Book Review: Rosewater by Tade Thompson

Published: February 23, 2017
Publisher: Orbit
Received: purchased
Read from December 4, 2021 to May 5, 2022

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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

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.

Review:

This is the last of the Life's Library books that I have left to review, since Life's Library has sadly ended. However, this wasn't the last Life's Library pick. It just took me months to read it.

It didn't take me that long to read the book because I disliked it, but I did find the book quite dense. Every chapter gave a lot to think about, which led me to read the book particularly slowly. The world of the book is a very interesting one but also one that was constantly raising questions. I never felt like I quite knew what was going on, which also meant I didn't feel like I could fly through it.

My least favorite part of the book was definitely the main character Kaaro. His view of women is an extremely stereotypical take on all the worst "men write women" tropes, which got very tiring very fast. It sucked because I was very intrigued by the actual universe of the book itself and wanted to learn more about it and the other characters. I just wish I hadn't been learning about it through Kaaro.

Rosewater is the first in a series, and I'm interested enough in the world that I probably will continue to read it. That being said, it's not a huge priority. I've heard that the other books are told in the point of view of various characters, not just Kaaro, so that also makes me more interested in reading them. We'll see when I get around to it.