Reviews with content warning for War - Semiosis

Reviews tagging 'War'

Semiosis by Sue Burke

8 reviews

gmrickel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book wasn't for me. It changes narrators several times throughout the book, some were more compelling and sympathetic than others. There is an on-the-page rape scene in the second generation and the aftermath went in the survivor's favor so while it was a hard scene, I felt she had a bit just revenge and that made me happy. I felt that ending was rather lackluster. I'm not interested in continuing on to book 2 (book 3 comes out this year). I found the theme of communication to be the most interesting part of the book. I could see it appealing to fans of The Sparrow (first contact on awry, effort towards communication) and possibly any scifi that does interesting things plants and/or communication. Maybe for fans of the Southern Reach novels? This was the first in my long list of scifi to read in 2024 so hopefully I'll find more comps.

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mordshunger's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This one is tough to rate. There's some pretty graphic violence and a completely unnecessary rape scene, which really prevented me from enjoying this take on a civilization story. I've never read something with these ideas before, although I'm sure it has been done. In the end, the author didn't take the more daring aspects far enough. I was surprised by the ending

because it didn't all turn to shit. They stick to their values, more or less. I've read another review on here that was OUTRAGED about the consideration of slavery and I expected much worse. This was obviously not a pacifist ending, but I was prepared for a much more Orvellian twist. I was pleasantly surprised by Stevland considering himself as a citizen and identifying strongly with society.

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annafr's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bethmalena's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I thought skipping generations (and narrators) almost every chapter was a bold move! You don’t get really attached to any one character, but you start to treat the whole colony as a changing character. I liked the author’s attention to ensure generations that hadn’t seen Earth didn’t use metaphors or language connected only to Earth. And Stevland… such a unique approach with that character. The author really messed with my expectations - of Stevland, of the Glassmakers - in a really good way. As seems to happen so often lately, I just wasn’t satisfied with the ending. The resolution after the big climax felt too long and ended abruptly - just strangely paced. But I’ll definitely check out the sequel!

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alienor_kerjan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book is a tad gory, especially at the end.

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albernikolauras's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Semiosis is an eerie story of a group of individuals escaping Earth and creating a colony on a foreign planet. The story skips through generations as the descendants of colonists learn how to survive on a planet that already has their own sentient beings.

I started this book with certain expectations and Sue Burke subverted all of my expectations. The way the author plays with plant and human interactions and how technology evolves (or devolves) based on access to resources. The way the author made each character perspective distinct was skillfully done.

I look forward to the sequel.

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anastasiaf's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated

4.25

Unlike others (mostly on Goodreads) who didn’t like the book, I actually liked the fact that we got glimpses/novellas of different times - it meant we understood the people a little better as we understood where they came from.

I had recently read The Ruins and Eden so I wasn’t looking for a plant horror book, which is good because this isn’t one. (And seems to be another reason people didn’t like it)

Also, some people seemed to be bored by the plant science - I actually loved it and I think having read it as an audiobook really helped.

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bugthebard's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

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