Nigeria, 2066. Rosewater is a town built around an alien biodome with healing abilities that humans have come to call Wormwood. Kaaro is a sensitive, able to read thoughts via the xenosphere, which is generated from the alien presence, an ability he has used to steal, track and interrogate for a government agency known as S45. When his colleagues start suffering a mysterious illness, Kaaro fears that someone is trying to wipe out others with his gifts
The timeline of the story goes back and forth to tell the story of Karo, Wormwood, and Rosewater. We constantly shift between the present timeline of 2066 and key events in the past (2055 onward), primarily the arrival of the alien dome.
Despite his many flaws (ahem- apathetic, cold, misogynistic), I found enjoyed reading from Kaaro's perspective, finding out about his ability and complex past. There are also many interesting side characters- from Kaaro's S45 boss Femi to his girlfriend Aminat to the initially mysterious 'bicycle girl'.
The world of Rosewater is strange, vivid and often violent but well-constructed and with a depth that doesn’t compromise the pace of the story. Highly original, yet somehow familiar; Rosewater is a fresh and fascinating novel set in an exuberant, futuristic Nigeria.
I look forward to reading the other books in the Wormwood Trilogy.
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About the author
I’ve never read anything quite like Rosewater.
This is a unique book in many different ways. It’s an almost-fantastical science fiction set in a future Nigeria that features telepaths, reanimated corpses, aliens, and secret government agencies. The story has a non-linear structure, meaning that there is a central storyline set in the present (the year 2066) with snippets from the past sprinkled throughout to provide context.Our main character is Kaaro, a sensitive that works for a government agency. Sensitives are able to enter the “xenosphere”, which is a mysterious alternate space where sensitives can meet each other, manipulate their appearance, and interact with our own reality in the form of reading other peoples’ thoughts (among other things).Kaaro is an interesting, flawed character. He isn’t exactly the nicest person in the world, and he has used his gifts in the past for personal gain—despite knowing that it was to the detriment of others. He is reserved, perhaps a little bit judgmental, and has a remarkable ability to take almost anything in his stride. I didn’t exactly like him, but I was intrigued by him. Tade Thompson does an excellent job of making Kaaro’s past—and the world itself—seem fascinating.Rosewater is a masterclass in worldbuilding. It can be tremendously difficult for authors to communicate the specifics of a high-concept world in an interesting way, and so quite a few authors will resort to long, often-tedious paragraphs of exposition. Thompson neatly sidesteps this issue by raising questions for the readers to ask… and then denying them the answers unless they read on. The desired information is then drip-fed through various flashback chapters which explore Kaaro’s enigmatic past, and complement the story unfolding in the present.This is a novel which drives you forward with questions. Why are the sensitives dying off? What is the biodome? What is inside the biodome? What did Kaaro see inside the biodome, and why does it matter now?This is a very well constructed story, with plot, character, and setting interlinked in the most delightful way. It’s not hard to see why this novel won the first ever Nommo Best Novel award.Rosewater is a brilliant read. It offers an honest and slightly cynical view of how our world would be should things take a turn to the fantastical. I’ve never read a sci-fi book like this, and I doubt I will again.Well… at least not until the sequel.
Top reviews from United Kingdom
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 August 2020
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2018
I’ve never read anything quite like Rosewater.This is a unique book in many different ways. It’s an almost-fantastical science fiction set in a future Nigeria that features telepaths, reanimated corpses, aliens, and secret government agencies. The story has a non-linear structure, meaning that there is a central storyline set in the present (the year 2066) with snippets from the past sprinkled throughout to provide context.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2018
Our main character is Kaaro, a sensitive that works for a government agency. Sensitives are able to enter the “xenosphere”, which is a mysterious alternate space where sensitives can meet each other, manipulate their appearance, and interact with our own reality in the form of reading other peoples’ thoughts (among other things).
Kaaro is an interesting, flawed character. He isn’t exactly the nicest person in the world, and he has used his gifts in the past for personal gain—despite knowing that it was to the detriment of others. He is reserved, perhaps a little bit judgmental, and has a remarkable ability to take almost anything in his stride. I didn’t exactly like him, but I was intrigued by him. Tade Thompson does an excellent job of making Kaaro’s past—and the world itself—seem fascinating.
Rosewater is a masterclass in worldbuilding. It can be tremendously difficult for authors to communicate the specifics of a high-concept world in an interesting way, and so quite a few authors will resort to long, often-tedious paragraphs of exposition. Thompson neatly sidesteps this issue by raising questions for the readers to ask… and then denying them the answers unless they read on. The desired information is then drip-fed through various flashback chapters which explore Kaaro’s enigmatic past, and complement the story unfolding in the present.
This is a novel which drives you forward with questions. Why are the sensitives dying off? What is the biodome? What is inside the biodome? What did Kaaro see inside the biodome, and why does it matter now?
This is a very well constructed story, with plot, character, and setting interlinked in the most delightful way. It’s not hard to see why this novel won the first ever Nommo Best Novel award.
Rosewater is a brilliant read. It offers an honest and slightly cynical view of how our world would be should things take a turn to the fantastical. I’ve never read a sci-fi book like this, and I doubt I will again.
Well… at least not until the sequel.
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 August 2024
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 January 2023
Top reviews from other countries
- KimberlyMReviewed in the United States on 4 March 2024
Uniquely bizarre and captivating
- Mark WallmanReviewed in Australia on 18 October 2022
Want something which mixes sci fi with mysticism / magic? This novel does it brilliantly.
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