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themoonshoes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.0
kind of hard to get through if only because the chapters are from a different characters pov each time. the worldbuilding and plot relationship seemed stilted too, but i get that it’s a tough type of story to write with breathing room.
i do appreciate the development of stevlands character—“i could scream, howl, smash things—“ that got me bitch! i found myself wanting more, at the end, even though this book took me a looong time to get through.
i do appreciate the development of stevlands character—“i could scream, howl, smash things—“ that got me bitch! i found myself wanting more, at the end, even though this book took me a looong time to get through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Death, Animal death, Colonisation, Infertility, and Rape
Minor: Addiction
there is one rape scene and while it’s not overtly descriptive, it is jarring. be aware!getreadson's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Fast-paced, every chapter is from a different character’s perspective. An off-beat, entertaining take on space colonization.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
Moderate: Violence
There is a graphic rape incident from the perspective of the victim.glyf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Child death
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Rape, and Murder
Moderate: War, Death of parent, Infertility, and Animal death
Minor: Domestic abuse and Child abuse
mordshunger's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, Xenophobia, and War
albernikolauras's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Murder, Xenophobia, War, and Violence
lanid's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Animal death, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Murder, Genocide, Infertility, Mental illness, Rape, Terminal illness, Violence, and Torture
macthekat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Violence
anastasiaf's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence
bugthebard's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
Moderate: Infertility, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Genocide and War
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