Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Semiosis cover art

Semiosis

By: Sue Burke
Narrated by: Caitlin Davies, Daniel Thomas May
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.00

Buy Now for £13.00

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Children of Time cover art
The Sparrow cover art
Geoffrey's Queen cover art
All Systems Red (Dramatized Adaptation) cover art
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cover art
The Lord of Opium cover art
Dragonkeeper cover art
Moon Chosen cover art
Elder Race cover art
The Village of Bones: Sabalah's Tale cover art
House of Suns cover art
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) cover art
Remnant Population cover art
Owlflight cover art
Deathworld cover art
The Queen of Blood cover art

Summary

Escaping conflict on Earth, an idealistic group of settlers arrive on a distant planet - Pax - with plans for a perfect society.

The world they discover is rich with life, but this is not the Eden they were hoping for. The plants on Pax are smart - smart enough to domesticate, and even slaughter, its many extraordinary animals.

To survive, the colonists realise that they must strike bargains of their own. But if they are to make Pax their home, they must go further, searching for a way to communicate and coexist with these utterly alien intelligences.

©2018 Sue Burke (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"This is top class SF, intelligent and engaging, and I loved every minute of it." (Adrian Tchaikovsky, award-winning author of Children of Time) 

"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, award-winning author of The Postman)

"Original, gripping and gloriously unpredictable." (Mira Grant, New York Times best-selling author of Parasite

What listeners say about Semiosis

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    132
  • 4 Stars
    83
  • 3 Stars
    33
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    112
  • 4 Stars
    80
  • 3 Stars
    33
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    119
  • 4 Stars
    66
  • 3 Stars
    36
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Pleasantly surprised

After reading a few negative reviews about the narration I was cautious about Semiosis, but i found no issues with any of the narration and the story itself is great.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Intriguiging

The story was entirely consistent in the world it created and I loved how the story developed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting idea told without pomp

If you enjoyed children of time I don't know why you wouldn't enjoy this. An interesting concept that you don't need a degree in botany to understand. Left me wanting more.
Narration was excellent, they were both able to use a range of voices and noises to capture the characters and languages.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Good concept

Three narrators, one superb, two.... not so much. I very much liked the whole concept of the storyline and it rolled along nicely but towards the end became somewhat lacklustre and the end, I thought , had no impact or real meaning. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations, but that's why I haven't rated this book highly.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding

The story makes you think and opens your horizons. It is also brilliantly performed by Caitlin and Daniel, Simply outstanding!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Original and enjoyable

Really interesting premise and excellent narration make this a must listen book, can’t wait for the sequel

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A riveting story with a great concept

The main idea and one of the main characters in this novel are utterly fascinating : what if a plant were as intelligent and self-conscious and civilised as humans? What if plants' chemistry and biology were tools as flexible and powerful as human technology and science? What if a plant could shape life and evolution on a planet? The story is far more complex and intriguing than that, as humans from a future Earth lands on a faraway planet and learn to adapt and evolve their lives and civilisation according to their new environment, trying to coexist with the (quite smart) animals and plants on it, and finally with the remaining members of an ancient civilization, all in the name of that peace that on Earth could not be maintained. Brilliant interpretations of the narrators, as humans' and plants' points of views alternate in the novel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good read

Really enjoyed this book. Kept me gripped as to what was going to happen next. The first story I have come across that writes about the ecosystem of a new planet.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

really grabs you

loved this really makes you think about animals vrs plants would recommend to all sci-fi fans

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well performed and moving narrative

I am starting to love this genre of generational sci-fi. very interesting having the perspective of plants as well as humans portrayed. It was a bit dark and upsetting at times, but also heroic and moving.
I am shocked that this is Sue Burke's first full sci-fi novel like this and am excited to read whatever she comes out with next.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful