Sue Burke

Human survival hinges on an bizarre alliance in Semiosis, a character driven science fiction novel of first contact by debut author Sue Burke. Colonists from Earth wanted the perfect home, but they’ll have to survive on the one they found. They don’t realize another life form watches...and waits... Only mutual communication can forge an alliance with the planet's sentient species and prove that humans are more than tools.

A Novel

Semiosis

Jule

So the last third was captivating but one needs to make it to this point in the story first 🥴This book draaaaaagged. I am still interested in the second part but I hope it‘ll be more action packed.

Janice Hopper

It took me a couple of tries to get going on this book, but that's probably more due to the way the pandemic has ruined my brain than anything. Once I got into it, I found it pretty engrossing.

The story of an earth ship landing on a world with more or less sentient plant life is pretty interesting. The colonists are idealists who want to start a new society without the baggage of Old Earth - no war, etc. It's a little harder going than they thought it would be though. Some of the plant life is actively hostile to them, and can change their own chemistries so that they can actively harm these alien interlopers.

Then they meet the rainbow bamboo, and everything changes.

This is one of those generally optimistic views of settling a new planet/new ecosystem. There aren't dangerous and incompatible alien proteins to worry about. There are some dangerous inhabitants, but also some helpful ones. And then there's a big crisis that forces re-evaluation of lots of assumptions by almost everyone.

It's an excellent bit of SF.

I read this book partly by eye and partly by ear. The narration (from Audible) on the parts I listened to were fine.

Pavonini

Beautiful book. Reminded me of Tchaikovsky’s “Children of Time”. Good for biology and Eco fiction fans.

Maggie Gordon

Sue Burke is the new Ursula LeGuin. Fight me. But first read this super fantastic book!

Human survival hinges on an bizarre alliance in Semiosis, a character driven science fiction novel of first contact by debut author Sue Burke. 2019 Campbell Memorial Award Finalist 2019 Locus Finalist for Best Science Fiction Novel Locus 2018 Recommended Reading List New York Public Library—Best of 2018 Forbes—Best Science Fiction Books of 2019-2019 The Verge—Best of 2018 Thrillist—Best Books of 2018 Vulture—10 Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of 2018 Chicago Review of Books—The 10 Best Science Fiction Books of 2018 Texas Library Association—Lariat List Top Books for 2019 Colonists from Earth wanted the perfect home, but they’ll have to survive on the one they found. They don’t realize another life form watches...and waits... Only mutual communication can forge an alliance with the planet's sentient species and prove that humans are more than tools. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Sarah Escorsa

💀 DNF at 42% 💀

Why, despite uncanny, superhuman (and quite heroic) efforts on my part to finish this book, I ended up DNFing the fish out of it and making a quick, life-preserving escape with the help of Edward my ferocious, ballistic missile-like pet snail.



The Let’s Bail Snail™, never leave home without it! Now available at the ridiculously low price of $1,256,559! Please contact Fleet Admiral DaShrimp, our homicidal sales manager, for details.

① Survivalist/apocalyptic type stories me like not very much.
Which is somewhat kind of a smallish problem, since this is somewhat kind of a survivalist/apocalyptic type story. And survivalist/apocalyptic type thingies me like not very much. I rest in my case and stuff.

② Bloody shrimping unlikable characters ‘R Us.
So every loooooonnnnng chapter in this book is told from a different character’s POV (and from a different generation, because why the fish not?). And every single one of them is (choose all that apply):

a) unappealing
b) unsympathetic
c) unpleasant
d) unemotional
e) pretty much any other adjective that begins with “un”
f) all of the above

They are also flat as my now infamous herd of ironing boards, which obviously doesn’t help. All in all, I think you could say I liked none the characters very much at all. Oh, wait. That’s not true! There’s one character whose POV I did enjoy reading! Stevland the sentient bamboo! Yeah, he was pretty cool. Okay, so his name kept making me think of stevia, and I’m not sure how I feel about zero calorie characters, but at least he wasn’t unfriendly as fish, like the rest of this Planet What’s Its Name colleagues, so I guess I can’t complain and stuff.

③ The Snooze Fest.
Pretty much self-explanatory, is it not? Sorry, what? You don’t get it? Let me try and make things a little clearer for you then:



Get it? Good. Clever, clever Barnacles.

➽ And the moral of this If Only The Sentient Beings In This Book Had Been Truly Super Extra Machiavellianly Evil I Might Maybe Perhaps Have Enjoyed It A Little More But They Weren’t So I Didn’t Crappy Non Review(IFTSBITBHBTSEMEIMMPHEIALMBTWSIDCNR™) is: hey, puny humans! Next time you want to invade another realm settle on a new planet, consult with me first. I have extensive experience in the field, and can teach you a thing or two about ruthless colonization living in total peace, love and harmony with the doomed-to-a-slightly-excruciating-death locals and stuff. Just ask Bob, here, he’ll tell you what a friendly, cooperative, non-violent bunch my murderous army children and I are:

Stephanie Cox

A lot of interesting ideas, but I couldn't quite sink my teeth in. Good world-building but the characters were lacking.

Luke Kanies

More thought-provoking than enjoyable, but I’m glad I read it. It was an exploration of some very different concepts, and I found myself multiple times having to shift perspectives pretty dramatically.

It was always going to be hard to get into because it covers multiple generations of people, so you never get to bond with a character. But every generation has interesting people. The world building is probably the best part: The high level construction makes the story, but a ton of little details make it fun and more complete.

I’d highly recommend this to anyone who likes biology, sci-fi, and exploring different ways of being.

Lea de Sousa

5/5 ⭐ 

This was such a refreshing take on the sci-fi genre. A group of people from Earth arrive on a new planet populated with intelligent plants that can communicate. It deals with themes of colonisation, survival, societal roles, human nature and so so much more. I think the greatest part of the book was that each chapter was written by someone from a different generation on the planet. 

This is definitely going to be one of those books I throw at people and tell them to read. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Annihilation, The Martian or anybody looking for a unique, not-overly-done sci-fi story.

Anastaciya

Ben Nathan

It is a good idea but very uninteresting most of the time. I thought it could have been great, but wasn't executed well.

Jessica Nottingham

My footing in the genre of Science Fiction is still a little rocky. I've been trying to stretch outside my comfort zone, and pick up more books that I wouldn't normally read. So when Semiosis came along as a review opportunity, I jumped on it. What caught my eye about Sue Burke's story was the fact that this book isn't just about space colony survivalists, but also about their deep connection with the nature around them. Give me a book about sentient plants, and you have my attention! I'm happy to report that this book really impressed me.

I'll admit, it did take me a whole generation (essentially a chapter) to really settle in to this book. The humble beginnings of the colonists were intriguing, but confusing. I had to learn their day to day workings, their history, and even their speech. However as I read, and as the generations of colonists slowly started to float by, I became fully immersed in this story. Burke does an amazing job of picking the perfect spokesperson from each generation, someone who is right on the inside, to tell the current story. I watched as the people when from barely surviving, to thriving within the ecosystem that had once terrified them. As they learned, I learned, and it made me feel like a part of it all.

Semiosis has so many ethical quandaries to consider. Whether to live with nature, or to force it to conform to humanity is one of the biggest. The colonists slowly learn that giving the intelligence of the world around them the credit that it is due, helps everyone. There is also a fascinating discussion of merging two cultures. When faced with a the prospect of whether to completely destroy one another, or to work together, things are predictably split. I actually loved this portion of the book. It was a bit violent, but also fascinating. To watch two sets of beings who can't understand one another ever so slowly learn to mesh. I was so caught up in the debates of the colonists. It was intriguing to watch them essentially forge a brand new society from the ground up, and try not to make the same mistakes as on Earth. After all, if we don't learn from our mistakes we are doomed to repeat them. Right?

To wrap things up, because I don't know how to really discuss this book without ruining anything, Semiosis was so much more than I expected. Yes, it was a little slow at the beginning. Yes, I had to push through the first chapter to learn how this new world worked. However the multi-generational storytelling really caught me up, and I ultimately finished this book with a smile on my face. It was surreal how obsessed I became with these people as I watched them grow. That's a huge nod to Sue Burke's writing.

Riley Rose

Jordan Card

Jay Eff

Aiste Rimgaile

Sara Sunshine

Greg Copeland

Boothby

Tomas Vadovic

Laura

Ilja Panic

'This is top class SF, intelligent and engaging, and I loved every minute of it' Adrian Tchaikovsky, award-winning author of Children of Time Escaping conflict on Earth, an idealistic group of settlers arrive on a distant planet - Pax - with plans for a perfect society. The world they discover is rich with life, but this is not the Eden they were hoping for. The plants on Pax are smart - smart enough to domesticate, and even slaughter, its many extraordinary animals. To survive, the colonists realize that they must strike bargains of their own. But if they are to make Pax their home, they must go further, searching for a way to communicate and coexist with these utterly alien intelligences.

Semiosis A Novel

Reviews