Semiosis

Human survival on another planet hinges on a bizarre alliance in this character-driven debut science fiction novel of first contact.

‘Combines the world-building of Avatar with the alien wonder of Arrival, and the sheer humanity of Atwood. An essential work for our time.’ —Stephen Baxter, award-winning author of The Time Ships

Colonists from Earth wanted the perfect home, but they’ll have to survive on the one they found. They don’t realize another life-form watches . . . and waits . . .

Can humans learn how to communicate with the planet’s sentient species and forge an alliance to prove that humans are more than mere tools?

Praise for Semiosis

Esquire’s Best Science Fiction Books of All Time

2019 Campbell Memorial Award Finalist

2019 Locus Finalist for Best Science Fiction Novel

Locus 2018 Recommended Reading List

New York Public Library—Best of 2018

Forbes—Best Science Fiction Books of 2018–2019

The Verge—Best of 2018

Thrillist—Best Books of 2018

Vulture—10 Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of 2018

Chicago Review of Books—The 10 Best Science Fiction Books of 2018

Texas Library Association—Lariat List Top Books for 2019

‘This is up there with Ursula K. Le Guin: science fiction at its most fascinating and most humane.’ —Thrillist

‘Original, gripping, and gloriously unpredictable.’ —Mira Grant, New York Times–bestselling author of Parasite


Genre: Science Fiction

"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

"A gripping story of colonization and biological wonders." - Gregory Frost

"Original, gripping, and gloriously unpredictable." - Mira Grant

"A first contact novel like none you've ever read. . . . The kind of story for which science fiction was invented." - James Patrick Kelly

"This is top class SF, intelligent and engaging and I loved every moment of it." - Adrian Tchaikovsky