Reviews with content warning for Child death - Semiosis

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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msteasam's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This was a great first contact novel. The exploration of human culture when removed from earth and transplanted into an alien environment was very well done. This book is a generational saga which pits optimism and survival against each other in a very interesting way. The author managed to give every POV character a distinct voice and different ideals.

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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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jessicafee86's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Really interesting read but you don't really get a chance to get to know any of the characters outside of Stevland, and you don't get to meet them until about a 1/3 of the way through. I wish there was more character development, but the book was more about the journey of generations instead of one character's journey, and overall I really enjoyed it.

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steph_is_reading's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? No

4.0

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lanid's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious

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

4.5

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desdemonarose's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I truly enjoyed this book. It surprised me to see that the average rating wasn't higher, but I can see why it wouldn't be a book for everyone.

If you want creative world-building, a unique dynamic where plants are sentient, and a diverse cast of personalities, then this is a good book. The book moves through a few generations of humans as they try to figure out how to survive on an alien planet.

I found it fascinating to see how Burke planned their culture, morality, how they dealt with danger, and how they planned on doing better than those who live on the planet they (or the previous generations) fled.

If you like audiobooks then I definitely recommend listening to this one. The narrators are fantastic. There is a chapter near the end that (spoiler):

I particularly enjoyed since one of the MCs decides to learn the language of an alien species that also shows up on the planet. They don't use words, they use sounds. The narrator really put effort into playing the character making the different alien sounds and I loved it.

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