Original and Thought Provoking
4 out of 5 stars
This was listed on my Most Anticipated Audiobooks of 2018 and for a good reason. When you read the synopsis things pop out like: “They don’t realize another life form watches…and waits…” and “prove that humans are more than tools”. I was SUPER intrigued. Seriously, it just had a ring to it that you don’t normally hear.
The thing that I noticed about Semiosis is that it is beautifully written with really good character building. Honestly, one of the best character built novels I’ve read in a long time. Sue Burke is a name that I had not heard of before Semiosis, but I will remember long after finishing it.
There were some parts that irked me a bit. I’m familiar with both time jumping around and “skippy” type books that have you going from place to place. Some of them do it to confuse you on purpose – while others do it to skip around and just allow readers to see glimpses of different parts. I think that Semiosis did a little of both. Burke wanted the reader to enjoy the book without digging really deep into the “how and why” as I call it.
The story itself was a little longer than my usual but I didn’t really notice it. Burke wrote a book that I enjoyed reading and something that I did have a hard time putting down. A lot of people love 12-14 hour audiobooks but in my history, they usually drag on. Semiosis did not drag on but was crafted into a flowing and crazy view of what could happen if humanity and Earth were threatened.
The narration was done by Caitlin Davies and Daniel Thomas May and I thought they did a really nice job. It made this 14-hour book fly by and a breeze to listen to.
Overall, an interesting take on an alien invasion book and a character-driven book that will have me looking for other books written by Sue Burke.
Book Description:
Semiosis by Sue Burke
Narrator: Caitlin Davies, Daniel Thomas May
Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
Published by Macmillan Audio on February 6th 2018
Genres: Science Fiction
Pages: 326
Format: Audiobook
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In Semiosis, debut author Sue Burke's character-driven audiobook of first contact, human survival hinges on a bizarre alliance.
Only mutual communication can forge an alliance with the planet's sentient species and prove that mammals are more than tools.
Forced to land on a planet they aren't prepared for, human colonists rely on their limited resources to survive. The planet provides a lush but inexplicable landscape - trees offer edible, addictive fruit one day and poison the next, while the ruins of an alien race are found entwined in the roots of a strange plant. Conflicts between generations arise as they struggle to understand one another and grapple with an unknowable alien intellect.
I received this book for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Yep! I think we were in complete agreement.