There’s wild invention and then there is Rosewater, the initial instalment in Tade Thompson’s magnificently-realised trilogy Wormwood. It is 2066, the time of a truly alien invasion, the world in the thrall of a strange entity that has made its unknowable home in rural Nigeria. Its impact prompts spectrum of effect, most acutely felt by the ‘sensitives’ of which the novel’s hero Kaaro is one. Dipping between genres, from biopunk thriller to enthralling futurism, Thompson unspools even the most fantastical of narrative elements with precision and wit.
Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2019
'Mesmerising. There are echoes of Neuromancer and Arrival in here, but this astonishing debut is beholden to no-one' - M. R. Carey, author of The Girl With all the Gifts
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 first in a dazzling new science fiction trilogy. The story continues in The Rosewater Insurrection and concludes in The Rosewater Redemption, published in October 2019 and available to pre-order now.
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
ISBN: 9780356511368
Number of pages: 416
Weight: 289 g
Dimensions: 198 x 128 x 30 mm
Mind-expanding and utterly addictive - Mark Haddon author of THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
Smart. Gripping. Fabulous!
Mesmerising. There are echoes of Neuromancer and Arrival in here, but this astonishing debut is beholden to no-one
Hugely satisfying . . . a darkly beautiful gem
A magnificent tour de force, skilfully written and full of original and disturbing ideas
Hard-edged and utterly compelling
This series is going to be addictive. See you on the other side
An astonishing book. I wish I'd written it
A fiercely weird, breathtaking biopunk tale of alien invasion, Rosewater is ambitious and smart and very, very cool
Perfect for fans of William Gibson's NEUROMANCER, this twisty, captivating page-turner explores the fragility of the mind and how memory constructs identity
In addition to providing a gritty and intricately plotted science fiction mystery, Thompson's opening of the Wormwood Trilogy considers what it means to be human
As strange, vivid and intricate as the alien biosphere at its heart, Rosewater is a fabulous book and Tade Thompson is a writer of enormous heart and talent. Just brilliant
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
You've never been anywhere like Rosewater. And you've never seen an alien invasion like this. Tade Thompson will take you someplace incredible, full of unforgettable characters and deep insight. Rosewater cements his place as one of our our boldest and most exciting new writers
Breathtakingly smart prose
Rosewater asks you uncomfortable questions about what is right, what is wrong, what you'll tolerate, and what is human
A winning combination of science fiction invention, gritty plotting and sly wit - Dr Andrew M. Butler, Chair of Judges of Arthur C. Clarke Awards 2019
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... More
In 2012 an alien lands in London and releases fungal spores. These create "sensitives" people who are able to read the thoughts and feelings of others.
In 2066 a dome appears in Nigeria. A city grows around...
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I had been meaning to pick this up for a while: a very amusing interview with the author in The Guardian (in which he said that Frankenstein was great, but Victor Frankenstein was a big crybaby) persuaded me to... More
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