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 rumored 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 realization about a horrifying future.

A strange alien presence has arrived on Earth and set up residence in the middle of Nigeria. In this special location, a town has grown up over a handful of years. Rosewater is a melting pot of different people and different attitudes. It doesn’t matter if you are seeking religious enlightenment, dabbling in some corporate greed, or a vicious drug dealing thug, Rosewater offers opportunity for all.

Kaaro makes for a compelling protagonist. He is not what you would call a traditional hero, quite the reverse in fact. He is a coward, a thief and is disinterested in just about everything except himself. The problem is that Kaaro is supremely skilled when it comes to finding things. The authorities are quite happy to exploit him and use his abilities to further their own ends.

The other character that stands out is Kaaro’s boss, Femi. They constantly snipe at one another, there is a subtle running joke that Kaaro only ever calls Femi by her first name, though she constantly corrects him. That said, you can sense there is a grudging respect there. Femi is privy to far more secrets than Kaaro and you get the distinct impression she is highly skilled at playing the political game. I liked the dynamic between these two. Watching two strong personalities interact is endlessly fascinating. The book covers multiple time periods in Kaaro’s life, more on that in a minute, and we get to see the evolution of the relationship between them both.

Woven within the strands of the mesmerising, Thompson also manages to find the opportunity to explore different aspects of the human condition. There is social commentary on everything from politics to sexuality. Nigeria in 2066 is a place where tradition and new ideas battle against one another on a daily basis. Technology finds itself at odds with mythology and superstition. This juxtaposition adds an extra layer of context to the story and helps to flesh out Kaaro’ motivations and reactions. I don’t think I was expecting something quite so insightful when I started reading.

I think one of the things I liked most about Rosewater is how the narrative follows Kaaro’s personal timeline. Rather than being entirely linear, different chapters move forward and back through key moments in his life. This approach allows the writer to deftly dance around some of the bigger questions that are asked. Is the alien presence malignant or benign? Where does humanity fit in the universe now that we know we are no longer alone? What is happening elsewhere in the world? We get some but not all of these questions answered. The way these answers are delivered ensures that I’ll most definitely be back for more. I need to know what happens next.

When it comes to science fiction I enjoy anything that is set in the near future. I think it’s because I find it easier to make some connection with it. In Rosewater we’re reading about events that are taking place only fifty years from now. There is enough familiarity that the setting is easy to accept as real. The writing also has a genuinely evocative air. The sights and sounds of Nigeria feel vibrant and alive. I’ll admit my exposure to Afrofuturism is, if I’m entirely honest, somewhat lacking, but Rosewater is such a stellar debut I intend to rectify this oversight as soon as I possibly can. Thompson’s confident prose ensures you’ll hang on every word. I loved the characters, loved the setting and was in awe of the premise. I suspect this novel is going to feature somewhere on my annual review of 2018 when I finally write it.

Tade Thompson is on Twitter so I thought I’d be cheeky and ask him what music inspired Rosewater. He very kindly came back to me with the following playlist.

1. Dead Presidents Theme – Danny Elfman

2. I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Marvin Gaye

3. Roses & Revolvers – Janko Nilovic

4. Nobody Speak – DJ Shadow

5. On The Rooftops – Ennio Morricone

6. Top Rankin – Bob Marley

7. One Blood – Junior Reid

In addition to those most excellent choices, I’ll add my own. I listened to Juju Music by King Sunny Adé while reading the novel and it felt like a perfect fit.

Rosewater is published by Orbit and is available now. I highly recommend checking it out. Book two in The Wormwood Trilogy, The Rosewater Insurrection, is set to follow. I cannot wait to read it.

Rosewater is a city which has grown around an alien biome in Nigeria. Once a year, a part of the dome opens and heals all those in the vicinity, regardless of their illness. The biome also appears to have triggered strange abilities in many people - one of whom is Kaaro. He has become a 'Finder' and via the xenosphere he is able to find things. If someone knows where an object or a person once was, he can find this object or person if they are later lost. The xenosphere is like the 'astral plane' (not that I've been!), and those who are like Kaaro also use this xenosphere to find out information.
Kaaro works for S45 - not willingly though. In the past, he had used his abilities to steal from people, and he is almost blackmailed in to working for the government. He doesn't make it easy for them. He does what they want on his own terms, it seems.
I really liked this. I liked the world building, the science behind it all, the characters (Femi is one of my favourites - she is a woman who takes no nonsense!). I think it's a good start to a trilogy - I'm very interested to see where this goes!

Incredibly addictive fiction. Really enjoyed the start to this trilogy and can't wait to see where it goes next. Incredibly original and a breath of fresh air for contemporary sci-fi.

I loved the unique and rich setting of the world. I read a lot of sci fi books but I haven’t read anything like Rosewater before. The protagonist Kaaro is unlikeable in a likeable way, mainly because everyone else in the story is meaner than he is. The novel covers a series of engaging mysteries with the powerfully gifted Kaaro as the main link between them. My only real criticism is that there are too many repeated time shifts, it is impossible to keep track of what is unfolding in each of the different years. I will definitely be recommending it though.

This was such a strange tale- not something I would usually go for- sci fi, fantasy and thriller all rolled into one- it actually really worked. Rose water is a community right at the edge of a mysterious alien biodome- some are desperate to get inside for their own various reasons. Kaaro however has been inside but never wants to go in again, yet he now has to fight for his survival after other people like him start being killed off. A tense thriller.

Rosewater is a first contact story, an alien encounter story, of sorts, but it takes a while to get there, dipping in and out of the main character’s history as it does. Tade Thompson takes his time, but he makes the journey worthwhile so the pay off sticks hard.
Kaaro lives in the town of Rosewater, a donut shaped metropolis, only a few years from being a shanty town, that has grown up surrounding a giant alien dome. The dome was not the first arrival of aliens, but appears to be the most permanent. The first contact occurred back in 2012 in London and brought with it a seeding of the atmosphere with a fungus that has led to a range of powers in certain individuals. No one goes in or out of the dome but once a year the dome opens and those bathed in its light are healed or, if dead, brought back to some form of zombie-like half life
While this is one effect of the dome it is not a focus of the narrative. Rather its focus is on Kaaro and his ability to enter what is known as the xenosphere, a shared mental space which he is able to manipulate. But there are dangers in the xenosphere. Powerful beings stalk this mental world with the ability to manipulate its environment. But now those who have this particular ability are dying.
Due to his ability to read people’s thoughts and find what is lost, Kaaro has been drafted into the security services. Many of the flashbacks and interludes in the book are tales of his exploits in the past, infiltrating gangs and running interrogations. In the present, Kaaro is desperately trying to find out why others like him are dying before he too becomes a victim.
Rosewater, Thompson’s debut novel, is a startlingly original take on alien invasion. It is a situation in which the aliens are indescribable but their impact on humanity is profound. The deeply explored future-African milieu provides a fascinating backdrop. Kaaro is a flawed but relatable guide to this world and his deep connection to the heart of the mysteries surrounding it emerge slowly from the mosaic of events that Thompson presents. This is the first of a projected trilogy and given the conclusion there it is exciting to contemplate where this series might go next.

I feel as if so many of my reviews start off this way, but: I can’t believe I’ve been sleeping on Tade Thompson so long! (And isn’t that one of the great things about reviewing—discovering new authors you might not have picked up otherwise?) I went into Rosewater without reading too much about the content and I’m glad I let the novel surprise me.

The novel is set in the mid-21st century after the emergence in Nigeria of a massive extraterrestrial presence known as Wormwood. Over the course of three decades we follow Kaaro, a Nigerian Yoruba man and a ‘sensitive’, one of a small minority of humans able to read minds and emotions since First Contact. And in so doing we also follow the growth of Rosewater, the city that grows up around Wormwood’s huge biodome.

There is so much depth to Thompson’s world, I can’t seem to get my head out of it even after finishing the novel. Everything from the events of the 21st century since 2018 to the scrappy, fast-growing city of Rosewater feels absolutely authentic.

(I especially appreciated the shade thrown at western society, particularly the UK, in our failure to deal well with First Contact—and our shamelessness in marketing our ‘expertise’ to Nigeria because of that experience. It chimed brilliantly with what looks like the shape of the future of western nations (particularly the bankrupt UK) trying to pivot towards selling consultancy to dynamic new economies in countries we’d previously colonised.)

And fuck, man, this book is visceral. Thompson doesn’t pull his punches—there’s torture and murder, shit and piss and gore. There’s zombies and gangsters and a brutal secret service. And Kaaro, no matter how he tries to lead a quiet life—and, self-interested as he is, he really tries—because of his particular skillset and history, can’t help getting sucked into the middle of it all.

Thompson calls the novel a ‘gentle cellular apocalypse’. As alien apocalypse stories go, I found Rosewater a very original take. There’s a genuinely cosmic horror vibe to this book—the alien manifestation is thoroughly unhumanlike, and their effects on earth range from just about okay to genuinely horrific. The best of them, the effect of human sensitivity to others’ emotions and thoughts, is an angle on telepathy that I’ve not seen before.

All in all, Rosewater is an utterly original apocalypse novel, and it feels like it’s going to be relevant for years to come. I’m already looking forward to the second book in the trilogy.

Addictive reading, intelligent writing! Sci fi is one thing, but plausible sci-fi has so much more impact. Kaaro appears to be telepathic in a world where America has cut itself off and Nigeria is a sophisticated and developed nation. There is an alien dome in the middle of his city that is impenetrable and has he ability to heal.

There are so many layers and twists to the story, as it traces back and forward in time, with many varied characters. This should be confusing but actually it works. There are rational, if not unbelievable explanations, to the many strange occurrences that are brilliant in concept.The book completely captivates and entertains, while making you think about the scary possibilities. A really creative, intelligent angle of an alien invasion.!

I'd seen a lot about this book before I picked up a copy, but somehow had gathered almost nothing about the actual plot; just that the book was good, and I should read it. I was excited to pick it up, but found it to be quite an unexpected reading experience.

The story is told entirely from the perspective of Kaaro, the main character. The main storyline takes place in 2066, but there are interludes which go back into Kaaro’s past and give us more of his story. I liked the way this was laid out, though I would recommend that anyone reading it try only to stop at chapter breaks (unlike me, with my commute reading which means I pretty much just stop when I get to my stop), as I sometimes found that when I picked the book back up, I’d lost track of where I was. It makes the gradual development of the plot incredibly satisfying, when things start to come together and you can see how past events have influenced the main storyline.

The concept is brilliant, with the alien biodome that's got its own little town grown up around it. Kaaro’s backstory fleshes out how Rosewater developed, whilst in the main storyline, his life becomes more and more intertwined with the biodome's creators, and we start to understand more about their plans and powers. There’s a great mixture of technology and (xeno)biology which I found very creepy but also intriguing to read about. And being set in Nigeria brings a very different approach towards and perspective on things, compared to your standard ‘aliens invade New York/LA/London’ story.

I had one fairly major issue with the book, which was the character of Kaaro. He’s sexist and misogynist throughout, and I found that difficult to read. This is called out in the book, both explicitly by other characters, and by some of Kaaro’s own commentary, but as the story is from his perspective, it necessarily colours the way all other characters are seen. I think Thompson did a great job of showing the insidious nature of this kind of viewpoint, and I appreciated it being called out, as when unpleasant viewpoints are portrayed, it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate what is character and what is actually authorial opinion. By explicitly describing Kaaro as sexist, it’s made clear that this is the character and that the author has specifically chosen to write him that way.

Kaaro’s sexism also undermines his power, as the main female characters are often far stronger and more powerful than he gives them credit for. I found it quite satisfying each time one of these women revealed the true extent of their knowledge and abilities to Kaaro, and how surprised he was by this every time. I also liked that his attempts to be the ‘hero’ in their lives often didn’t turn out how he’d expected. However, even with his sexism being clearly portrayed as a negative of his character, I found the book difficult to read. The casual sexism, the frequent references to sex or Kaaro’s thoughts about his penis, the homophobia of the society; all these things meant that, for me, this was not an enjoyable read.

Overall, I think Rosewater is an impressive, immersive novel. I was right alongside Kaaro all the way through the book, and I thought both the premise and the way the book followed through on that were very well done. However, I personally didn’t find it a particularly enjoyable read, largely because of the character of Kaaro. I would definitely recommend this book, but with the caveat that, if you’re like me, the sexism and misogyny of both the main character and the society in which he lives might be difficult to deal with.

An excellent read - well structured, well-paced and provoking curiosity whilst teasing the backstory. Heartily recommended

I am really unsure about my feelings for this one, except for this: it is pretty damn cool. And I cannot wait to see where Tade Thompson takes this story next.

Rosewater is a town in future Nigeria, built around an alien biodome which opens once a year to heal everybody in the vicinity of the opening. Since the aliens have landed, some people have started developing powers. One of those superpowered individuals, and possibly the strongest, is Kaaro, the main character of this brilliant novel. We follow Kaaro’s story, unchronologically and confusingly. I actually had to start the book over because I tend to not read chapter headings and had not realized that the book is set in different timelines.

Tade Thompson does not make it easy for the reader to follow the story – every timeline is told in present tense, even when Kaaro remembers doing something. There is a in-story reason for this stylistic choice (my favourite kind of stylistic choices are informed by the narrative, so I adored this) but this doesn’t make it any less confusing. The reader is along for the ride and either figures stuff out on their own or they don’t. For me, that worked really well – I like when authors trust their audience this way. And while I am still not completely certain to have grasped everything, what I understood of the story was quite brilliant.

I really liked how the framing of the story from Kaaro’s perspective colours the book – especially because he is not a particularly great person which only becomes obvious after a while. He does not feel the need to be a good person or to save the world or to do anything really, and as such he makes for a very interesting protagonist. The way other characters react to him shows more of his personality than his own narration – which I just found so cool.

So yes, I thought that this was a lot of work but I found it very rewarding in the end. I enjoy Science Fiction that feels different and books told in interesting perspectives, so this was always going to work for me.

Rosewater is a near future SF novel (set around 40 years from now) with the action taking place in Nigeria, partly in Lagos but mostly in the new city of Rosewater (named ironically, from its initial lack of sanitation). This is a near future where aliens have landed, though humanity struggled to understand them, or to disentangle the aliens themselves from their ships/ habitats. Rosewater grew up surrounding an alien "biodome" (hence, it is doughnut shaped, making travel awkward) for reasons that Thompson only slowly reveals.

Thompson has created a genuinely new and disturbing concept of "alienness" in this book, which he has fun sharing only gradually and which really challenges the classic "little green beings in spaceships" concept. As this nature is closely bound with what is really going on, it needs to be kept under wraps until very late in the book. A great deal of the early story is driven by a more thriller-y style plot, focussed on Kaaro, one of a special paramilitary team called "Section 45") of Government agents recruited because the presence of the alien has endowed them with superhuman abilities.

There is plenty of mystery in that, together with Kaaro's special gifts, to keep the story humming along. Kaaro is able to read others' thoughts via the "xenosphere", a kind of field generated by the alien presence, and as part of S45, this ability is employed interrogating suspects or defending against hackers using the xenosphere to attack banks or collect sensitive information. Before joining S45, Kaaro used his talent for more dubious ends so he's very much poacher turned gamekeeper.

Dotting backwards and forwards between the present day (2066) and several earlier timelines, the book shows how the current situation - the alien Biodome dominating Rosewater, providing free power, granting annual healings to those in the vicinity, but also, awkwardly, reanimating the dead - - arose, but also Kaaro's personal journey to S45, what he has done and what he has suffered - and who he has betrayed. We see Kaaro's current caseload, his reservations about his job, and the messy internal politics of S45. And a threat to the unit...

We also see Kaaro's developing relationship with the mysterious Aminat, perhaps with some concern (he's not the most reliable of chaps...) and a particular, special connection to the Dome (implying Kaaro also knows more than he's letting on).

It took me a little while to get used to the switching between timelines, as there is a lot of action going on everywhen. Inevitably at any given time a couple of the threads are left hanging, often on a cliffhanger. This is very much a book to be read through without distractions or delays as it does, piece by piece, build to a kind of holographic unity where the parallel strands reinforce one another. Superbly paced, they do come together and this is a compulsive story, always driving forward, written with a very distinctive narrative voice and with a great sense of place.

In particular, Thompson is able to draw analogies between Nigeria's past, colonised by Britain, and the situation it potentially faces now with regard to the nameless aliens. Indeed, Kaaro notes in a couple of places that this gives an advantage compared with, for example, the US, whose response to the incursion seems to have been to go dark completely, or Britain itself (don't ask).

Kaaro himself is an engaging protagonist, well rounded and sympathetic to a degree although you really shouldn't trust him. The supporting characters are also well portrayed, especially his boss Femi (who I wanted to hear much more about) although I found his attitude to her a bit crass at times. (That's Kaaro...)

The story leaves a number of key threads unresolved (the power struggle in S45 itself, the eventual outcome of the encounter with the aliens, the fate of Aminat's brother who is an intriguing wildcard in this story, and indeed, what becomes of the relationship between Kaaro and Amina) - enough of these to encourage me to hope for more from this world, but even if that doesn't happen it's still left a vivid impression of two distinct cultures working in each other to ends that, perhaps, both sides are unable to foresee (even the super advanced aliens).

Strongly recommended.

This is a dark science fiction novel set in the near future about an alien invasion and how the town of Rosewater has built up around an alien biodome.
Rosewater is an evolving story jumping back over a period of ten years to tell the story of the town and Kaaro, an unsympathetic protagonist who uses his ‘psychic gift’ to steal from people before being recruited by the secretive government agency S45.
As all other psychics are dying one by one, Kaaro pursues an investigation into the possible cause whilst juggling his work for S45 and his own personal life.
This is a gritty sci-fi novel which sometimes seems to struggle with the time jumps to convey the story of the alien invasion which is a slow creeping takeover rather than an immediate one.
I would definitely recommend picking this up just for the uniqueness of Tade Thompson’s story as well as being set in Africa makes it fresh within the genre.

The world building, and complex storyline was fascinating. I really enjoyed reading something a little bit different, and the writing style really allowed you to get lost in this world.

Inventive sci-fi with a human heart. As part one of a trilogy, this sets up various plot strands as well as introducing characters through time-flipping between past and present, but don't expect an ending, just a stopping point before part 2.

For all the inventiveness, the shape overall follows that of so many trilogies: with our protagonist having worked out who and what he is, part 2 has already been flagged as the 'rebellion/insurrection' volume as humans fight back against their fate as mapped out by the aliens.

A bold vision combined with local mysteries keep the pages turning.

[this review will be up on my blog, acquadimore.wordpress.com, on 09/22/2018]

Rosewater is a science fiction novel set in Rosewater, Nigeria, a city that grew around a mysterious dome of alien origins. Once a year, this dome opens and many people get healed, but it never lets anyone enter. Kaaro, the main character, is the only exception.
Kaaro is a sensitive, which means he can listen to people's thoughts, and find things whose location he isn't supposed to know.

I liked this setup, but I almost arrived to the 30% mark not understanding what was going on. I have no idea where this is going, and I still don't get how the flashbacks - the many flashbacks that show Kaaro and his criminal past - are supposed to fit in the story. I don't get it, and I have no motivation to continue, as the writing isn't working for me and the main character isn't my favorite.

I didn't like reading in Kaaro's PoV. As I said, I still have no idea what the plot is supposed to be, but I have already read two sex scenes (with two different women, one of them an alien who appeared just to have sex with Kaaro) and I know more about various female characters' breasts that I do about the book. I know Kaaro is supposed to be a flawed, unlikely hero, but to me he only read as annoying.

There are some aspects of this book I found really intriguing - mostly, the fact that every supernatural-looking thing is happening because of alien fungus (that is an awesome concept) and also how criminal sensitives use their abilities to scam people - but they weren't enough for me to continue.

I do love weird speculative fiction and there was so much to love here. The Nigerian future setting, the blend of mythology, alien DNA and what is essentially a double-agent thriller type story. This all I really loved. But I did not really get to care for Karo our main character, normally I don’t mind non-linear stories, but the frequent time jumps kept me at a distance from the story. Still, glad I read it, certainly inventive and different.

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.

This a first contact novel of real imagination. not only are you transported to the dystopian world of Nigeria many years in the future but if that were not weird enough the story line traces the totally unpredictable behaviour of a newly arrived alien presence. Add to this the fact that the characters are beautifully written, the sex novel, the plots and turns of the story unpredictable and you have an enthralling read.

Besides enjoying the brilliant writing and nail-biting action, I found that several aspects of this book differentiate it from other works of science fiction. The setting in Nigeria and the way the author masterfully integrates aspects of Nigerian society into the narrative made this a fascinating read for me. Moreover, the author doesn't get side tracked with excessive references to new technologies. The focus is always on the main character and the choices facing him. In some ways, I found this book to be an analog to The Knife of Never Letting Go but for a more mature audience. I will eagerly await upcoming books in the Rosewater series!