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A Slow Invasion Continues in The Rosewater Insurrection
The alien invasion is well underway before we even notice it in Tade Thompson’s Rosewater trilogy, which continues in The Rosewater Insurrection—the sequel to the British Science Fiction Award-nominated original. By the conclusion of that book, we’d received as clear a history as possible on the alien dome that had suddenly appeared in the middle of a near-future Nigeria, freely offering humanity unlimited energy and miraculous healing. Rather than the miracle seen by many, the Wormwood dome was ultimately revealed to be the latest stage in a very long game by a race of aliens hoping to gradually phase out humanity via assimilation—the slow replacement of our human cells with extraterrestrial microorganisms. Continuing from there, Insurrection sees national politics around the site heating up at the same moment a new development signals a major forward step in the Homian aliens’ plans.
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The focus in the sequel shifts away from Kaaro, the rogue government agent of the first book, to follow a broader ensemble. A housewife, Alyssa Sutcliffe, awakens one morning with no memory of her life or her family; government agent Aminat is charged with capturing Alyssa and/or keeping her safe. Jack Jacques, the city’s mayor, is provoked by Nigeria’s president into declaring independence for the small community. Rosewater happens to be a perfect example of the resource curse, a real-world paradox in which regions abundant in resources often are subject to more violence and more troubled development—typically due to instability brought about by outside forces who want what they don’t have. When Rosewater was just a small community on the borders of the Wormwood entity, no one gave much though to governance and control. Now that it is a thriving city, made rich by the free energy provided by the alien dome, the broader government of Nigeria is much more interested.
Complicating matters is the fact that, while the dome provides power and can heal certain ailments, it’s also the vanguard of a long-gestating alien invasion. Rosewater is preparing to go to war with Nigeria over resources provided by an alien structure that’s slowly working to assimilate humanity—an on-point if slightly convoluted metaphor for the complexity of real-world practical politics. Like many politicians, Jacques is a bit of a cypher: having risen out of a secretive development program for African leaders, his motivations seem neither heroic nor entirely self-interested, and he’s only sporadically troubled by the implications of his bold agenda.
With this impending civil war as a backdrop, Aminat seeks out Alyssa, the first person to have been so imbued with alien microorganisms that she’s no longer even half-human—a development that signals a potentially alarming new phase in the Homian’s plans for Earth. Dodging and engaging with assassins and psychics who can communicate with the alien xenosphere generated by the dome, the two are ultimately caught up in the developing military conflict between Nigeria and Rosewater. Each side hopes Wormwood can offer them an advantage, and believe Alyssa might be a key piece of the alien puzzle.
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Thompson’s greatest innovation with this series is also its most challenging aspect: like the first book, Insurrection is presented in a non-linear style, and via multiple perspectives. It’s not just a gimmick—the jumps back and forth and between allow the characters connected to Rosewater to drive the story, rather than the alien invasion plot. Epic events are always recounted from a very human (or, at least, individual) perspective. That means that, also like the first book, a close reading is rewarded.
With its focus on a troubled government agent with a dark past and a deeply uncertain future, Rosewater seemed strongly influenced by noir. As The Rosewater Insurrection broadens the scope of the story, it takes on elements of political thriller. What hasn’t changed in the impressive worldbuilding: Thompson’s near future, which encompasses Nigeria as a broad political entity; Rosewater as a well-considered ad hoc community with its own rules, culture, and economy; and Homian biotech as a power influencing them both, is grounded in the entirely convincing stories of believable mix of people.
In the struggle over how to handle Wormwood’s short-term but unquestionably appealing rewards, Thompson also paints a vivid picture of a post-colonial Africa facing similar choices—in treating with foreign governments and multi-national corporations, there are big rewards and bigger risks for real world nations and individuals willing to play ball. We’re not meant to find any of these characters, aliens included, particularly evil—but self-preservation is everyone’s main goal, and a conflicting one.
The Rosewater Insurrection is that rare mid-series volume that expands upon the world and ideas of its predecessor, lays the groundwork for the conclusion, and still manages to tell a satisfying story along the way. Rosewater was one of our favorite books of 2018.The sequel more than follows suit.