Semiosis cover art

Semiosis

A Novel

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £19.09

Buy Now for £19.09

About this listen

"Narrators Daniel Thomas May and Caitlin Davies breathe life into the large cast of Burke's debut science fiction...both excel at utilizing accents, inflections, and personality traits to quickly build characterizations. The unusual cadence and inflections used for the aliens work to captivating effect." — AudioFile Magazine

In Semiosis, debut author Sue Burke's character driven audiobook of first contact, human survival hinges on an 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.

©2018 Sue Burke (P)2018 Macmillan Audio First Contact Hard Science Fiction Science Fiction

Critic reviews

"Narrators Daniel Thomas May and Caitlin Davies breathe life into the large cast of Burke's debut science fiction. ...May and Davies both excel at utilizing accents, inflections, and personality traits to quickly build characterizations. The unusual cadence and inflections used for the aliens work to captivating effect." -AudioFile

"Daniel Thomas May and Caitlyn Davies...did very well, utilizing varied accents and inflections to portray the different characters of each generation so that each person felt like they had a distinct and unique voice." -TheBiblioSanctum

“In Semiosis, Sue Burke blends science with adventure and fascinating characters, as a human colony desperately seeks to join the ecosystem of an alien world.” —David Brin, author of Earth and Existence.
All stars
Most relevant
I loved the story line and setting, yet felt there was a stiff gender perception which made the read uncomfortable. I would recommend it for botanic celebrations.

Great novel insights. Yet matronising perception

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A great insight into a very interesting idea, stories like this are why i love sci-fi as a genre.

A fascinating idea

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
loved the storytelling, the narrators, the world the author built. I'll definitely read more from this author

wonderful and clever! a total joy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A great original plot, I worried a little in the early chapters at the lack of detail and subscription, but this isn’t a traditional Science Fiction book, it has at its centre the story of a group of humans growing to form a society and adapting to the sentient flora and fauna. Beautiful plotted, it tells the story over 100 years from a variety of protagonist (not all human) yet it *never* dips into the intense self introspection or intense emotional analysis many books do. Superbly plotted and exceptionally well narrated by two actors. So far this is my book of the year. Thoroughly recommend.

Gentle, clever and carefully plotted

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Captivating, creative and SciFi, twisting foreign biology with survival, psychology, investigation, touch of horror and happiness. Very well balanced.

Creative, very good story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews