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mattbgold's review against another edition
3.0
Decent sci-fi about inter-species conflict on an alien world and finding intelligence in unexpected places. I felt the weakest chapters of the first book, Semiosis, were those written from the non-human perspective, which were thankfully few. Unfortunately more than half of this book is from alien perspectives and these sections still feel kind of stunted and robotic - it also kills the mystery a bit by not leaving the internal workings of the alien minds to the imagination. Not a bad series overall.
cloudcrow's review against another edition
2.0
Nice ideas but clumsy and very unconvincing characters. At first it seemed ok because some characters were not humans so one can imagine their train of thought would be different but in the end it was true for everyone - nothing that they thought or said to each other sounded realistic or normal.
kerstincullen's review against another edition
5.0
I actually enjoyed this more than the first one. The themes seemed to be more explicit- and there were no time skips so less of the book felt unresolved to me. Very fun!
rocketiza's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoy these novels in despite being written in a simplistic tone, they explore some really cool ideas and put enough of the how in without getting bogged down in explaining the how of everything working.
aiight's review against another edition
3.0
Starts of a little slow and weak but picks up about 1/3 of the way in. The premise is a great follow-up to the first book and the author builds tension for the main conflict very well. By the last 1/3 of the book, things are racing along well, and she does a good job juggling a larger cast of characters. I think the main non-human antagonist could have been more developed and I would have liked more communication between it and the main characters. I wish there had been more non-human pov chapters in general, but it was a good book and I'm looking forward to the third one.
minpeniche's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tenia muchas expectativas de este libro, espere por años la continuación y me decepciono, la trama salta por todas partes, sin profundizar en la historia y tratando de contar muchas cosas sin terminar ninguna de ellas, pero tampoco las deja abiertas de una manera satisfactoria como para contarles en el siguiente volumen, espero mucho mas en la conclusión de la historia.
peggyd's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is a sequel to Semiosis, a book I read a couple of years ago and thought was kind of "meh" but then couldn't stop thinking about. So I decided the sequel was worth a shot. When you arrive on an alien planet to check on the colony start hundreds of years prior, what is the protocol? What are the ethics involved? Is this even a wise idea? All of these questions get thoroughly explored in Interference.
We are still on Pax, the planet colonized by Earth humans fleeing fascism, war, and plague in the first book, only it's a couple hundred years later. The descendants of the initial colonizers now live in harmony in Rainbow City with the Glassmakers (sentient bug-like aliens that they went to war with in book one) under a shared constitution with Stevland (a super smart bamboo plant able to communicate in multiple ways, including using all languages to communicate through a speaker). Stevland was the most interesting part of Semiosis, so I was happy to be back in his weird mind with his weird plans--you're never quite sure if he's entirely good and that's the point--are any of us entirely good?
This time around a new batch of "earthlings" are headed to Pax to see if the initial colonization was successful (and many have their own private reasons). Once they land, of course, chaos and change and violence and some new harmonies come with them. There are also aliens in the form of giant coral and old enemies the Eagles make an appearance along with new enemies, red velvet worms. Good times.
As with Semiosis, each chapter is from a single character's perspective, and initially it's interesting to see how a character views him/her/them self vs. how other characters view them once we're in a new perspective. Some characters read the desires/goals of others better than some; others, not so much. But by the end I found myself wanting the insights of previous characters and only getting them filtered through whomever was guiding that chapter. A bit frustrating. Also, the epilogue definitely sets up the third book (I thought this was a duology, so I'm a bit pissed to have to wait until Oct. 2024) effectively, but I wasn't ready to part from the current storyline. The next book looks to be 250 years beyond this one, so a whole new batch of characters. Again.
I'll go with it, because the over-arching themes about colonization and its ethics (if there are any), along with issues of technology, class, and servitude, are all interesting and thoughtfully depicted. There aren't easy solutions, and I appreciate that. But the things that irritate me are likely to stay, too. Ah well.
We are still on Pax, the planet colonized by Earth humans fleeing fascism, war, and plague in the first book, only it's a couple hundred years later. The descendants of the initial colonizers now live in harmony in Rainbow City with the Glassmakers (sentient bug-like aliens that they went to war with in book one) under a shared constitution with Stevland (a super smart bamboo plant able to communicate in multiple ways, including using all languages to communicate through a speaker). Stevland was the most interesting part of Semiosis, so I was happy to be back in his weird mind with his weird plans--you're never quite sure if he's entirely good and that's the point--are any of us entirely good?
This time around a new batch of "earthlings" are headed to Pax to see if the initial colonization was successful (and many have their own private reasons). Once they land, of course, chaos and change and violence and some new harmonies come with them. There are also aliens in the form of giant coral and old enemies the Eagles make an appearance along with new enemies, red velvet worms. Good times.
As with Semiosis, each chapter is from a single character's perspective, and initially it's interesting to see how a character views him/her/them self vs. how other characters view them once we're in a new perspective. Some characters read the desires/goals of others better than some; others, not so much. But by the end I found myself wanting the insights of previous characters and only getting them filtered through whomever was guiding that chapter. A bit frustrating. Also, the epilogue definitely sets up the third book (I thought this was a duology, so I'm a bit pissed to have to wait until Oct. 2024) effectively, but I wasn't ready to part from the current storyline. The next book looks to be 250 years beyond this one, so a whole new batch of characters. Again.
I'll go with it, because the over-arching themes about colonization and its ethics (if there are any), along with issues of technology, class, and servitude, are all interesting and thoughtfully depicted. There aren't easy solutions, and I appreciate that. But the things that irritate me are likely to stay, too. Ah well.
mikime's review against another edition
5.0
A great sequel to Semiosis, lots of new characters, both humans, from Earth, and unexpected, unheard of inhabitants of Pax. Conflicts stem among all of them, division spreads until a common enemy, secretly interfering, is finally properly assessed and dealt with. Each of the characters discovers incredible, new possibilities and instruments, from the comm network for Pax people, to the amazing abilities of the rainbow bamboo for earthlings. By the end of the novel, Pax world is inevitably, once again different, but, as earthlings travel back to Earth bringing news and specimens from Pax, Earth is soon going to be radically changed by Pax. The many different points of view, though mostly from the same period this time, make the audiobook sometimes hard to follow.
christopher_dilts's review against another edition
4.0
Once again an excellent read from Sue Burke and definitely a suitable sequel to Semiosis. While it was a quick read and fairly gripping plot, there is definitely a palpable lack of consequence in the fight for survival. The climax of the novel is pulled off with significantly less tension and suspense, and Burke shows some challenges in managing a multitude of characters and narratives as adeptly as was done in the previous novel. While finality of visceral violence made the characters' endeavours seem risky previously, it seems to come off as a bit muddled in this novel. Still, it left me excited and curiously craving a third book that would make a Trilogy.