Review: The Babel Apocalypse by Vyvyan Evans

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Feeling as if the internet is making everyone dumb? I think that sentiment just may be shared by Vyvyan Evans, who has woven a cyberpunk tale in the tradition of Neal Stephenson. (Not as good, but who is?)

In her future, nobody learns language any more. Instead, babies are implanted with translation chips and “stream” language. Any language they choose.

It should have built a utopia. But, of course, it places language itself under the control of a few corporations who stream language down from their satellites. Languages they can’t make money from are now extinct…ironically this includes British English (I don’t quite buy this), which has been completely subsumed into the American version. Oh, and regional accents will cost you. And it’s illegal not to have a language chip. So-called “nates” are almost unknown.

This is an inherently cyberpunk concept and of course builds a dystopia.

Then somebody attacks the language satellites.

This is a book that is about over-dependence on technology. When the satellites are attacked some people (from the cheapest service) lose their language chips altogether and become out-soc, unable to communicate…or use any technologies. Others become feral, temporarily cut off from language. And yet a third group are stuck speaking a random…