Rosewater

By: Tade Thompson

Narrated by: Bayo Gbadamosi

Rosewater is the start of an award-winning trilogy set in Nigeria, by one of science fiction's most engaging voices.

*Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, winner
*Nommo Award for Best Speculative Fiction Novel, winner

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.

Tade Thompson's innovative, genre-bending, Afrofuturist series, the Wormwood Trilogy, is perfect for fans of Jeff Vandermeer, N. K. Jemisin, and Ann Leckie.

Praise for Rosewater:

"Smart. Gripping. Fabulous!" —Ann Leckie, award winning-author of Ancillary Justice

"Mesmerising. There are echoes of Neuromancer and Arrival in here, but this astonishing debut is beholden to no one." —M. R. Carey, bestselling author of The Girl with All the Gifts

"A magnificent tour de force, skillfully written and full of original and disturbing ideas." —Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author of Children of Time

The Wormwood Trilogy
Rosewater
Rosewater Insurrection
Rosewater Redemption

Critic reviews

"Mesmerising. There are echoes of Neuromancer and Arrival in here, but this astonishing debut is beholden to no one."—M. R. Carey

"Smart. Gripping. Fabulous!"—Ann Leckie

"Nothing short of brilliant.... A captivating, cerebral work of science fiction that may very well signal a new definitive voice in the genre."—Kirkus

"A magnificent tour de force, skillfully written and full of original and disturbing ideas."—Adrian Tchaikovsky

"Thompson's genius in displacing his tale of successive xenobiological attacks from the West onto the developing world is matched by his breathtakingly smart prose.... Deeply engrossing."—The Seattle Review of Books

"One of the most thoughtful and inventive alien contact tales of recent decades."—Locus

"A sharply satirical, ingenious thriller about an alien invasion that's disturbing familiar. Tade Thompson has built a fascinating world that will suck you in and keep you guessing. This book will eat you alive, and you'll like it."—Annalee Newitz

"Compellingly strange yet accessible... a character-driven, morally grey tale of hope and potential redemption."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Intriguing Afrofuturistic tale [that] features an incredible mashup of alien contact and human-centered power, delivering a stark and gritty story that will keep readers engaged."—Library Journal

"Deeply imagined characters and vibrant, startling imagery... An author to watch."—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog

"A strange and unsettling story of psychics, conspiracy, and alien invasion unlike anything I've read before. Masterfully constructed, brimming with ideas and slowly unfolding mystery, Rosewater hurt my brain in the best of ways."—Fonda Lee

"Crammed with ideas and told in precise, controlled prose, Thompson's debut soars. Set in Nigeria, it tells of a slow, insidious alien invasion from the viewpoint of a flawed protagonist with psychic powers. The plot is a mosaic of mysteries, shot through with neat Afrofuturist flourishes."—Financial Times

"Perfect for fans of William Gibson's Neuromancer, this twisty, captivating page-turner explores the fragility of the mind and how memory constructs identity."—BookPage

"Inventive aliens and realistic-feeling invasion... keen observations of how easily people ignore and accept what should be terrifying... intriguing characters (many of them women) who have lives of their own beyond the pages... fascinating."—Strange Horizons

Unusual and captivating

Strange, gripping story. Fantasy-sci. Beautifully read. This narrator is one of the best. I will listen to the next ones!

I just could not get into it

I am really torn over my reaction to this book. On the minus side I found my mind wandering constantly away from the story. I almost quit, something I rarely do with books. On the plus side it is an intriguing story with a central mysterious presence of an alien dome that kept me with it. I don't normally read Sci-Fi, but the world Thompson creates is interesting with many creative ideas, but the whole just failed to capture my interest. I think it is better read than listened to. There are intersecting story lines from past to present that are hard to keep track of in audio format. I would have gone back many times in a book to figure out what was happening. It also is set in Nigeria so the names are unfamiliar. I have always been interested in names and how they are spelled as both a teacher with many international students and as a genealogy hobbyist so not seeing the names on the page made remembering who is who a challenge at times. At first I was not even sure of the gender of the main character. His name sounds like Carol/Karol but luckily the synopsis let me know it is Kaaro.

A character list and a word list would have helped to keep separate the authors unique creations like a floater a reanimate or a sensitive. I got them all straight eventually.

The reader was excellent. Once I got used to it, I loved listening to his accent.

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

One of the most intelligent and gripping science fiction books I've read in recent times. Excellent plot, great narration. Well worth the time. Looking forward to the sequel.

Smart, near-future sci-fi that'll stick with you

ROSEWATER, by Tade Thompson, is a phenomenal read that you shouldn't hesitate to check out. The story takes place in the donut-shaped boomtown of Rosewater, Nigeria that grew up around a mysterious alien presence - a being that's baffling, hopeful, and terrifying in turn.

Kaaro, the main character, is complex and interesting, and it didn't take long for me to become invested in his story. He's not particularly brave and not always trustworthy, but he grows and changes as the book progresses. The novel takes place back and forth across time, showing us Kaaro's life as he turns into the man who occupies the novel's present timeline. I loved this - flashbacks/forwards can often turn boring. Not so here - Kaaro's life has been plenty interesting up to the present, and I was always excited to learn more.

The novel has aliens, a near-future metropolis, psychics, politics, intrigue, a butterfly person, and tons more.

The narration by Bayo Gbadamosi was excellent. ROSEWATER has stuck with me well beyond the last page/minute. It's a complex, engrossing novel that I think about often, and I won't hesitate to either read it again or continue in the series (who am I kidding - I'm doing both!).

Wow!

Just wow I cannot believe the flow of well thought out context and characters to construct this masterpiece of science fiction. Epic!