Semiosis
A Novel
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4.2 • 149 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
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.
Other Books by Sue Burke
Semiosis duology
Semiosis
Interference
Immunity Index
Dual Memory
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
Customer Reviews
Deliciously Different Story of an Alien World
Sue Burke has done an amazing feat of telling a multi-generational story that chronicles the colonization of a very alien world. A group of humans leave the slowly dying Earth to found a new colony on a distant alien world. They bring their highest ideals, but they also bring the problems inherent in human nature.
On the planet they find, the ecosystem is a billion years more advanced than that of Earth. Symbiosis and mutualism exist in strange new forms. The flora isn’t the passive plant life they are familiar with. They must find a way to fit into this alien ecosystem, because their survival depends on it.
“Semiosis” is a fresh take on alien life that avoids the conventional. It contains very different ideas about sentience, and about relationships, both human and otherwise.
Well worth the time
A fine example of the nature of intelligence and communication. The story excels when anthropology and social psychology intertwine with science.
A Modern Classic
One of the best sci fi novels I’ve read in years. If you like Ursula K. LeGuinn and Octavio Butler, this is for you. Great science and even better characters. Check it out!