Somehow, all the names vanished from the world. Now, centuries later, names are still being sought and divined and delivered by people like the nameless Courier. Dreams can bring forth Monsters and the world is full of ghosts, who perform labour and fuel machines. But the Nameless are lurking at the edges of the Named World and seem determined to destroy it if they can. The Courier, left nameless by her father for obscure reasons, her life is purposeful, but she is herself an outsider, protected by a mentor but disdained by her fellow Namers. A series of events forces her to flee in search of her sister, accompanied by a monster, a ghost and a stowaway. What follows is a journey of discovery and adventure as she uncovers conspiracies and betrayals and unexpected friends and races to prevent a terrible war. 

A fantastic book, a terrific fantasy of language and loneliness as well as a thrilling adventure, exploring it core concept in fascinating and ultimately moving ways. It also gets unexpectedly and unashamedly epic before the end.