Burke tells her story through the viewpoints of generations of human settlers, and this plays to one of her obvious strengths as a writer: the sharp, evocative delineation of believable characters ... The book is tremendously enjoyable – and also the announcement of an impressive new talent.
For all its ambition, Semiosis is a fairly slender volume. It’s also an easy read, and a pretty compelling one ... There’s a deep vein of kindness running through Semiosis, an understated understanding for the weaknesses and flaws of all sentient beings ... Each of Burke’s characters come to life as individuals: she has an excellent grasp of voice and characterisation ... I do feel that Semiosis would be a stronger book if at least one of the five major human viewpoint characters had not come across as a cisgender straight person: a future attempted-utopian society where there are no prominent queer people rather strains at my disbelief.
This debut displays impressive range, jumping across decades. The scope inevitably means that some characters and storylines are only touched upon before they recede into the past, but it’s more than forgivable in a story with such scope. Burke celebrates the adventurous spirit of the colonists while challenging their ideals, and our own. And in a rare (if not unprecedented) feat, her most compelling character may the intelligent bamboo struggling to see things through the eyes of the humans. Semiosis is a fascinating exploration of community alongside truly stunning worldbuilding, making the case that our notion of 'community' can and should include much more than just the people next door.
Burke doesn’t answer all the questions that she raises: when we meet the Glassmakers, they abandoned their city and etched out a harsh, nomadic existence. While there are hints that they might have rejected the domestication that Stevland sought, it’s never fully answered, even as that question would have made a valuable addition to the argument that the humans seem to be grappling with. Moreover, while the book runs for just over a century, we only see the beginnings of a tenuous existence for humanity. Hopefully, Burke will return with another book to check in on the development of this fascinating world.
Burke’s writing is as lush as the environment of Pax; her characters show considerable depth, and she unflinchingly captures the horrors of space exploration. She has rendered an alien planet in beautiful, believable detail. Fans of space adventure will eagerly await Burke’s future books.
The flora and fauna of Pax are magnificently alien, calling to mind sci-fi classics ... But the story’s overwhelming scope is also its downfall: readers scarcely have time to register who the colonists are and what’s happened during the intervening years before being rushed forward again. Interesting storylines end abruptly, and action scenes, including a monumental battle, feel rushed. None of the genuinely engrossing characters or ideas are allowed enough space to develop. When the prevailing trend in science fiction is to turn even the flimsiest plots into bloated trilogies, cutting this extraordinary story short feels like a deplorable waste. An outstanding science-fiction novel hobbled by its rushed story structure.
