Lance Blunt, despite the best efforts of his parents and teachers, has never been able to read. Even if he stares at a word until his corneas bleed, the letters remain indecipherable rubble. When an anonymous postcard offers him a job at Emberton Dictionary and suggests that there he will find the resolution to his "particular difficulty," he goes for an interview, hoping that someone at this prestigious repository of words can finally teach him. Behind the revolving doors of the Emberton Tower, Lance finds only more mysteries, like the pretty young etymologist who works there one day and is gone the next, and the company's private hospital hidden behind frosted glass on the third floor, not to mention what is possibly the world's worst company cafeteria. With the fate of human language itself at stake, Lance must confront what is hidden in the Tower and discover the cost of harnessing the power of words.

Emberton is a literary gothic novel aimed at lovers of books and language who also appreciate a dose of genre and a dash of humour. From satire of a doldrum workplace to horror-tinged mystery, in Emberton, Peter Norman creates a world in which it is dangerous to be curious.

Peter Norman is the author of two books of poetry, At the Gates of the Theme Park and Water Damage. His fiction and poetry have been published in The Walrus, SubTerrain, Literary Review of Canada, The Malahat Review, Arc Poetry Magazine and many other publications. He is based in Toronto, Ontario. This is his first novel.

Peter Norman's profile page

"...a compelling story full of mystery, horror, and humour...The thing I loved most about Emberton was how it mixed so many different elements together to form a truly unique and engaging story. The way that Peter Norman managed to take an ordinary, mundane place like a dictionary publishing office and turn it into a setting for mysterious evil forces speaks to what a truly creative and gifted writer he is...Emberton is a novel that should appeal to anyone who just loves language and a good story."

BoldFace

"Emberton, the debut novel by Toronto-based poet Peter Norman, is weird. Very weird. This dark potpourri of weird ingredients makes Emberton an impossible book to classify...The best fantasy novels engage with us in a range of ways, and Emberton, like the Tower itself, has many different levels to explore. And, true to its weirdness, it suggests various ways of understanding a world beyond the literal and mundane."

Toronto Star

"Dark debut novel a feast for language-lovers...As the publisher promises, this is a work that will satisfy lovers of language. The debate on the purpose, meaning and origin of language is spread throughout the novel, and readers should feel free to jump right into the debate. This well-paced contemporary gothic novel slides seamlessly from a vague sense of disquiet to full-blown horror, from ominous noises in the heating pipes to serial murder..."

Winnipeg Free Press

"Lance Blunt has never learned to read and hopes that someone at Emberton Dictionary -- where he's interviewing for a job -- can teach him. But things are weird at Emberton Tower. What sinister project is the owner working on? Why do executives keep vanishing from their offices? And what’s up with the hot -- and very mysterious -- etymologist? Language itself is at stake in this ingenious puzzle book."

NOW Magazine

"Norman has crafted a novel that is in turns self-consciously amusing, ironic and dark...it uses fresh and poetic characterizations and it bends literary genres like rebar...Emberton is assuredly like nothing else you’ll read this year -- or, perhaps, for a long while."

National Post

"While the genre trappings keep Emberton flowing, it is the satire and love of language that make the novel a compelling read...As long as we have writers like Peter Norman creating salvos like Emberton, there is hope for the survival of the pleasures of language and reading."

Drew Rowsome