Rosewater

I’m a little bit of a sci-fi nerd, arguably, and Rosewater is definitely the best and most interesting new sci-fi novel I’ve read in recent memory. It’s the first book of The Wormwood Trilogy, written by Tade Thompson. It’s set in Nigeria in the future, and stars a complex and complicated main character, Kaaro. The story feels like it’s set in a very complete universe, one that is often times confusing, in the best possible way. I’m quite sensitive to sci-fi books that dumb things down too much, and spoon-feed you information awkwardly, such as when the main character thinks to themselves in ways that don’t feel authentic, all in order to help build the setting. That feels lazy and patronizing. They often do the same thing in sci-fi and action movies too. For example, a character in a book set today wouldn’t think to themselves how a bus works – we can all take it for granted that every reader knows what a bus is, and how riding one generally works. And in that way, I found Rosewater to be pleasantly challenging. I had to reread some sections to try and understand them properly, and it’s been a long time since I’ve read a novel that has challenged me in this way. Finally, I really like the cover design which further cements my personal opinion that you can indeed judge a book by its cover.