Book Review
May. 15th, 2026 08:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariUsurpation
by Sue Burke
This is the final book in the Semiosis trilogy, and takes place a on Earth few centuries after Interference. The bamboo has grown from seeds brought to Earth and has lived through a recently concluded period of war and upheaval. Human society is still recovering, and it is in this context that Levanter, a bamboo based in a research center in Bayonne, France, reveals her intelligence to a small group of humans. When a mysterious fungal disease starts driving umans and bamboo to madness and death, Levanter, her fellow bamboo colonies, and her human associates must work to find a cure. In the process, Levanter leads the bamboo in revealing their true nature to all of humanity. The story concludes with humans and bamboo working towards greater understanding and a deeper relationship.
I really enjoyed this book, and it is a fitting conclusion to the trilogy. I really liked Levanter, as she had a development arc about finding her own voice and confidence after being squished down by her sibling bamboo. I also liked her friendships with the humans at the research center, especially Denis and Brian, as well as her appreciation for Bayonne's mayor. I loved Burke's take on the ways in which we need to be in harmony with the natural world in order to have true peace among ourselves, and the ways in which that is a two-way relationship and must be seen as such.
by Sue Burke
This is the final book in the Semiosis trilogy, and takes place a on Earth few centuries after Interference. The bamboo has grown from seeds brought to Earth and has lived through a recently concluded period of war and upheaval. Human society is still recovering, and it is in this context that Levanter, a bamboo based in a research center in Bayonne, France, reveals her intelligence to a small group of humans. When a mysterious fungal disease starts driving umans and bamboo to madness and death, Levanter, her fellow bamboo colonies, and her human associates must work to find a cure. In the process, Levanter leads the bamboo in revealing their true nature to all of humanity. The story concludes with humans and bamboo working towards greater understanding and a deeper relationship.
I really enjoyed this book, and it is a fitting conclusion to the trilogy. I really liked Levanter, as she had a development arc about finding her own voice and confidence after being squished down by her sibling bamboo. I also liked her friendships with the humans at the research center, especially Denis and Brian, as well as her appreciation for Bayonne's mayor. I loved Burke's take on the ways in which we need to be in harmony with the natural world in order to have true peace among ourselves, and the ways in which that is a two-way relationship and must be seen as such.
