supercharges their empathy and makes them the keys to interstellar peace. Willett uses a shifting third-person point of view to keep us engaged with both characters. Nicely done. 4 stars.
July 29, 2021
great read, love the new alien races, the world building and the fast pace of the novel!!
July 4, 2012
Review Circa 2007
Edward Willett has been publishing nonfiction and award-winning SF for young adults through various small presses for years, but Lost in Translation is his first mass market SF paperback release, so for most readers he will appear as a new author. And a very fine discovery he is!
The book opens on the doomed attempts to negotiate a peace treaty with the S'sinn, a species of demon-like aliens who are determined to eliminate humanity, and then quickly flashes back to the experiences of the two children (one S'sinn, one human) who have grown up to become their race's respective translators at these last chance negotiations. Both translators have been traumatized by the previous war between humans and S'sinn, and can barely tolerate the thought of being on the same stage with the hated enemy, let alone establishing the empathic link that is the basis of inter-species translation. Nevertheless, they manage to rise to the occasion — at which point, things get a lot more complicated.
My initial response to the early chapters was that WillettÕs depiction of the politics was perhaps a little one-dimensional, his characters a little naive, but as the book progressed, so did the layers of ethical issues with which the protagonists have to contend, and in the end Willett manages to up the characterization ante, Babylon-5-style. I still retain one or two minor reservations about the deus ex machina happy ending, which I found a bit too tidy to be completely satisfying, but I am pretty sure that is just me.
Willett surprised me by writing a 'first novel' that was able to both tap into my nostalgia for the hard SF of my youth, and to provide a completely contemporary adult novel. The fast paced action kept me turning pages long after I should have been abed, and the anti-racist, anti-war message seemed particularly timely for the Bush administration's War on Terror.
Willett has long deserved the mass market distribution he is finally receiving, and Lost in Translation is far better space opera than the right-wing militaristic offerings of established writers like David Weber and Steve White. Suddenly, its worth looking in the 'W's again!
Also worthy of mention is the cover art by Steve Stone, that — miraculously for a first novel — not only relates to the novel, but actually captures some of the nuances of the story's tone. Go ahead, judge this book by its cover, because this time, it really does show you what you are getting.
Edward Willett has been publishing nonfiction and award-winning SF for young adults through various small presses for years, but Lost in Translation is his first mass market SF paperback release, so for most readers he will appear as a new author. And a very fine discovery he is!
The book opens on the doomed attempts to negotiate a peace treaty with the S'sinn, a species of demon-like aliens who are determined to eliminate humanity, and then quickly flashes back to the experiences of the two children (one S'sinn, one human) who have grown up to become their race's respective translators at these last chance negotiations. Both translators have been traumatized by the previous war between humans and S'sinn, and can barely tolerate the thought of being on the same stage with the hated enemy, let alone establishing the empathic link that is the basis of inter-species translation. Nevertheless, they manage to rise to the occasion — at which point, things get a lot more complicated.
My initial response to the early chapters was that WillettÕs depiction of the politics was perhaps a little one-dimensional, his characters a little naive, but as the book progressed, so did the layers of ethical issues with which the protagonists have to contend, and in the end Willett manages to up the characterization ante, Babylon-5-style. I still retain one or two minor reservations about the deus ex machina happy ending, which I found a bit too tidy to be completely satisfying, but I am pretty sure that is just me.
Willett surprised me by writing a 'first novel' that was able to both tap into my nostalgia for the hard SF of my youth, and to provide a completely contemporary adult novel. The fast paced action kept me turning pages long after I should have been abed, and the anti-racist, anti-war message seemed particularly timely for the Bush administration's War on Terror.
Willett has long deserved the mass market distribution he is finally receiving, and Lost in Translation is far better space opera than the right-wing militaristic offerings of established writers like David Weber and Steve White. Suddenly, its worth looking in the 'W's again!
Also worthy of mention is the cover art by Steve Stone, that — miraculously for a first novel — not only relates to the novel, but actually captures some of the nuances of the story's tone. Go ahead, judge this book by its cover, because this time, it really does show you what you are getting.
June 23, 2014
Given a decent dead spot, I would have put it down for the night, but I didn't really get one. The plot twists and turns through personal intrigues, political intrigues, spatiopolitical intrigues...
All in all, a good entertaining read with substance to it.
Complete review here
All in all, a good entertaining read with substance to it.
Complete review here
January 19, 2008
The story had potential, but the main characters were annoying Special People.
February 23, 2008
Oh, man, this book is dum. So dumb it doesn't merit a terminal b. Some 80% of the plot is clearly happening only because there's an author in the sky moving the figurines around.
owned-unread
May 1, 2010Bought this ebook at fictionwise, but the publisher decided they wanted more money. Fictionwise refunded my money.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews