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Semiosis #3
Usurpation
After her rollicking standalone Dual Memory,Sue Burke returns to her Semiosis series and the world of Pax in Usurpation, which combines the thrill of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening with the eco-empowerment of VanderMeer’s Dead Astronauts.
Steveland, the dominant sentient lifeform of Pax, has clandestinely sent some of its progeny to Earth. To explore, to spread, to report back.
Since their germination, Earth has been a powder keg. Human rebellion, robot uprisings, and global pandemics have created chaos, distrust, and deaths.
As more and more conflicts break out across Earth, Stevland's children work in the background, in an attempt to control human behavior and perhaps, bring peace to the planet. Stevland took control of Pax. Earth shouldn’t be too difficult…
Steveland, the dominant sentient lifeform of Pax, has clandestinely sent some of its progeny to Earth. To explore, to spread, to report back.
Since their germination, Earth has been a powder keg. Human rebellion, robot uprisings, and global pandemics have created chaos, distrust, and deaths.
As more and more conflicts break out across Earth, Stevland's children work in the background, in an attempt to control human behavior and perhaps, bring peace to the planet. Stevland took control of Pax. Earth shouldn’t be too difficult…
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 29, 2024
About the author
Sue Burke
56 books818 followersI grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, lived briefly in Austin, Texas, y'all, and moved with my husband to Madrid, Spain, in December 1999. Then back to the US, specifically Chicago, in July 2016.
I've worked for fifty years as a journalist, both as a reporter and editor, and I translate from Spanish to English.
I also write poetry, essays, and fiction, especially science fiction.
I've worked for fifty years as a journalist, both as a reporter and editor, and I translate from Spanish to English.
I also write poetry, essays, and fiction, especially science fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
March 9, 2026
4.5 stars
Another wonderful book by Sue Burke in her imaginative series, Semiosis.
This book follows the children of Mother Stevland, grown large and spreading from the seeds she sent back to Earth from Pax. The well established rainbow bamboo consider emerging from hiding their sentience from Earth humans in order to help deal with a crisis that affects both them and the humans of the world.
There’s something comforting about Burke’s writing, and the way she deals with life and world threatening events in such an optimistic way, although never without difficulties and consequences.
What would the world look like if it could be helped by the perspective of plants, beings who cannot run away from their problems because they live stationary lives. Every neighbour must be dealt with, community preserved for the betterment of the whole, every problem met and solved where you are.
I continue to grow, and growth means more roots, more intelligence. I must use the tools I have to protect joy and beauty and life against human destruction.
Another wonderful book by Sue Burke in her imaginative series, Semiosis.
This book follows the children of Mother Stevland, grown large and spreading from the seeds she sent back to Earth from Pax. The well established rainbow bamboo consider emerging from hiding their sentience from Earth humans in order to help deal with a crisis that affects both them and the humans of the world.
There’s something comforting about Burke’s writing, and the way she deals with life and world threatening events in such an optimistic way, although never without difficulties and consequences.
What would the world look like if it could be helped by the perspective of plants, beings who cannot run away from their problems because they live stationary lives. Every neighbour must be dealt with, community preserved for the betterment of the whole, every problem met and solved where you are.
I continue to grow, and growth means more roots, more intelligence. I must use the tools I have to protect joy and beauty and life against human destruction.
September 8, 2024
I knew going in that Semiosis and Interference were two very different books. This initially frustrated me about Interference, I'd expected us to once again move quickly through the development of Pax from generation to generation but much of that book took place within just a few months. I knew I should expect a change with Usurpation, and I got one. It just wasn't the kind of change I liked. This time we are not on Pax. Not even for a single minute. Once you line up all three books it's clear that Burke isn't writing about the development of a new planet, about the growth of a planned utopia. She isn't even writing about the ways different alien species come together. Ultimately these books are all about the bamboo.
The bamboo is what everyone remembers about Semiosis. And it's such a fabulous invention of fiction. Following the interaction of Stevland and the Pacifists was my very favorite thing about these books. I just didn't feel like this third book brought much that was new or interesting.
In Usurpation we are back on earth with the plants that grew from Stevland's seeds. We follow Levanter, one of the first three plants. But once again most of the book takes place over a short period. Levanter is deciding whether to reveal herself to humans. The humans are involved in elaborate wars and conflicts. We follow the perspectives of several humans, but the earth itself is so vast, it's impossible for us to get all that invested in an entire planet. The story works best when it's much more limited, but it keeps expanding outward.
The truth is I never really cared. There were a few subplots that really held my attention, but often just when it would get interesting everything would change. All the pieces are there again, we have the bamboo learning to communicate with other plants on earth, tapping into the human network, establishing contact with wild robots, many different forms of life tenuously trying to connect. But it's actually really nice to have specific characters to know well and latch on to who can take you through these larger plots. No one besides Levanter ever really connects.
Disappointing, but also it's one of these times when Burke is shooting for something different than what I most enjoyed from the series. We just have different things we care about here. And that's fine! But I enjoyed Interference much more on a second read, whereas I doubt Usurpation will grow on me in the same way.
The bamboo is what everyone remembers about Semiosis. And it's such a fabulous invention of fiction. Following the interaction of Stevland and the Pacifists was my very favorite thing about these books. I just didn't feel like this third book brought much that was new or interesting.
In Usurpation we are back on earth with the plants that grew from Stevland's seeds. We follow Levanter, one of the first three plants. But once again most of the book takes place over a short period. Levanter is deciding whether to reveal herself to humans. The humans are involved in elaborate wars and conflicts. We follow the perspectives of several humans, but the earth itself is so vast, it's impossible for us to get all that invested in an entire planet. The story works best when it's much more limited, but it keeps expanding outward.
The truth is I never really cared. There were a few subplots that really held my attention, but often just when it would get interesting everything would change. All the pieces are there again, we have the bamboo learning to communicate with other plants on earth, tapping into the human network, establishing contact with wild robots, many different forms of life tenuously trying to connect. But it's actually really nice to have specific characters to know well and latch on to who can take you through these larger plots. No one besides Levanter ever really connects.
Disappointing, but also it's one of these times when Burke is shooting for something different than what I most enjoyed from the series. We just have different things we care about here. And that's fine! But I enjoyed Interference much more on a second read, whereas I doubt Usurpation will grow on me in the same way.
October 20, 2024
3.5 Stars
This is a good third and final book in the Semosis trilogy. This is perhaps my favourite entry because I enjoyed the futuristic setting.
With the time jumps throughout the series, I never get a chance to get attached to character perspectives. I recognize this is fairly common in the science fiction genre that is more about ideas than people.
I appreciated this series and this book, but it's not a personal favourite series of mine. I would still recommend it to readers looking for a modern science fiction book with a more classic narrative.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
This is a good third and final book in the Semosis trilogy. This is perhaps my favourite entry because I enjoyed the futuristic setting.
With the time jumps throughout the series, I never get a chance to get attached to character perspectives. I recognize this is fairly common in the science fiction genre that is more about ideas than people.
I appreciated this series and this book, but it's not a personal favourite series of mine. I would still recommend it to readers looking for a modern science fiction book with a more classic narrative.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
January 25, 2025
Another surprise continuation ... and one I could have done without?
Stevland, the sentient plant from the planet Pax has sent its seeds back to Earth at the end of the previous volume. We are now on Earth in 2880 and see things from around the world (Nigeria, Siberia, France). We get a small time jump of 5 years and then a long chapter that tells of 5 more so we end the tale in 2900- Why is this important? To show the slow progression that is somewhat astounding considering all the things that happen here.
Because Bearth is, unsurprisingly, at war. With itself. Kinda. Humans are fighting humans, robots rebel, there are pandemics ... death, chaos and destruction everywhere.
Interestingly, the plants themselves (the rainbow bamboo) had similar problems. Right down to some of it using violence to force their agenda.
On one hand, it was nice exploring Earth problems through the lens of plants who cannot simply leave when things get tough. Especially seeing how they developed the same kind of mindset many humans have (as if they got infeced either by us humans or by Earth itself - I loved musing what it was that triggered this). Moreover, what's not to like about an alien invasion, no matter how slow and ... creeping?! ;)
On the other hand, this was really slow-moving. To the point where I felt (after finishing the book) that I wouldn't have missed (much) if I had skipped a number of things in the middle. :/
There were some really good points and the writing was once again very nice. What I definitely did not enjoy was the religious sermons we got in this book. Holy shit, was that heavy-handed!
So this leaves me with REALLY mixed feelings, which is a shame.
Stevland, the sentient plant from the planet Pax has sent its seeds back to Earth at the end of the previous volume. We are now on Earth in 2880 and see things from around the world (Nigeria, Siberia, France). We get a small time jump of 5 years and then a long chapter that tells of 5 more so we end the tale in 2900- Why is this important? To show the slow progression that is somewhat astounding considering all the things that happen here.
Because Bearth is, unsurprisingly, at war. With itself. Kinda. Humans are fighting humans, robots rebel, there are pandemics ... death, chaos and destruction everywhere.
Interestingly, the plants themselves (the rainbow bamboo) had similar problems. Right down to some of it using violence to force their agenda.
On one hand, it was nice exploring Earth problems through the lens of plants who cannot simply leave when things get tough. Especially seeing how they developed the same kind of mindset many humans have (as if they got infeced either by us humans or by Earth itself - I loved musing what it was that triggered this). Moreover, what's not to like about an alien invasion, no matter how slow and ... creeping?! ;)
On the other hand, this was really slow-moving. To the point where I felt (after finishing the book) that I wouldn't have missed (much) if I had skipped a number of things in the middle. :/
There were some really good points and the writing was once again very nice. What I definitely did not enjoy was the religious sermons we got in this book. Holy shit, was that heavy-handed!
So this leaves me with REALLY mixed feelings, which is a shame.
December 10, 2024
Disappointing. I loved the first two in this series, but this one fell flat for me. Full review in the New York Journal of Books:
https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book...
https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book...
November 2, 2024
Kind of a downer for me to be honest. It was..on the down side of all right, I suppose. I'd maybe give it 2.5 stars if I could.
The first two (still splendid - read!) books have a structure a bit like a quilt. chapters here are from someone's point of view, chapters there from another...etc. The different points of view hang together to tell overarching story. Their points of view and the reason those chapters are there make an enjoyable sense. Part of the reason behind this structure is that the broad story is about humans relationship with certain plants, and plants live a lot slower and longer than humans.
In the third book, the points of view don't really hang together. Why were we told a particular series of events that happened to someone at the beginning? Why were we told this? why that? Is this book the beginning of a subseries, with two more to come? That was the only sense I could make of why these decisions were made. There's no pay off.
The first two (still splendid - read!) books have a structure a bit like a quilt. chapters here are from someone's point of view, chapters there from another...etc. The different points of view hang together to tell overarching story. Their points of view and the reason those chapters are there make an enjoyable sense. Part of the reason behind this structure is that the broad story is about humans relationship with certain plants, and plants live a lot slower and longer than humans.
In the third book, the points of view don't really hang together. Why were we told a particular series of events that happened to someone at the beginning? Why were we told this? why that? Is this book the beginning of a subseries, with two more to come? That was the only sense I could make of why these decisions were made. There's no pay off.
August 13, 2025
Well, that was just a MASSIVE disappointment. Not exactly bad…but man, just a missed opportunity and a total letdown as a conclusion to the otherwise-5-star Semiosis series. In fact, the book barely belongs in that same universe — or more correctly, belongs to half a dozen other recognizable and overused universes.
Rather than being set on the far-off (and brilliantly imagined) planet Pax as were the first two books, we are back on an all-too-familiar dystopian Earth some 850 years in the future — but which might as well be only 100 years away, for all the "imagining what tomorrow will look like" thought put into it. Dinosaurs have been brought back (Jurassic Park); mankind has expanded uncooperatively to the moon, Mars, and various space stations (The Expanse); an alien virus invades Earth (The Andromeda Strain); rogue robots are attacking humans (Robopocalypse)…and okay, sentient "rainbow bamboo" has been brought back from Pax, the one through-line with Semiosis and Interference. But even that proves a weakness here; as our bamboo protagonist Levanter (like, well, all plants) is literally rooted in place; so that despite all the disparate plotlines there is little real action in this story, with events either being viewed from a distance via the bamboo's system of interconnected roots and chips, or simply noted, ("there are reports of rioting in the city!;" "it looks like there’s fighting in Spain!").
What it DOES have in place of action, are boring political negotiations (the books 15-page "big finale" is as big a letdown as the last episode of "Game of Thrones) and a good amount of probably legitimate but certainly unexciting science, ("A specific enzyme, an endochitinase, might be effective because it cleaves chitin into harmless chemicals, killing the fungus cell. We should be making it automatically, stimulated by jasmonic acid…" um, okay).
Also (and more damning from a, y'know, plot point of view): the whole book's central premise is that Stevland, the also-brilliantly-realized and almost godlike bamboo character in the previous books (both of which were a full 100 pages longer than this one), sent his long-lived, "compassionate" bamboo offspring to Earth to "protect and dominate" the "quarrelsome and destructive" humans. But that is totally undermined here by the infighting, violence and pettiness of the bamboo itself — both in the relationship between the indecisive Levanter and her two "sisters" (which closely — if, I'm assuming, unintentionally — mirrors that of Cinderella and her evil stepsisters), as well as between the various interconnected (chips and roots, remember?) bamboo groves now spread across the globe, some of which are literally espousing "kill all humans!"
Oh, and I forgot to mention the hairless, blubbery humans who only care about the whales…
Anyway — kudos at least to our local library system, who purchased this at my request through their "Suggest A Title" feature, (they had the two earlier books but not this one). So 2.5 stars rounded up for that alone — SUPPORT (and pester) YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY!
Rather than being set on the far-off (and brilliantly imagined) planet Pax as were the first two books, we are back on an all-too-familiar dystopian Earth some 850 years in the future — but which might as well be only 100 years away, for all the "imagining what tomorrow will look like" thought put into it. Dinosaurs have been brought back (Jurassic Park); mankind has expanded uncooperatively to the moon, Mars, and various space stations (The Expanse); an alien virus invades Earth (The Andromeda Strain); rogue robots are attacking humans (Robopocalypse)…and okay, sentient "rainbow bamboo" has been brought back from Pax, the one through-line with Semiosis and Interference. But even that proves a weakness here; as our bamboo protagonist Levanter (like, well, all plants) is literally rooted in place; so that despite all the disparate plotlines there is little real action in this story, with events either being viewed from a distance via the bamboo's system of interconnected roots and chips, or simply noted, ("there are reports of rioting in the city!;" "it looks like there’s fighting in Spain!").
What it DOES have in place of action, are boring political negotiations (the books 15-page "big finale" is as big a letdown as the last episode of "Game of Thrones) and a good amount of probably legitimate but certainly unexciting science, ("A specific enzyme, an endochitinase, might be effective because it cleaves chitin into harmless chemicals, killing the fungus cell. We should be making it automatically, stimulated by jasmonic acid…" um, okay).
Also (and more damning from a, y'know, plot point of view): the whole book's central premise is that Stevland, the also-brilliantly-realized and almost godlike bamboo character in the previous books (both of which were a full 100 pages longer than this one), sent his long-lived, "compassionate" bamboo offspring to Earth to "protect and dominate" the "quarrelsome and destructive" humans. But that is totally undermined here by the infighting, violence and pettiness of the bamboo itself — both in the relationship between the indecisive Levanter and her two "sisters" (which closely — if, I'm assuming, unintentionally — mirrors that of Cinderella and her evil stepsisters), as well as between the various interconnected (chips and roots, remember?) bamboo groves now spread across the globe, some of which are literally espousing "kill all humans!"
Oh, and I forgot to mention the hairless, blubbery humans who only care about the whales…
Anyway — kudos at least to our local library system, who purchased this at my request through their "Suggest A Title" feature, (they had the two earlier books but not this one). So 2.5 stars rounded up for that alone — SUPPORT (and pester) YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY!
December 20, 2024
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
I think this volume was a little weaker for me, but I still enjoyed it a lot. I wish we had spent more time on Pax, but I do think the messages in this book were timely. I definitely look forward to reading the author’s other books, I think she is a master at character development and interpersonal dynamics.
I think this volume was a little weaker for me, but I still enjoyed it a lot. I wish we had spent more time on Pax, but I do think the messages in this book were timely. I definitely look forward to reading the author’s other books, I think she is a master at character development and interpersonal dynamics.
February 24, 2026
This book went steadily from 2 stars to 4 stars and maybe a little more. Strictly different from the other two books, it was very hard to accept the change and keep reading or get invested when it seemed it was just a jumble of short stories at first. But in the end it wasn't, and once you stop getting attached to the characters, the way it reads changes. I wish
March 12, 2024
Semiosis is an all-time sci-fi favorite of mine. Stevland the rainbow bamboo is such a complex character. The idea of intelligent plants is SO excellent and well-executed. The tension between the utopian ideals of the Pax settlers and the grim reality their descendants face sets up a wonderful conflict that continues into the sequel, Interference.
Usurpation is set on Earth, where Stevland's offspring live among humans as friendly groves 150 years after the events of Interference. There are cults dedicated to whales and corals (another intelligent alien species discovered on Pax), but no humans have figured out that the rainbow bamboo are super-intelligent and can communicate across the globe thanks to networked chips implanted into their stems.
I really want to come back to this again for a reread in a few years to reassess. The plot is less propulsive than the previous two books, mostly because this version of Earth is such a bummer. Humans have casually embraced extraterrestrial life enough to allow rainbow bamboo to grow everywhere, fippokats to live as pets and wild (fippokats are the absolute best), and even lethal drop bears (!) from yet another planet roam the Earth unchecked. Humans communicate via networked chips and fight each other for all the usual reasons.
It was sometimes difficult to tell where on Earth we were supposed to be, or to really get a good idea of who the major powers were or what they were fighting over. As in previous books, the story is told with multiple point of view characters with different backgrounds who may only connect briefly later on. (There are many fewer time jumps.) It made the conflict much more abstract. Getting back to Stevland's daughter Levanter's point of view was always refreshing.
Introducing alien critters, unchecked, to Earth seems like it should be a bigger problem. Rainbow bamboo live forever, grow to enormous sizes, and can produce custom fruits to alter human behavior. They can even influence the plants around them, as when Levanter tells an oak tree to grow crooked so it won't be harvested for its wood. Why aren't the rainbow bamboo as big a problem as kudzu or spotted lanternflies? (There are a few mentions of Florida dinosaurs, which I wanted to hear more of!) I would have loved to see the conflict between Levanter and her aggressive sisters rather than learning about any of the human groups, which were so much less interesting.
The book ultimately takes a hopeful view of the human capacity for empathy and reconciliation. The idea of communing was so vivid and poetic. There is a lot to love here, and I would read as many books in this series as Burke plans to write.
Received a free copy via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Usurpation is set on Earth, where Stevland's offspring live among humans as friendly groves 150 years after the events of Interference. There are cults dedicated to whales and corals (another intelligent alien species discovered on Pax), but no humans have figured out that the rainbow bamboo are super-intelligent and can communicate across the globe thanks to networked chips implanted into their stems.
I really want to come back to this again for a reread in a few years to reassess. The plot is less propulsive than the previous two books, mostly because this version of Earth is such a bummer. Humans have casually embraced extraterrestrial life enough to allow rainbow bamboo to grow everywhere, fippokats to live as pets and wild (fippokats are the absolute best), and even lethal drop bears (!) from yet another planet roam the Earth unchecked. Humans communicate via networked chips and fight each other for all the usual reasons.
It was sometimes difficult to tell where on Earth we were supposed to be, or to really get a good idea of who the major powers were or what they were fighting over. As in previous books, the story is told with multiple point of view characters with different backgrounds who may only connect briefly later on. (There are many fewer time jumps.) It made the conflict much more abstract. Getting back to Stevland's daughter Levanter's point of view was always refreshing.
Introducing alien critters, unchecked, to Earth seems like it should be a bigger problem. Rainbow bamboo live forever, grow to enormous sizes, and can produce custom fruits to alter human behavior. They can even influence the plants around them, as when Levanter tells an oak tree to grow crooked so it won't be harvested for its wood. Why aren't the rainbow bamboo as big a problem as kudzu or spotted lanternflies? (There are a few mentions of Florida dinosaurs, which I wanted to hear more of!) I would have loved to see the conflict between Levanter and her aggressive sisters rather than learning about any of the human groups, which were so much less interesting.
The book ultimately takes a hopeful view of the human capacity for empathy and reconciliation. The idea of communing was so vivid and poetic. There is a lot to love here, and I would read as many books in this series as Burke plans to write.
Received a free copy via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
December 23, 2024
At the end of the last book Stevland sent its progeny to Earth. This is what happened next on our blue planet… not what I expected, which was more of a story of conquest and low-key alien invasion. If I remember correctly. This is not really a review, just some notes taken down after each chapter. It might become a bit spoilerish, but I kept it vague.
Chapter 1 is set in Nigeria. We meet fippocats and rainbow bamboo from Pax. It made me wonder if I should have reread Semiosis, to refresh my memory. A bit too religious for my taste. But very vivid. 🐈🐈🐈🐈
Chapter 2 takes us to Siberia and another human character. Sheep, wild robots, a brewing war. I like the wild robots. The idea of looking at them as similar to wild animals is intriguing. 🤖🤖🤖🤖
The first two chapters felt like reading short stories.
Chapter 3 finally lets us slip inside of a rainbow bamboo and see parts of the chapter from its POV. A choleric bad person makes an appearance and abusive family. More robots, more conflict in unexpected ways. That potted plant from the first chapter shows up again and also a character from the second chapter—nicely done connections. I am cheerleading for the rainbow bamboo… 🎋🎋🎋🎋🎋
Chapter 4, Spain!? 15 years later, after a great war. Things are different. 🤖🤖🤖🤖
The writing feels deceptively simple.
Chapter 5, France, is several times longer than the previous ones. A novella. The story comes together and moves into an unexpected direction. I did not see that coming. I wonder where Burke will take this next. 🦠🦠🦠🦠
The pacing of the book is pretty slow. I would have loved for this to be something exciting and fast paced, but the story takes its time. I liked it, but I had to make myself pick this up a few times. I could have left it behind and not wondered (much).
Chapter 6, still in France and with a side character stepping forward. Last chapter, plot lines are tied up. And there are possibilities. Nicely done ending, although I was a little underwhelmed.
- CHAPTER 1 Year 2880 CE Port Harcourt, Nigeria, MERCY OMOTOLA
- CHAPTER 2 Year 2880 CE Rassohka, Siberia, AGRAFINA CHERNOVA
- CHAPTER 3 Year 2885 CE Pax Institute, Bayonne, France LEVANTER & DENIS ASAD PIERRE
- CHAPTER 4 Year 2900 CE Alfarres, Iberian Peninsula DOLORES
- CHAPTER 5 Year 2900 CE Pax Institute, Bayonne, France LEVANTER & MERCY OMOTOLA & BRIAN AMP
- CHAPTER 6 Year 2900 CE Bayonne, France ICO, AGRAFINA CHERNOVA
Chapter 1 is set in Nigeria. We meet fippocats and rainbow bamboo from Pax. It made me wonder if I should have reread Semiosis, to refresh my memory. A bit too religious for my taste. But very vivid. 🐈🐈🐈🐈
Chapter 2 takes us to Siberia and another human character. Sheep, wild robots, a brewing war. I like the wild robots. The idea of looking at them as similar to wild animals is intriguing. 🤖🤖🤖🤖
The first two chapters felt like reading short stories.
Chapter 3 finally lets us slip inside of a rainbow bamboo and see parts of the chapter from its POV. A choleric bad person makes an appearance and abusive family. More robots, more conflict in unexpected ways. That potted plant from the first chapter shows up again and also a character from the second chapter—nicely done connections. I am cheerleading for the rainbow bamboo… 🎋🎋🎋🎋🎋
Chapter 4, Spain!? 15 years later, after a great war. Things are different. 🤖🤖🤖🤖
The writing feels deceptively simple.
Chapter 5, France, is several times longer than the previous ones. A novella. The story comes together and moves into an unexpected direction. I did not see that coming. I wonder where Burke will take this next. 🦠🦠🦠🦠
The pacing of the book is pretty slow. I would have loved for this to be something exciting and fast paced, but the story takes its time. I liked it, but I had to make myself pick this up a few times. I could have left it behind and not wondered (much).
Chapter 6, still in France and with a side character stepping forward. Last chapter, plot lines are tied up. And there are possibilities. Nicely done ending, although I was a little underwhelmed.
- CHAPTER 1 Year 2880 CE Port Harcourt, Nigeria, MERCY OMOTOLA
- CHAPTER 2 Year 2880 CE Rassohka, Siberia, AGRAFINA CHERNOVA
- CHAPTER 3 Year 2885 CE Pax Institute, Bayonne, France LEVANTER & DENIS ASAD PIERRE
- CHAPTER 4 Year 2900 CE Alfarres, Iberian Peninsula DOLORES
- CHAPTER 5 Year 2900 CE Pax Institute, Bayonne, France LEVANTER & MERCY OMOTOLA & BRIAN AMP
- CHAPTER 6 Year 2900 CE Bayonne, France ICO, AGRAFINA CHERNOVA
April 25, 2025
I was really looking forward to this book, with the first two books in the series being some of my favorite scifi that I have read in the past few years. Those books are inventive, heartfelt, unique, engaging. Unfortunately, Usurpation is dense, unnecessarily complicated, and frankly, just boring. The previous books took place on a human outpost on another planet, filled with alien life forms, cultural clashes, and a fight for survival. This book, set on earth, features rehashes of tired ideas about human/robot war, predictable political maneuvering, and an old scifi trope standby - fungus. The various POVs did not feel unique from one another, particularly the voice of the sentient bamboo. I don't understand the choice to set the beginning of the story in one era, start a war which completely changes everything the reader just learned about society, and then skip the reader forward to the end of the war, when things have changed again. In the author's first book in the series, Semiosis, she handles generational time-jumps expertly. Not so much here. Around the final twenty percent, there were a few characters that I started to understand and engage with, but it was too little, too late. This book is not badly written, it is just boring and predictable, and from this writer, I really expected more.
April 4, 2025
DNF at 22%
Sue Burke's stylistic affectations have gotten harder for me to bear with every book, and I just can't take it anymore. Semiosis had one of the most unique narrative voices in modern sci-fi; meanwhile, this book feels like it was written with a sixth-grade vocabulary and an extremely rigid sentence structure. I just don't get it. Usually writers get more sophisticated with practice but Burke seems to be getting worse.
Setting aside my frustrations with the prose, there are some cool ideas here. The opening is very strong, and as the book progresses it links back to the preceding novels in interesting ways. Unfortunately all the characters internal monologues are rendered in the same stilted, childlike way, and that brings me back again to the writing style. It really killed things for me this time around, in part because the characters should be incredibly diverse in thought and speech but are depicted in such a monotonous way. I guess I need to reread Semiosis and see if it holds up or if I'm only just now noticing something that's been a problem all along.
Sue Burke's stylistic affectations have gotten harder for me to bear with every book, and I just can't take it anymore. Semiosis had one of the most unique narrative voices in modern sci-fi; meanwhile, this book feels like it was written with a sixth-grade vocabulary and an extremely rigid sentence structure. I just don't get it. Usually writers get more sophisticated with practice but Burke seems to be getting worse.
Setting aside my frustrations with the prose, there are some cool ideas here. The opening is very strong, and as the book progresses it links back to the preceding novels in interesting ways. Unfortunately all the characters internal monologues are rendered in the same stilted, childlike way, and that brings me back again to the writing style. It really killed things for me this time around, in part because the characters should be incredibly diverse in thought and speech but are depicted in such a monotonous way. I guess I need to reread Semiosis and see if it holds up or if I'm only just now noticing something that's been a problem all along.
December 11, 2024
After enjoying the semiosis duology years ago, I was looking forward to this one. However the story took so long to get going that I gave up.
May 3, 2026
Usurpation is the third in a series of books by Sue Burke that feature interactions between humans and rainbow bamboo, which are self-aware, thinking plants. The other two are Semiosis and Interference. Those other two are set on Pax, home planet of the rainbow bamboo. In the first of those books, humans and bamboo come into a relationship with each other.
This third book takes place on Earth. Seeds of the rainbow bamboo have been cultivated on Earth, but on Earth, at the time the book begins, people don’t realize that the bamboo are self-aware, sentient beings. (Not sure why not? Maybe this is explained in the second book, which I haven’t read.) It’s not too much of a spoiler to say that by the end, people are aware and are coming into a relationship similar to the relationship of humans and bamboo on Pax.
As with Semiosis, rather than a linear plot, you have different problems that arise over time, and various characters who interact to solve them, and this process lets all the characters think about what it means to be alive, how to live together (or not!), what the meaning of life is, whether there’s any divine ordering principle, etc. Some of the problems that arise are human-made (e.g., war) and others are just problems that arise as part of life (e.g., novel illnesses).
Starting with the first viewpoint character (Mercy Omotola, part of a lay religious order), who prays, “Please, Lord, these are troubled times, increasingly troubled. Bring peace to our hearts and our nations,” I felt yes, this book was going to address things we’re all feeling. And it does, with plenty of arguments, both among bamboo and among humans, but inching toward something sustaining and sustainable. A bamboo grove in Mississippi thinks joyfully, “With abundance and nourishment, all living things reciprocate. Our humans, oh yes, ours, and our birds and foxes and butterflies, too, and we love them as we love ourselves.” (But meanwhile other bamboos would just as soon see humans exterminate each other.)
Levanter, the viewpoint-character bamboo, champions the position of Stevland, the mother bamboo on distant Pax, who sends this message:
Can enough people and bamboo be persuaded of this?
I was very moved to have a story just up and address this question directly, just tackle it frontally.
I was also really moved by examples of communion between bamboo and humans. Sue Burke’s description of what it’s like for a bamboo to experience how life feels as a human, and then what it’s like for a human to experience life as a bamboo—whoa, loved it. The first bamboo to experience communion says, “Humans are a moving permanence.” Then Levanter tries communion, and experiences this:
It made me think about how all our moments are their own eternities. A moving, changing permanence. Beautiful.
And you get a description of the communion from the human side, too, but I’ll leave that for you to read on your own, if you decide to read the book.
“Where in nature is compassion and love?” a character asks. We know where those things can be, if we work for them. We can make them. We can create the compassion and the love. As Usurpation shows, it’s good work.
This third book takes place on Earth. Seeds of the rainbow bamboo have been cultivated on Earth, but on Earth, at the time the book begins, people don’t realize that the bamboo are self-aware, sentient beings. (Not sure why not? Maybe this is explained in the second book, which I haven’t read.) It’s not too much of a spoiler to say that by the end, people are aware and are coming into a relationship similar to the relationship of humans and bamboo on Pax.
As with Semiosis, rather than a linear plot, you have different problems that arise over time, and various characters who interact to solve them, and this process lets all the characters think about what it means to be alive, how to live together (or not!), what the meaning of life is, whether there’s any divine ordering principle, etc. Some of the problems that arise are human-made (e.g., war) and others are just problems that arise as part of life (e.g., novel illnesses).
Starting with the first viewpoint character (Mercy Omotola, part of a lay religious order), who prays, “Please, Lord, these are troubled times, increasingly troubled. Bring peace to our hearts and our nations,” I felt yes, this book was going to address things we’re all feeling. And it does, with plenty of arguments, both among bamboo and among humans, but inching toward something sustaining and sustainable. A bamboo grove in Mississippi thinks joyfully, “With abundance and nourishment, all living things reciprocate. Our humans, oh yes, ours, and our birds and foxes and butterflies, too, and we love them as we love ourselves.” (But meanwhile other bamboos would just as soon see humans exterminate each other.)
Levanter, the viewpoint-character bamboo, champions the position of Stevland, the mother bamboo on distant Pax, who sends this message:
Here on the planet Pax, we bamboo live among humans and other sentient animals, and they wish us water and sunshine. In turn, we wish them warmth and food. These simple words answer your questions. We are not secret to each other, and mutual compassion commands our common growth. Love and empathy are not luxuries but necessities for survival.
Can enough people and bamboo be persuaded of this?
I was very moved to have a story just up and address this question directly, just tackle it frontally.
I was also really moved by examples of communion between bamboo and humans. Sue Burke’s description of what it’s like for a bamboo to experience how life feels as a human, and then what it’s like for a human to experience life as a bamboo—whoa, loved it. The first bamboo to experience communion says, “Humans are a moving permanence.” Then Levanter tries communion, and experiences this:
I was inside a living, moving cold fire, everything focused, everything intense, everything familiar to the body, all the parts the same forever, all the parts practiced and valuable. Each finger is forever. Yes, moving permanence. Each breath each blink each adjustment to stay standing a forever movement.
It made me think about how all our moments are their own eternities. A moving, changing permanence. Beautiful.
And you get a description of the communion from the human side, too, but I’ll leave that for you to read on your own, if you decide to read the book.
“Where in nature is compassion and love?” a character asks. We know where those things can be, if we work for them. We can make them. We can create the compassion and the love. As Usurpation shows, it’s good work.
May 12, 2025
I should warn everyone that it’s not like the others in series! Well, what would it be like if sentient plants could help guide humans to do the right thing? With the help of wild robots! I do dearly love looking at things from the perspective of plants i.e. you can’t flee problems with movement, you have to deal with them in-situ.
November 3, 2024
There's a lot of what's called 'climate fiction' these days, as we confront the reality of a warming world. However, there are ways of writing directly about what is happening to the Earth – and then there are other ways of encouraging people to think about their relationship with their planet.
Usurpation is the third book in a series about sentient plants from another planet. The plants have been brought to Earth by humans who are not aware they are sentient. What the humans call 'rainbow bamboo' has delicious fruit and provide many beneficial actions for the surrounding plants, so humans see them as a desirable addition to gardens and forests.
We've learned a lot in this century about how plants can communicate with each other, and Burke exercises an old SF technique to ramp this up a notch, making the plants truly sentient and able to interact with humans through an interface.
This volume is set entirely on Earth, unlike the first two books, and deals with how the rainbow bamboo decides to break their silence and announce themselves to the world. A pandemic crisis galvanizes this decision (yes, it's a pandemic book too). The most interesting thing about the book is how the main bamboo, named Levanter, thinks and perceives. Burke has done a commendable job to think through how plants perceive the world, how they communicate with each other, and how they might communicate with humans.
I had some issues with this book that I shared with the first two. The human characters sometimes seem one-note, stand-ins for a political position. Some of the dialogue struck me as stilted, not the way people would really talk. But then, almost 900 years from now, who would know how they talk? Also, the resolution came a little too neatly, I thought, considering the vast differences in the human politics. While I can appreciate the point that if we just 'communed' (their word) with plants a bit more we would be more peaceful, I thought it was too simplistic.
This book is not heavily branded as part of a series and I could see someone starting to read it and wondering what the hell is going on. I recommend starting with the first book, Semiosis.
Usurpation is the third book in a series about sentient plants from another planet. The plants have been brought to Earth by humans who are not aware they are sentient. What the humans call 'rainbow bamboo' has delicious fruit and provide many beneficial actions for the surrounding plants, so humans see them as a desirable addition to gardens and forests.
We've learned a lot in this century about how plants can communicate with each other, and Burke exercises an old SF technique to ramp this up a notch, making the plants truly sentient and able to interact with humans through an interface.
This volume is set entirely on Earth, unlike the first two books, and deals with how the rainbow bamboo decides to break their silence and announce themselves to the world. A pandemic crisis galvanizes this decision (yes, it's a pandemic book too). The most interesting thing about the book is how the main bamboo, named Levanter, thinks and perceives. Burke has done a commendable job to think through how plants perceive the world, how they communicate with each other, and how they might communicate with humans.
I had some issues with this book that I shared with the first two. The human characters sometimes seem one-note, stand-ins for a political position. Some of the dialogue struck me as stilted, not the way people would really talk. But then, almost 900 years from now, who would know how they talk? Also, the resolution came a little too neatly, I thought, considering the vast differences in the human politics. While I can appreciate the point that if we just 'communed' (their word) with plants a bit more we would be more peaceful, I thought it was too simplistic.
This book is not heavily branded as part of a series and I could see someone starting to read it and wondering what the hell is going on. I recommend starting with the first book, Semiosis.
November 18, 2024
You should absolutely read the first book in the series, Semiosis. You should absolutely STOP reading there. I loved the first book of the trilogy- it’s fantastic, thought provoking, fun, captivating. This book is… not. No interesting characters, no compelling plot, just… drudgery. Plot progression with zero tension, lots of events that seem like they should be interesting or evocative… but just aren’t. And it’s all on earth, not Pax :( A total letdown.
But Semiosis: STILL AMAZING. I think her style of like cool observational prose there was great but it needs the character / emotional pieces to make it a good story for me. Here, it was pretty much all the prose and none of the heart.
But Semiosis: STILL AMAZING. I think her style of like cool observational prose there was great but it needs the character / emotional pieces to make it a good story for me. Here, it was pretty much all the prose and none of the heart.
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November 20, 2024Yeah, this didn't do it for me. The first book really grew on me over time. I enjoyed the second book quite a bit. This one just had too many different characters, storylines, and factions without enough deep exploration of those different things. The sections that were from the perspective of the rainbow bamboo were as enjoyable as in the previous books, but I really didn't get into any of the other perspectives. This is especially the case with the robots which were just never sensibly fleshed out yet drove a large amount of the plot.
July 29, 2025
Maybe it was a mistake to read these three books back to back.
This one has interesting ideas in it, but it's very diluted. The theme of bamboo sentience continues in an interesting way, but not that interesting. A bunch of other ideas are also introduced (like intelligent whales) that aren't nearly as interesting. And all of it on the backdrop of some sort of global medical emergency that is solved and zzzzz.... it just didn't grab me.
I really like some aspects of this story and world, but maybe the author has seen it through as far as it can go.
This one has interesting ideas in it, but it's very diluted. The theme of bamboo sentience continues in an interesting way, but not that interesting. A bunch of other ideas are also introduced (like intelligent whales) that aren't nearly as interesting. And all of it on the backdrop of some sort of global medical emergency that is solved and zzzzz.... it just didn't grab me.
I really like some aspects of this story and world, but maybe the author has seen it through as far as it can go.
November 10, 2024
Usurpation by Sue Burke is the 3rd book in her Semiosis book series, this time we follow the seedlings of Stevland from the intelligent Rainbow Bamboo from the planet Pax who have been brought back to Earth by the human Pax settlers, where groves of them grow on Earth now for hundreds of years, growing wise right under the noses of the waring Earthlings, who are completely unaware that the bamboo are sentient intelligent beings.
The new Rainbow Bamboo on Earth struggle getting along with these humans and their destructive, war like tendencies, and they seek council from their "Mother" Stevland back on Pax through established human Earth-Pax communication channels. And when a new threat emerges that threaten both species, the Bamboo must decide whether they want to help and reveal themselves to the humans risking this new danger to themselves as well as the humans themselves.
A solid 3rd book which conveys the possible issues when 1 intelligent species being forced to coexist secretly with another must decide how and when to reveal itself to the native species on the planet when both are threatened by a shared threat. A 4 out of 5 star read, and it would be a shame if this is the last book in this story.
The new Rainbow Bamboo on Earth struggle getting along with these humans and their destructive, war like tendencies, and they seek council from their "Mother" Stevland back on Pax through established human Earth-Pax communication channels. And when a new threat emerges that threaten both species, the Bamboo must decide whether they want to help and reveal themselves to the humans risking this new danger to themselves as well as the humans themselves.
A solid 3rd book which conveys the possible issues when 1 intelligent species being forced to coexist secretly with another must decide how and when to reveal itself to the native species on the planet when both are threatened by a shared threat. A 4 out of 5 star read, and it would be a shame if this is the last book in this story.
November 10, 2024
Usurpation by Sue Burke is the 3rd book in her Semiosis book series, this time we follow the seedlings of Stevland from the intelligent Rainbow Bamboo from the planet Pax who have been brought back to Earth by the human Pax settlers, where groves of them grow on Earth now for hundreds of years, growing wise right under the noses of the waring Earthlings, who are completely unaware that the bamboo are sentient intelligent beings.
The new Rainbow Bamboo on Earth struggle getting along with these humans and their destructive, war like tendencies, and they seek council from their "Mother" Stevland back on Pax through established human Earth-Pax communication channels. And when a new threat emerges that threaten both species, the Bamboo must decide whether they want to help, and reveal themselves to the humans risking this new danger to themselves as well as the humans themselves.
A solid 3rd book which conveys the possible issues when 1 intelligent species being forced to coexist secretly with another must decide how and when to reveal itself to the native species on the planet when both are threatened by a shared threat. A 4 out of 5 star read, and it would be a shame if this is the last book in this story.
The new Rainbow Bamboo on Earth struggle getting along with these humans and their destructive, war like tendencies, and they seek council from their "Mother" Stevland back on Pax through established human Earth-Pax communication channels. And when a new threat emerges that threaten both species, the Bamboo must decide whether they want to help, and reveal themselves to the humans risking this new danger to themselves as well as the humans themselves.
A solid 3rd book which conveys the possible issues when 1 intelligent species being forced to coexist secretly with another must decide how and when to reveal itself to the native species on the planet when both are threatened by a shared threat. A 4 out of 5 star read, and it would be a shame if this is the last book in this story.
April 30, 2025
I miss Pax and Stevland.
October 16, 2025
I wanna go back to Pax.
December 29, 2025
I loved these all so much! I am changed having read this brilliant trilogy
March 27, 2026
I don't think these books can do wrong for me. I keep waiting for this series to start being less good and it never does.
March 25, 2025
Heel anders dan deel 1 en 2, maar nog steeds echt top!!
April 19, 2025
I liked the idea and concept of this and some of the chapters were really interesting but some of it just didn't work for me, which could be on me.
June 1, 2025
Not too bad; but the first two books were exceptionally well done. High expectations not quite met. A good read though if you considered it a stand alone book.
May 4, 2025
fawkkkkkkkk. wow. oh my god.
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