234 ratings | 152 reviews | avg rating:4.36

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Sue Burke

Goodreads Author

Born

in Milwaukee, The United States

Website

https://sueburke.site/

Twitter

SueBurkeSpain

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Short Stories

Member Since

February 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/sueburke

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I 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. ...more

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Combine Editions
Sue Burke’s books

Average rating: 3.89 · 22,837 ratings · 3,200 reviews · 56 distinct works • Similar authors

	Semiosis (Semiosis, #1) 3.90 avg rating — 15,566 ratings — published 2018 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Interference (Semiosis, #2) 3.97 avg rating — 4,358 ratings — published 2019 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Usurpation (Semiosis, #3) 3.69 avg rating — 916 ratings — published 2024 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Immunity Index 3.32 avg rating — 619 ratings — published 2021 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dual Memory 3.68 avg rating — 511 ratings — published 2023 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 177, June 2021 by Neil Clarke (Goodreads Author), Nancy Kress (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Robert Reed (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.14 avg rating — 335 ratings — published 2021 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Normalized Death really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2008	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Semiosis Duology it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	West African adire: Dyed and printed textiles 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dutch wax prints: Dyed and printed textiles 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Sue Burke…

869 posts
Sue Burke's Blog

Goodreads review: ‘Ad Infinitum’ by Nicholas Ostler

Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin by Nicholas Ostler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This might be a hard book to appreciate if you don’t understand a little Latin, the way reading a book about the history of algebra might be frustrating if you don’t understand a little algebra. It also might help to know a little about European and world history because this “biography” recounts the development of Lat Read more of this blog post »

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1 like · Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on May 13, 2026 12:29

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Series by Sue Burke

Semiosis (3 books)
by

Sue Burke (Goodreads Author)

3.91 avg rating — 20,839 ratings

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Sue’s Recent Updates

Sue Burke wrote a new blog post Goodreads review: ‘Ad Infinitum’ by Nicholas Ostler Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin by Nicholas OstlerMy rating: 5 of 5 starsThis might be a hard book to appreciate if you don’t understand a little Read more of this blog post »
10 hours, 40 min ago · 1 like · like
Sue Burke rated a book it was amazing Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin by Nicholas Ostler	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This might be a hard book to appreciate if you don’t understand a little Latin, the way reading a book about the history of algebra might be frustrating if you don’t understand a little algebra. It also might help to know a little about European and ...more
23 hours, 43 min ago · 2 likes · like · see review
Sue Burke and 13 other people liked Rose Rosetree's review of What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories: "Laura's choices of women to profile were progressively unappetizing. To me, anyway. She's a talented writer, displaying compasson and sensitivity. And she's a meticulous researcher, clearly. Yet, by the end of her Epilogue (read by the author) I reali" Read more of this review »
May 13, 2026 10:50AM · see review
Sue Burke and 26 other people liked Levi Hobbs's review of East of Eden: "Having already been profoundly moved by Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, I couldn't wait to read this book. I kept it on my shelf for some time, not putting it off, but rather, savoring it, waiting until enough time had passed since the last " Read more of this review »
May 13, 2026 10:47AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — East of Eden by John Steinbeck <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sue Burke entered a giveaway Vervain Hollow by Catriona Silvey (Goodreads Author) 10 copies available, ends on June 09, 2026 Enter to win »
May 12, 2026 05:58AM · like · see giveaway
Sue Burke answered Bonobo's question: Hola Sue, you know I’m a fan of your fiction … I’ve read ALL your SF books and loved every single one of them 🙂 Now I’m curious, of course … do you have a new book in the works currently? And perhaps an idea about its ETA? I wish you … sunshine and rain (of course!), and health and happiness. Cordially, Tom in Germany Hello Tom, Thank you! I very glad to hear you enjoyed my books. As for what's next, I’m most of the way through a very shitty first draft a novel tentatively titled "A Nice Galaxy." No ETA, alas. It tries to deal seriously with the size of the Milky Way See Full Answer
May 10, 2026 05:37PM · 2 likes · like
Sue Burke wants to read A Long and Speaking Silence (The Singing Hills Cycle, #7) by Nghi Vo (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 05, 2026 06:38AM · 1 like · like
Sue Burke rated a book it was amazing The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface by Donald Maass	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I came to writing fiction after years of just-the-facts journalism, so infusing my writing with emotion remains a challenge. That’s why I found this book helpful. In the first chapter, Donald Maass challenges writers to ask themselves: “How can I get ...more
May 01, 2026 12:05PM · 7 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sue Burke and 1 other person liked Nicholas Whyte's review of Fantasy: A Short History: "https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/my-bsfa-votes-part-2-the-longer-stuff/ This was a really fun and informative read, taking the history of fantasy writing from the very beginning to almost the present day. I am very familiar with the historical structur" Read more of this review »
Apr 29, 2026 08:37AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Fantasy by Adam Roberts. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Fantasy by Adam Roberts <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sue Burke is now following Matt's reviews
Apr 29, 2026 08:35AM · like

More of Sue's books…

Quotes by Sue Burke (?)

“I am glad I grew the humor root. I can endure unpleasant situations better.”
― Sue Burke, Semiosis

8 likes

“Equality is not a fact, like the length of days... Equality is an idea, a belief, like beauty.”
― Sue Burke, Semiosis

tags: equality

5 likes

“Each of us needs to be what we are, perhaps even be more of what we are.”
― Sue Burke, Semiosis

4 likes

See all Sue Burke's quotes »

Polls

June Science Fiction -- The following poll decides which two books will go to the final round of polls for June 2018's Science Fiction BOTM.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

12 votes, 17.6%

Semiosis by Sue Burke

10 votes, 14.7%

Revenger by Alastair Reynolds

9 votes, 13.2%

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

9 votes, 13.2%

Nova by Samuel R. Delany

9 votes, 13.2%

Redshirts by John Scalzi

5 votes, 7.4%

The Fireman by Joe Hill

4 votes, 5.9%

Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler

4 votes, 5.9%

Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith

3 votes, 4.4%

The Last Good Man by Linda Nagata

3 votes, 4.4%

68 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
SciFi and Fantasy...: Bill the other does all the challenges. Comments ok.	3	222	Jan 05, 2018 07:55PM
Beyond Reality: Welcome to April 2018!	2	20	Apr 09, 2018 06:18PM
Beyond Reality: Welcome to May 2018!	1	17	May 01, 2018 10:08AM
Beyond Reality: Nominations for June 2018	21	64	May 28, 2018 04:46PM
The Seasonal Read...: Completed Tasks: PLEASE DO NOT DELETE ANY POST IN THIS THREAD	2194	417	May 31, 2018 09:01PM
Beyond Reality: Welcome to June 2018!	1	18	Jun 01, 2018 05:21AM
Beyond Reality: Semiosis -- -- Roll Call and First Impressions NO SPOILERS!	12	29	Jun 16, 2018 07:55AM