Usurpation - (Semiosis) by Sue Burke

Book Synopsis

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.

Stevland, 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...

Other Books by Sue Burke
Semiosis
Semiosis
Interference
Usurpation

Immunity Index
Dual Memory

Review Quotes

Praise for the Semiosis series:

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

"Interference is as good as Semiosis, which is no small feat for the sequel of a book whose strength lay in its thought-provoking concepts. Like Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice, Sue Burke elevated a good story with a great idea."--SFRevu

"This is top class SF, intelligent and engaging and I loved every moment of it."--Adrian Tchaikovsky, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Children of Time

"This first-contact tale is extraordinary."--Library Journal, starred review

"Impressive debut novel . . . lush . . . beautiful."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Intelligent, riveting and ultimately uplifting, Semiosis asks big questions and gives satisfying answers."--Emma Newman, author Planetfall

"A fascinating world."--The Verge

"A solid debut."--SFRevu

"A magnetic meditation on biochemistry and humanity."--Locus Online

"Sharp, evocative . . . Semiosis unfolds the old science fiction idea of first contact in ways that are both traditional and subversive."--The Christian Science Monitor

"A clever, fascinating, fun and unique debut."--Kirkus

"Burke's world building is exceptional, and her ability to combine the intricacies of colonization with the science of botany and theories of mutualism and predation is astounding." --Booklist

"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.

"A first contact novel like none you've ever read. . . . The kind of story for which science fiction was invented." --James Patrick Kelly, winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards

"Sue Burke has created one of the most fascinating alien personae science fiction has seen in this decade." -David Nichols, early American historian and author of Engines of Diplomacy

"A gripping story of colonization and biological wonders."--Gregory Frost, author of the Shadowbridge novels

"A fantastic SF debut . . . Semiosis will remain relevant for years to come." --Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, award-winning author of What a Plant Knows and Director of the Manna Center for Plant Biosciences at Tel Aviv University..

About the Author