APRIL 2018 - AudioFile
Narrators Daniel Thomas May and Caitlin Davies breathe life into the large cast of Burke's debut science fiction. Humanity spreads to the stars and colonizes a planet named Pax, with each generation facing new challenges, including sentient plants and an alien civilization. The story’s abrupt leaps forward in time can be jarring, but May and Davies both excel at utilizing accents, inflections, and personality traits to quickly build characterizations. The unusual cadence and inflections used for the aliens work to captivating effect. This unique sci-fi adventure spans years, with the colony evolving in unexpected ways as humanity grapples with its place in the cosmos. J.M.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
★ 12/18/2017
Translator Burke takes new science and drives it to the logical extreme for her impressive debut novel, a classic multigenerational story of space exploration and colonization. When scientists on a colonizing mission veer off course and land on the distant planet of Pax, they run up against the sentient native flora. Intrigue and secrets divide the generations, and the efforts to commune with the plants on Pax take on a cultish quality. Communication is at the heart of the story: debates among the human colonists, the intricacies of plant communication, and the challenge of reaching across the species divide. Burke’s writing is as lush as the environment of Pax; her characters show considerable depth, and she unflinchingly captures the horrors of space exploration. She has rendered an alien planet in beautiful, believable detail. Fans of space adventure will eagerly await Burke’s future books. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Semiosis
“This is up there with Ursula K. Le Guin: science fiction at its most fascinating and most humane.“—Thrillist
“A fascinating world.”—The Verge
“It makes the reader reexamine ideas about sentience. It is superbly written without an ounce of fat. Very cool indeed and highly recommended. It goes on my pile of books to be re-read.”—Tade Thompson, author of Rosewater and The Murders of Molly Southbourne
“A solid debut.”—SFRevu
“A magnetic meditation on biochemistry and humanity.”—Locus Online
“This first-contact tale is extraordinary.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“Sharp, evocative . . . Semiosis unfolds the old science fiction idea of first contact in ways that are both traditional and subversive.”—The Christian Science Monitor
“A clever, fascinating, fun and unique debut.”—Kirkus
"Burke’s world building is exceptional, and her ability to combine the intricacies of colonization with the science of botany and theories of mutualism and predation is astounding." —Booklist
“Impressive debut novel . . . lush . . . beautiful.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A fresh and fun perspective on planetary exploration.”—The Bibliosanctum (4 out of 5 stars)
“Filled with questions about the nature of intelligence and how we value it, and humanity’s place within the universe, Semiosis is a provocative novel . . . ”—Fantasy Literature
“A very… different and super engaging novel.”—The Book Smugglers
“A fresh and thought-provoking take.”—Open Letters
“Semiosis combines the world-building of Avatar with the alien wonder of Arrival, and the sheer humanity of Atwood. An essential work for our time.”—Stephen Baxter, award winning author of The Time Ships
"Intelligent, riveting and ultimately uplifting, Semiosis asks big questions and gives satisfying answers."—Emma Newman, author Planetfall
“This is top class SF, intelligent and engaging and I loved every moment of it.”—Adrian Tchaikovsky, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Children of Time
“In Semiosis, Sue Burke blends science with adventure and fascinating characters, as a human colony desperately seeks to join the ecosystem of an alien world.” —David Brin, author of Earth and Existence.
“A first contact novel like none you’ve ever read. . . . The kind of story for which science fiction was invented.” —James Patrick Kelly, winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards
“Sue Burke has created one of the most fascinating alien personae science fiction has seen in this decade.” –David Nichols, early American historian and author of Engines of Diplomacy
“A gripping story of colonization and biological wonders.”—Gregory Frost, author of the Shadowbridge novels
“A fantastic SF debut . . . Semiosis will remain relevant for years to come.” —Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, award-winning author of What a Plant Knows and Director of the Manna Center for Plant Biosciences at Tel Aviv University.
APRIL 2018 - AudioFile
Narrators Daniel Thomas May and Caitlin Davies breathe life into the large cast of Burke's debut science fiction. Humanity spreads to the stars and colonizes a planet named Pax, with each generation facing new challenges, including sentient plants and an alien civilization. The story’s abrupt leaps forward in time can be jarring, but May and Davies both excel at utilizing accents, inflections, and personality traits to quickly build characterizations. The unusual cadence and inflections used for the aliens work to captivating effect. This unique sci-fi adventure spans years, with the colony evolving in unexpected ways as humanity grapples with its place in the cosmos. J.M.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2017-11-28
Colonists land on a planet with unexpected sentient species in this sci-fi debut.In the 2060s, a group leaves Earth to create a new, peaceful society. They arrive 158 years later on a planet they name Pax. The botanist, Octavio, knows that planting seeds from Earth, without symbiotic microorganisms in the soil, would be futile, but Pax is already teeming with plants. He tests a persimmonlike fruit growing on snow-white vines and finds it safe to eat—but later, three Pacifists die after eating the same fruit from a different vine that's now, somehow, poisonous. The deadly crop, he discovers, comes from an identical snow vine that's competing for space with the vines closer to the colonists. He knows the chemical alteration is too fast to be mere ecological adjustment, and when the deadly vine changes its chemistry again to destroy a field of grain the colonists planted, Octavio begins to understand that the poisonous vine sees them as a threat. The plants of Pax are able to think and plan ahead—and the colonists must learn to communicate with them in order to survive. Beginning with Octavio, the story is told from seven different points of view, spread out over more than a century, and each perspective change sends the story years ahead. Every chapter is like a short story within a shared universe—and it's a phenomenal universe. The worldbuilding is astonishing: the human society is richly detailed, and it's riveting to watch the colonists learn to communicate with a life-form so different from us. The flora and fauna of Pax are magnificently alien, calling to mind sci-fi classics such as Larry Niven's Ringworld. But the story's overwhelming scope is also its downfall: readers scarcely have time to register who the colonists are and what's happened during the intervening years before being rushed forward again. Interesting storylines end abruptly, and action scenes, including a monumental battle, feel rushed. None of the genuinely engrossing characters or ideas are allowed enough space to develop. When the prevailing trend in science fiction is to turn even the flimsiest plots into bloated trilogies, cutting this extraordinary story short feels like a deplorable waste.An outstanding science-fiction novel hobbled by its rushed story structure.
