I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Rosewater Insurrection by Tade Thompson Series: The Wormwood Trilogy #2
Published by Orbit on March 12 2019
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 416
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Strange and addictive, Thompson’s gritty, futuristic story expands on the world he introduced in Rosewater and gives us even more mysteries surrounding the alien life form known as Wormwood.
If you’re looking for a unique take on the first contact/alien invasion story, then look no further than Tade Thompson’s Wormwood Trilogy. The Rosewater Insurrection is the second book in the series and I loved it just as much as Rosewater. This is a series you must read in order, however, so do start with Rosewater before you jump into this book.
The Rosewater Insurrection alternates among several main characters, who at first seem to have little or no connection to each other, but as the story progresses, it turns out they are all connected in very important ways. Alyssa Sutcliff wakes up one morning with no memories of who she is. It appears that she’s married to a man named Mark Sutcliff, and they have a daughter named Pat. But no matter how many family photos she looks at, or how earnestly Mark tells her that they love each other, Alyssa cannot bring any of those memories to the surface.
Aminat and her boss Femi are trying to figure out a chemical way to separate xenoforms from humans—xenoforms being the alien genetic material that has started to bond with human tissue, ever since the alien Wormwood planted itself in Nigeria twelve years earlier. When Femi tells her that a human who is 79% xenoform is walking around Rosewater, she insists that Aminat find her and bring her into the lab for testing.
Jack Jacques is the mayor of Rosewood, but he’s being threatened by another candidate in the upcoming election. His only chance at keeping his title is to make a bold and dangerous political move that could end up killing him.
Anthony is the alien avatar of Wormwood, using a human body to go outside the biodome. When the dome is breached by an outside threat, it’s up to him to find that enemy and stop it.
And Eric works for the secret government organization S45, and has been told by his superiors that in order to redeem himself for past failures, he must find and assassinate the mayor of Rosewater.
At the center of all these characters is the biodome, an alien construct that opens once a year and heals whoever is nearby. But something is attacking the biodome, and the citizens of Rosewater are about to get caught in the crossfire.
Just like Rosewater, this book jumps around a lot, so it takes some time for the story threads to start coming together into a cohesive tale. And there are a lot of characters to sift through and get to know. But hang in there, because eventually all the threads begin to make sense, and about halfway through, the story took off at a fairly fast pace and I had a hard time putting it down. I had all sorts of questions in the beginning. Who is Alyssa? How is she connected to the alien? Why is Eric trying to kill Jack? And what the hell is the creepy, Seymour-like alien plant that’s killing people left and right? There are plenty of mysteries, and it was lots of fun discovering how everything is connected.
In addition to some of my favorite characters who return from the last book—Kaaro and Aminat, for example—we get to meet some new characters. I especially enjoyed Jack’s story, and even more so I loved his loyal assistant, a woman named Lora who surprised me in the best possible way. Thompson adds so many details to his characters’ lives, like the fact that Jack’s wife Hannah works tirelessly to secure rights for the reanimates, the dead who come back to life when the dome opens. This hobby of hers doesn’t sit well with Jack, who thinks it reflects poorly on his political career.
And then there’s my favorite couple, Kaaro and Aminat. Kaaro is almost a background character this time around, as the focus is more on Aminat. But there are plenty of scenes where they interact, and these were some of my favorites in the book. Kaaro is a “sensitive” and can access the xenosphere by leaving his body, where he can communicate with the alien. He is able to “bring” Aminat there as well, where they sometimes go for sexual trysts or to talk secretly. They truly love each other, and even near the end when just about every character is in terrible danger, the strength of their relationship is nearly blinding.
I found all of Thompson’s ideas fascinating and thought-provoking. The idea that an alien life form can take over a planet by simply integrating its DNA with that of humans is actually pretty terrifying! Everyone in Rosewater has at least some of the xenoforms inside them, and some people, like Kaaro, have been irrevocably changed because of this. In this book we get to see that Rosewater isn’t the only place affected by the alien invasion. We also get a wider view of where the alien comes from and ultimately what it wants, but I still had so many unanswered questions at the end of the book. Hopefully Thompson will give us more answers in the final book of the series, The Rosewater Redemption.
Tade Thompson’s series can be a bit challenging to read, but those who take the time to untangle all the delightful threads of this story will be rewarded. For serious SF fans, these books are a must read.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
I don’t know why I still haven’t read the first after such glowing reviews – and now the second is here and is equally as good by the sounds of it. I must read quicker.
Lynn 😀
We all need to read quicker, lol!
I’ve seen some great reviews, including yours, but for some reason, this book just doesn’t resonate with me. So I’ll be skipping it. Glad you enjoyed it though.
It’s challenging for sure. But I’m glad I’m reading the series:-)
“Rosewater” is one of the books I could not manage to fit into my reading queue, and with great regret because I saw it gathered enthusiastic comments: now that I see how the sequel keeps up the “good work” of its predecessor, I feel even sadder about not being able to start the series. But I can always pick it up once it’s complete, there’s that… 😉
Thanks for sharing!
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It will be complete this year, I think the third book is out in October:-) And it would be a fun binge read!
Awesome review! 🙂
I’m defo sold on this series <3
Thanks Norrie!
Ooooh several main characters. I love that! It sounds like a pretty thrilling read so consider me intrigued! 🙂
Yes, lots of main characters, and there are some very exciting moments:-)
This sounds like one I should be tracking down – and I’ll take your advice and read the first one first! Thank you for an excellent, inspiring review, Tammy:)
Thanks Sarah, it really is so well written:-)
So glad you enjoyed this one! I enjoyed the focus on Aminat, and I found Lora to be a really pleasant surprise as well! I think Thompson is really good at creating well-rounded characters. Great review!
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I love his characters, and he’s so good at giving you a sense of who they are with very few words.
How did this series escape my notice. It sounds perfect for me! Thanks for sharing it.
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It’s really good, Laura. Hope you get the chance to read it sometime:-)
I’ve been awaiting your thoughts on this one, Tammy. I picked up the first book in the series on Kindle and had been hoping this one would be a great addition to the series. Fantastic review! And that cover!
These covers are really fantastic, aren’t they?
Yes, definitely a challenge! But I actually found this to be somewhat easier to get into that book 1. Or maybe I’m just used to the weirdness and time jumps by now 😀
I felt like there were more character POVs this time, so I did struggle in the beginning. But obviously I got over it!
This series sounds like a wild ride! Thanks for the head’s up about needing to read the books in order because I could easily see myself jumping straight to this one because it sounds so good, lol.
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…Early Review: SERIOUS MOONLIGHT by Jenn Bennett
Ha ha, yes I think you would be confused:-)
This is another series I’d like to read but my TBR pile is already so huge! Great review, it sounds like a fantastic sequel.
Ha ha right there with you! The TBR just gets bigger and bigger…
I’m glad you liked the second books as well! 😀 I loved Rosewater and I will definitely read the sequel, I might have to re-read the first book though because I don’t remember a lot and I don’t like to pick up sequels if I don’t remember the previous events, it’s just confusing.
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I didn’t remember much either, I had to go back and reread my review of Rosewater, which sort of helped. But I did catch on pretty quickly:-)
I feel like the reviews are more positive for this one than I remember seeing for the first one. It makes me want to jump on board with this series.
I’ve heard a couple of bloggers say they thought this was more accessible, so you could be right. I’m looking forward to the third book too:-)
The first book definitely intrigued me and I’m glad to hear the second is just as good! It does scare me a little that it takes times before it is somewhat cohesive, but if you survived and enjoyed it, I’m sure it’s awesome! Great review, Tammy! 😀
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Hey, it’s good to be challenged every now and then, especially if the reward is worth it:-)
beautiful review…
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Thank you Trisha:-)
omg, I really need to get reading these books! Love your review! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this review! worth reading!
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