Embassytown

Initially reminiscent of Neal Stephenson's [b:Anathem 2845024 Anathem Neal Stephenson http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1224107150s/2845024.jpg 6163095], Embassytown starts off as a fantastically interesting sci-fi story of a world where language is everything. As the book progresses, however, it becomes more and more conventional, to the point where the last 20% of the book is a marauding alien army that can only be stopped by an unexpected hero injecting a sudden change into the system of the world. It's like Independence Day, but without the Macs.