Riddley Walker (1980) is a dystopian science fiction novel by Russell Hoban. The novel is famous for its use of a phonetic, idiosyncratic version of English, spoken by the characters who live in a post-apocalyptic society. Riddley Walker won numerous awards, including the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1981.

Plot Summary

A young boy named Riddley Walker lives in Inland, the name given to the south of England 2,000 years after a nuclear war sent human society back to stone age levels of technology. Riddley and his community speak in a broken, phonetic version of English in a society which rarely writes anything down. On his 12th birthday, Riddley kills the last boar in the area. Three days later, his father dies while excavating an ancient machine from the ground. Later that day, Riddley also kills the elderly leader of a pack of wild dogs. The community begins to worry that the series of deaths involving Riddley is a bad sign. Riddley takes over his father’s job as the village’s connexion man. As the connexion man, he is given the job of interpreting the meaning of the puppet shows put on by the government. The puppet shows tell the story of Eusa, an apparently historical figure who helped to invent the bombs which destroyed the world. The prime minister of the local government and his deputy visit Riddley’s village and put on a Eusa show. The prime minister, Goodparley, and the deputy, Orfing, meet with Riddley before and prepare him for the event. The next day, Riddley delivers his first interpretation to the village. However, he struggles to express his thoughts clearly and feels as though he has failed.

The next day, Riddley feels pressure and suspicion from his neighbors, leading to a fight with one of his co-workers. The new leader of the dog pack begins to pay attention to Riddley, adding to his worries. The dogs attack the co-worker who fought with Riddley and the community begins to treat him with even more suspicion. The next day, Riddley is excavating a patch of land when he comes across a puppet buried in the mud. The puppet is a completely new character, a disfigured man with a hooked nose, whose appearance seems in line with the puppets in the Eusa show. Riddley becomes enthralled by the puppet. Rather than show anyone else, he runs away into the woods. The dog pack surrounds him and leads him to a forbidden town. In the town, the dogs take Riddley to a chamber where a young blind boy is being held prisoner. The prisoner introduces himself as Lissener, the Ardship of Cambry. He is one of many disfigured children known as the Eusa folk, a group of people who are collectively blamed by the authorities for the end of the world and routinely tortured and punished as a result. Riddley helps to break Lissener free, and they travel together to Cambry with the dogs. On their journey, Riddley learns more about the Eusa folk from Lissener. He begins to doubt his role in helping Lissener. Together, they find an abandoned boat. In the pockets of a dead sailor, they find a mysterious yellow stone. This stone is actually sulfur and can be used to make gunpowder when combined with the right ingredients. The knowledge of how to make gunpowder is possessed by the charcoal burners. Riddley and Lissener split up, each taking half of the sulfur. Ridley returns to his village to search for a man named Belnot Phist, who may be working against Goodparley, and the government (known as the Ram). However, when he arrives in the village, he is captured by Goodparley. Phist is killed by Goodparley’s men while Riddley is forced to sit and listen to Goodparley talk. Goodparley justifies his quest to bring back the destructive technology of the past. He also discovers Riddley’s puppet and shows him a secret show based on the character called Punch. Goodparley then sets Riddley free.

Riddley returns to Cambry and has a vision in the ruined cathedral. He departs Cambry because he is worried that Lissener has been captured. His journey brings him to a gathering of people. Riddley discovers that Lissener is allied with Orfing and they are working together to depose Goodparley. The Eusa folk blind Goodparley and leave him in Riddley’s care. Riddley takes the wounded Goodparley to a charcoal burner in the woods named Granser. Goodparley was tortured by Granser in his youth but he relies on the old man’s help. As Riddley and Goodparley hide out, Granser tries to recreate gunpowder with the sulfur. He succeeds, but the explosion kills him and Goodparley. Afterward, Riddley returns to Cambry and meets Orfing. The Eusa folk, Orfing explained, also blew themselves up with the gunpowder. He proposes to join up with Riddley and put on a new kind of puppet show using Punch. As they plan their new enterprise, Riddley begins to write down his life’s story. Riddley and Orfing deliver the first performance of their new show but the audience is confused and angry. Nevertheless, they leave the town with a retinue of new followers.