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The Word
WINNER OF THE NEW WELSH WRITING AWARDS 2019: Aberystwyth University Prize for a Dystopian Novella
One idea can jinx a whole country in less than a lifetime…
Rhydian is one of five teenagers born into his generation with the Word — a preternatural power that enables them to compel other people to obey. Along with his best friend Jonno, almost-grown-up Rachel, and Cadi, he is studied and experimented on in a facility called the Centre. When they learn that the Centre’s purpose is to turn them into weapons of war, the teens go on the run.
How did this brutal fortress Britain emerge? Here, babies are stolen from mothers whose identities are stripped away at will. Protesting crowds are mesmerised, and children who disobey are killed in cold blood.
Exploring themes of coercive control, disinformation and fundamentalism, The Word shows how kindness can emerge when we resist power, practise resistance, and show vulnerability. Combining speculative elements and emotional truths, it is essentially a coming-of-age story, in which brave young individuals fight to keep hold of who they are in a dehumanising world.
One idea can jinx a whole country in less than a lifetime…
Rhydian is one of five teenagers born into his generation with the Word — a preternatural power that enables them to compel other people to obey. Along with his best friend Jonno, almost-grown-up Rachel, and Cadi, he is studied and experimented on in a facility called the Centre. When they learn that the Centre’s purpose is to turn them into weapons of war, the teens go on the run.
How did this brutal fortress Britain emerge? Here, babies are stolen from mothers whose identities are stripped away at will. Protesting crowds are mesmerised, and children who disobey are killed in cold blood.
Exploring themes of coercive control, disinformation and fundamentalism, The Word shows how kindness can emerge when we resist power, practise resistance, and show vulnerability. Combining speculative elements and emotional truths, it is essentially a coming-of-age story, in which brave young individuals fight to keep hold of who they are in a dehumanising world.
- GenresScience Fiction
311 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 28, 2021
1 person is currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
J.L. George
23 books7 followersJL George was born in Cardiff and raised in Torfaen. Her fiction has won a New Welsh Writing Award, the International Rubery Book Award, and been shortlisted for the Rhys Davies Short Story Competition. In previous lives, she wrote a PhD on the classic weird tale and played in a glam rock band. She lives in Cardiff with her partner and a collection of long-suffering houseplants, and enjoys baking, alternative music, and the company of cats.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 19, 2021
This is a superb novel. I've admired JL George's writing since I read 'Homecoming Again' in the Gair Rhydd - 13 years ago - so I knew it would be well-written, but I didn't anticipate how well-structured, propulsive, and thought-provoking it would be.
Set in a hideously believable near-future dystopia, the novel follows a group of young people gifted with the Word, the power to compel others to obey. Imprisoned and experimented upon by a government eager to harness their power, they attempt to escape.
What sets The Word apart from other dystopian narratives is the quality of the writing and the characterisation. Some of the sentences are so beautifully written I want to project them on the side of a building. The characters are well-drawn and compelling; they became very real to me. I deeply regretted this during the novel’s (many) nerve-shreddingly tense moments!
This is a novel of resistance, of hope when faced with overwhelming odds. Harrowing and inspiring in equal measure, the questions it confronts us with, about the direction the UK is going, and the morality of bringing children into the grey reality of contemporary Britain, are deeply uncomfortable – as they should be.
Patrick Jones is absolutely right: JL George is a vital new voice. The Word reflects our time and transcends it, offering us a glimpse of something more – something better.
I can't wait to read her next book.
Set in a hideously believable near-future dystopia, the novel follows a group of young people gifted with the Word, the power to compel others to obey. Imprisoned and experimented upon by a government eager to harness their power, they attempt to escape.
What sets The Word apart from other dystopian narratives is the quality of the writing and the characterisation. Some of the sentences are so beautifully written I want to project them on the side of a building. The characters are well-drawn and compelling; they became very real to me. I deeply regretted this during the novel’s (many) nerve-shreddingly tense moments!
This is a novel of resistance, of hope when faced with overwhelming odds. Harrowing and inspiring in equal measure, the questions it confronts us with, about the direction the UK is going, and the morality of bringing children into the grey reality of contemporary Britain, are deeply uncomfortable – as they should be.
Patrick Jones is absolutely right: JL George is a vital new voice. The Word reflects our time and transcends it, offering us a glimpse of something more – something better.
I can't wait to read her next book.
May 18, 2022
What an amazing debut novel. Well written, perfectly paced, and thought provoking.
JL George’s writing created a quiet, creeping dread throughout the book, where the details of the dystopian world in which The Word is set are fed to the reader just slightly quicker than the characters in the story. Each reveal made me worry more and more for the likeable characters, as I saw them staggering blindly towards peril.
Speaking of characters, they were brilliant. They really made this a great read. There are a lot of key people to get to know in the story, but each has been lovingly crafted, and feels real. They read like people you would meet in real life. In the dire situations they find themselves, they act as I feel I might act, like people I know would act.
I can’t wait to read the next book JL George releases. Awesome work. Can’t recommend it enough.
JL George’s writing created a quiet, creeping dread throughout the book, where the details of the dystopian world in which The Word is set are fed to the reader just slightly quicker than the characters in the story. Each reveal made me worry more and more for the likeable characters, as I saw them staggering blindly towards peril.
Speaking of characters, they were brilliant. They really made this a great read. There are a lot of key people to get to know in the story, but each has been lovingly crafted, and feels real. They read like people you would meet in real life. In the dire situations they find themselves, they act as I feel I might act, like people I know would act.
I can’t wait to read the next book JL George releases. Awesome work. Can’t recommend it enough.
November 4, 2021
Really good read this.
Dystopian future thriller set in an a isolated, insular Britain, where foreigners are distrusted and we are always at war. Five teens have a psychic power, 'the word' which forces anyone who hears it to do what they are told, so of course the state finds a way to use it against the population. But the teens don't especially like having their lives controlled, so they hatch a plan to escape from the sinister institute...
Gritty enough, good characters and a cold, grim Britain that went downhill from Brexit. What's not to like?
Dystopian future thriller set in an a isolated, insular Britain, where foreigners are distrusted and we are always at war. Five teens have a psychic power, 'the word' which forces anyone who hears it to do what they are told, so of course the state finds a way to use it against the population. But the teens don't especially like having their lives controlled, so they hatch a plan to escape from the sinister institute...
Gritty enough, good characters and a cold, grim Britain that went downhill from Brexit. What's not to like?
September 30, 2024
Five young people have an ability called “The Word” that compels other people to obey. It turns them into perfect weapons — into things, not human beings — that can be used to turn other human beings into obedient things.
Dehumanization is the underlying dystopia in this novel’s version of Britain. Bit by bit, its citizens lose access to humane public services, employment opportunities, equality, and adequate education. When they rebel, authorities can use The Word to keep them in line.
And yet, the children and young people who have The Word (and who really wish they didn’t) fight back, or try to, and one way is by treating others with all the kindness they can. The contrast between official objectification and rebel compassion propels every page of this book. Gripping and thoughtful.
Dehumanization is the underlying dystopia in this novel’s version of Britain. Bit by bit, its citizens lose access to humane public services, employment opportunities, equality, and adequate education. When they rebel, authorities can use The Word to keep them in line.
And yet, the children and young people who have The Word (and who really wish they didn’t) fight back, or try to, and one way is by treating others with all the kindness they can. The contrast between official objectification and rebel compassion propels every page of this book. Gripping and thoughtful.
January 14, 2023
A near-future dystopian setting following Brexit showing the effects of lies told on a national scale, which are eventually believed so as to create a virtual wall between UK and EU. It is quite chilling. But at the same time, the value of friendship becomes a counterpoint that reinforces the ultimate value of humanity to overcome.
I first read J.L. George's writing as a Writers of the Future Volume 36 winner with her first-place story, "Catching My Death." She is an amazing author. I am very happy to have interviewed her on the Writers of the Future Podcast. (Being posted 21 Jan 2023)
I first read J.L. George's writing as a Writers of the Future Volume 36 winner with her first-place story, "Catching My Death." She is an amazing author. I am very happy to have interviewed her on the Writers of the Future Podcast. (Being posted 21 Jan 2023)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews