Rosewater (Wormwood Trilogy, #1)

by Tade Thompson

***Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2019***
Winner of the inaugural Nommo Award for Best Novel, Africa's first award for speculative fiction
Shortlisted for the Kitschie Award for Best Novel 2019
John W. Campbell Award finalist for Best Science Fiction Novel

'A magnificent tour de force' Adrian Tchaikovsky

'Smart. Gripping. Fabulous!' Ann Leckie

'Mesmerising' M. R. Carey

'An astonishing book. I wish I'd written it' Lauren Beukes

Rosewater is a town on the edge. A community formed around the edges of a mysterious alien biodome, its residents comprise the hopeful, the hungry and the helpless - people eager for a glimpse inside the dome or a taste of its rumoured healing powers.

Kaaro is a government agent with a criminal past. He has seen inside the biodome, and doesn't care to again - but when something begins killing off others like himself, Kaaro must defy his masters to search for an answer, facing his dark history and coming to a realisation about a horrifying future.

Rosewater is the start of a vibrant and compellingly told trilogy by one of science fiction's most engaging new voices - perfect for fans of N. K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season, Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice and Jeff Vandermeer's Southern Reach trilogy.

• ISBN10: 0316449032
• ISBN13: 9780316449038
• Publish Date: 5 December 2017 (first published 15 November 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[littleread1]

This is one of those sci-fis that hurt my brain meats. A lot of time jumping between the present and the past, but not consistently to the same past event. I had to keep flipping back to see what year things happened.

[inlibrisveritas]

Rosewater is a very complex narrative that centers around a town called Rosewater and a mysterious biodome that has the ability to heal people. It’s inventive, unique, and at times incredibly confusing.

The tale follows Kaarois a man who reluctantly works for the government because he is one of the few known as a Sensitive, which means he can reach into people’s minds for thoughts, memories, and occasionally hijack their senses. He also has the ability to escape into a mental landscape called the Xenosphere, where you have avatars and some incredibly strange things can happen. On top of the weirdness that is the extreme empath, there is also the matter of the alien biodome which is reanimating the dead and still remains a mystery despite an entire town being built around it. Kaarois is charged with finding out more about this dome and the secrets it holds. The story is told in three different timelines: present, then, and interludes. While it might be easier to keep up within the print format, it was absolutely baffling in audio. I had to go back and listen to the beginning of the chapters if I happened to miss them just so I could tell what the hell was going on. I initially found this incredibly frustrating, but eventually, I just resigned myself to confusion and went with it, in part because I was tired of having to rewind but also because figuring out the beginning of the chapter rarely helped me riddle out the rest of it. A lot of the book is a giant question mark and you end up with a ton of questions you need answered and that doesn’t happen until the last third of the book. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but depending on your patience for mysteries it may be a bit much. I’ve heard that it reads similar to Vandemeer’s Annihilation series, so if you’ve read and enjoyed that then this one might work well for you too.

I did enjoy a lot of the ideas and characters in this one. Kaarois isn’t a hugely likable character, he’s incredibly self-centered and sexist, both of which are made tolerable by people calling him out on it. He’s also not very forthcoming with any sort of information about his past, so all of these different elements flow into one very slowly. But I did enjoy the two female characters he interacts with Aminat and one other, whom I’m not sure how to spell her name. They are strong in their own ways and really shine, but being in Kaarois point of view really hampered some of the enjoyment. He fixates on their bodies and he’s more than a little oversexed. I want to know more about them outside of his lense, and I think the upcoming sequel might help there.

The setting of Nigeria was also fantastic and part of the reason I decided to listen to this in the first place. I think Thompson did a wonderful job really setting up this version of the world, and the city of Rosewater really has this sort of intriguing uneasiness about it.

The narrator, Bayo Gbadamosi, does an excellent job with his storytelling. He is a good fit for the complex work, and I’m so thankful that they went with him instead of something with a more flat delivery. He brings life to the book and really helped my mind focus a bit more on the difficult to follow plotline.

Overall I would say I liked it, but it didn’t blow me away. It was definitely on the weirder side and I loved the twists at the end, but an unlikeable point of view mixed with a very confusing narrative kind of made this one run a bit lukewarm for me. This is a case of it being a book that just didn’t mesh well with me, so if you like kind of quirky sci-fi that has messy characters then definitely check this out! I’m thinking of checking out the sequel when it drops next year because of its focus on a different character.

[layawaydragon]

First sentence: I ’m at the Integrity Bank job for forty minutes before the anxieties kick in.

Rosewater follows Kaaro as he investigates why sensitives, people with paranormal abilities, are dying now with intermissions from his past. He knows far more than most people, but he doesn’t spill his secrets quickly. We must move along and figure it out with him as he discovers he understood and grapples with the naked truth.

Kaaro is an odd duck. We meet him working in a bank protecting it with his abilities against attacks. He’s chilling with his co-worker Bola, who insists on setting him up on a date. Which leads to the first quote I love, about match making.

It’s immediately engaging with all the world building and tidbits Kaaro drops carefully placed to keep you moving and guessing. He’s the guide through Rosewater, a lost local while we’re the intruders upon the future. This isn’t a book where you become the protagonist and feel them like a second skin. Here, it’s immersive because the familiar and the different are balanced perfectly with a plot that alternates between “WTF?” and “OMFG”in the best way.

Kaaro’s voice is hard to describe. The descriptions are sparse and Spartan, the emotions come through his dialogue but he shuts down feeling them quickly. At least, at his current age. There’s a robotic quality to it, but there’s still a personality, like he’s detached for a reason.

And a reason for everything. This is the kind of book you’ll want to re-read as you can’t catch it all the first time. And even then, there’s plenty left to tell in another story.

Rosewater reminds me of Catspaw, Dreamsnake, and Who Fears Death, all fantastic and progressively feminist reads. Kaaro has his flaws, including some relating to women, but he grew from his teenage years and continues the journey in this tale. The cast surrounding him and the most influential players are all women. They’re varied, real, and dynamic.
They aren’t held back for being women and sexism seems absent from Nigeria at this time yet it’s homophobic legacy is still in effect. I like how it’s addressed and not swept under the rug at least but hate that it continues and wish it didn’t. Kaaro has the typical cultural masculinity -- the type of person that has gay friends but still feels uncomfortable. He accepts the way it is and doesn’t challenge the status quo. While the two most notable men besides Kaaro are gay, it’s hardly QUILTBAG friendly.

After finishing Rosewater, I’m extremely appreciative of how there’s no inconsistencies and the skill involved to pull this all off. Tade Thompson is an author to follow and watch. At the very least, every science fiction fan should read Rosewater, especially if you’re a fan of the old school. Everyone else looking for something wholly different and captivating that will not be forgotten should read it as well.

I’d love to gush, but talking about damn near everything in Rosewater beyond basics but that would alter the journey and it’s one hell of a journey. Kaaro’s story comes to a close, but other characters have narratives to tell that’d I love to see if possible. The ending is left open like a barn door. The horses are free and all you can do is still there contemplate what it all means.

Rosewater has all the classic elements of science fiction and I would class it as cyberpunk given its…everything. Except Kaaro is not a revolutionary punk nor a hero. But it deconstructs the typical white science fiction and is bitingly subversive. It’s not like marching in the streets as a metal head, but more disrupting it as a cog in the wheel.

It’s stunning. Not a happy ending, but there’s possibility. It truly makes you think about what it means to human and our humanity, both individual and collective. Okay, that cliché gets said A LOT but I sincerely, utterly mean it for Rosewater. I am immensely grateful I was offered to review this book. Easily one of the best damn things I’ve read all year.

I received an ARC copy for review, the following quotes are subject to change.

I let go of the tenuous control I had and scream into the void. Without lungs you can scream forever, and I do.

No good thing renders its possessor happy, unless his mind is reconciled to the possibility of loss.”

There is choice, there is action, and any other narrative perpetuates a myth that someone else out there will fix our problems with a magic sword and a blessing from the gods.’

No, Kaaro. Aminat has her own story; she is not a supporting character of yours.’

In her mind I read that any community can be assessed by the way it treats women. Not something I have thought of before.

Actually, none of my ideas are smart,’ I say. ‘At least I’m consistent.’