Tade Thompson

While I have read many superhero novels (both graphic and otherwise), I've recently realized that I've mostly stayed within the UK/American spaces, with occasional forays into Japanese superhero spaces. This book is a good introduction to African superheroes. Tade Thompson, one of the authors, admits in his prologue that this book suffers the sorts of problems one might expect from a younger author (and I agree, but let's not belabor the point). It certainly could use a pass-through by a professional editor, but I concede Thompson's wish to avoid that as his co-author Nick Wood is no longer with us to collaborate on changes to his part of the book. Considering that my knowledge of 20th century African history is spotty at best (blame it on the USA's education system), I can't speak much to the more recent history discussed in the book. I do wish the authors had gone into more ancient history as their characters have been around for the entirety of (and a little more than) human history. But most readers probably didn't grow up devouring stories of ancient history from any culture they could find (guilty!) Otherwise, I very much enjoyed this and am absolutely going to be correcting my lack of experience with African writers and stories -- including superheroes.… (more)

[b:Far from the Light of Heaven|57007657|Far from the Light of Heaven|Tade Thompson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1621781827l/57007657._SY75_.jpg|89199128] is a maelstrom of a novel that accelerates with incredible speed into a survival thriller. It is set aboard a colony spaceship named Ragtime, where the first mate awakes to find things have gone horribly wrong. From then on there is never a moment of calm, as danger after danger rears its head. One of the small group who end up aboard thinks he is in a murder mystery, but has very little time or energy to actually investigate. Given the fast pace of the narrative, I was hooked swiftly and found the book very difficult to put down. Thompson throws in plenty of fascinating world-building and intriguing character details, but there is little time to dwell upon them. In 350 pages the reader hardly has time to breathe, let alone the cast.

I was amused that two of the cover quotes call the book space opera, while in the afterword Thompson specifically says that it isn't. I'm inclined to take him at his word, although I would consider [b:Far from the Light of Heaven|57007657|Far from the Light of Heaven|Tade Thompson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1621781827l/57007657._SY75_.jpg|89199128] hard sci-fi. The plot is too tightly focused to have an operatic quality, I guess. The settings and character motivations provide interesting commentary on colonialism, inequality, and economic exploitation, albeit briefly. Thompson is an imaginative and adept sci-fi writer and I enjoyed this standalone novel a lot. However it didn't have the same impact on me as his brilliant [b:Rosewater|38362809|Rosewater (The Wormwood Trilogy, #1)|Tade Thompson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534300082l/38362809._SX50_.jpg|51884865] trilogy due to the incredible pace of events. I would have liked to learn more about the characters and setting, particularly the planet Bloodroot and the Lambers. Among my outstanding questions is how Fin tracks Lambers so well? Is it due to his later connection with Joké? The ending is well-judged, but I'd love a sequel set on Bloodroot and space station Lagos. The fallout from all the mayhem leaves a lot that could be explored.

I think the general lesson of the plot is a sensible one: don't get on a spaceship with the richest man in the solar system, as people who he exploited to become the richest man in the solar system will undoubtedly try to kill him. And collateral damage is hard to avoid when using a feral military AI as an assassination weapon. The AIs were impressively unsettling, I must say, as was the biotech that rapidly took over Ragtime. I do love weird future technology gone wrong and spaceship-horror vibes akin to the Danny Boyle film Sunshine.… (more)

Although this feels like a very obvious thing to say, it merits heavy emphasis: the Rosewater trilogy is enormously fun to read. I've read 118 novels so far this year and both 'The Rosewater Redemption' and [b:The Rosewater Insurrection|40696972|The Rosewater Insurrection (The Wormwood Trilogy, #2)|Tade Thompson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546384122l/40696972._SX50_.jpg|63294872] are among the three I enjoyed most. Tade Thompson is quite simply a brilliant writer. His characters are appealing, his plots wonderfully twisty, his world-building ingenious, his pacing impeccable, and his themes cleverly developed. Each book in the Rosewater trilogy stands as an excellent novel in its own right, but together they add up to a totally absorbing reading experience. Each is distinctive in its approach and choice of protagonists, upending your previous sympathies and shifting your prior assumptions. 'Redemption' still follows Kaaro and Aminat, while giving much more time to the mysterious Bicycle Girl and Femi Alaagomeji. While I previously enjoyed them both as enigmas, it was a delight to learn more about their lives and agendas. Each successive book widens the reader's perspective on events and introduces a new layer of complexity.

In 'The Rosewater Redemption' Thompson completely upended my expectations several times, which I absolutely loved. Kaaro is a great character, but when he was suddenly killed by a sniper my main response was excitement. Killing your main male character is unheard of! I absolutely was not expecting it and his subsequent destructive psychic legacy was brilliantly done. I really enjoyed the fact that characters allied with each other then sometimes changed their minds, without falling into a simplistic binary of good vs bad. Moreover, characters who were sympathetic sometimes became much less so, and vice versa. Likewise, the role of the aliens evolved gradually and carefully into a really interesting commentary on colonialism. The third part of the trilogy centres on the fact that Rosewater's independence from Nigeria came at the cost of aliens slowly taking over humanity. The previous novel showed why this might initially seem worth the price, while this one demonstrates why it really isn't. The mayor, previously quasi-heroic, slides into a more antagonistic role. It becomes clear that his hubris in pursuit of independence for Rosewater comes at a horrific cost to its human inhabitants. They are gradually becoming host bodies for the digital consciousness of aliens.

Yet Thompson also shows what Rosewater's independence has achieved. There's a delightful sub-plot in which the mayor formally welcomes LGBT people to the city and holds a brief pride parade, much to the annoyance of Nigeria's president. Prompted by this, Aminat's pyrokinetic brother comes out in a very amusing little moment. I also loved the court scenes in which the mayor's wife argued for the personhood of 'reanimates', the formerly dead humans brought back in zombie-like form by alien intervention. The sharp exchanges between lawyers were magnificent. The large cast are juggled deftly, propelling the plot forward while developing Femi and Oyin Da. The latter's time-travelling adventures with her wife and daughter in the xenophere were a joy. At the very end, Oyin Da and Femi are still standing and chatting about art, which I found very satisfactory. Kaaro has sacrificed what remains of himself to save humanity and the surviving cast are comfortable. However, the city of Rosewater is no more. Ultimately the coexistence of aliens and humans could not be sustained, as the aliens were determined to use humans as resources to exploit.

A major element of my enjoyment throughout the trilogy has been the glorious weirdness and picaresque detail. There's a guy with a tentacle, an android, artificial brains, zombies that get better, alien zombie suicide bombers, crime twins, a hacker in a weird mech suit, a pyrokinetic, and autonomous vehicles that actually work. Thompson includes the best explanation for time travel that I've come across for many years, as well as some fascinating arguments about consciousness and personhood. The action scenes are thrilling and vivid, while the dialogue is witty and intelligent. No-one knows or cares what's happening in America, which has walled itself off from the rest of the world. At one point it seems America could become important to the plot, then it turns out Nigeria can take care of itself. What more can I say? The Rosewater trilogy is fantastic and if you have any interest in fiction set in Africa, sci-fi, or thrillers you should definitely give it a try.… (more)

Pleasingly, the sequel to [b:Rosewater|38362809|Rosewater|Tade Thompson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1534300082s/38362809.jpg|51884865] shifts focus from Kaaro to Aminat, his girlfriend. Although I found Kaaro an excellent protagonist, so is Aminat and it’s always nice when female characters get to be centre stage. The plot is perhaps slightly looser than in the prequel, revolving around the mayor of Rosewater declaring independence and the aliens being threatened by a plant-like entity. The world-building is once again excellent, vivid, and distinctive. Making the mayor a point of view character allows the the politics of an alien-centric Nigerian city to play out in a very interesting fashion. Human conflicts run parallel to alien conflicts, while the human-alien conflict remains implicit in the background. Thompson juggles narrators very deftly to give a wide view of events. Various plot developments also defy expectations in amusing and powerful ways. I particularly liked the mayor’s willingness to surrender when all seemed lost. This level of realism is unusual in fictional male leaders. The reader knows that something is likely to come along and save the situation, but there’s no reason for him to think so! I also liked that his wife considered the reanimated so important, and her compassion later paid off. Aminat and Alyssa’s adventures are really exciting, with some spectacular action sequences. There are also some excellent incidences of body horror or just bodily weirdness, providing literal manifestations of how alien exposure is changing humanity. Even a few moments of hilarity. Walter is another great narrator, strategically deployed, while Femi remains a frustrating enigma to all around her. Not making her a narrator was likewise a sensible choice.

I’m really enjoying this series so far. I have a particular fondness for fiction in which a city has sufficient presence to be the main character, which is definitely the case here. The human and alien characters are involving and varied in this case including a delightful embodied AI called Lora. The cultural and social world-building weaves history, technology, and alien influence together beautifully. The plot is complex and thoughtful, while periodically making space for dramatic and exciting violence. In the Rosewater novels, Thompson explores questions of how how humans can co-exist with one another, let alone with aliens. They feature strange mindscapes, alien pests, new religions, dangerous weapons, and a range of well-developed interpersonal relationships. Both the details and the broad themes are equally effective. The ensemble casts are balanced so well that the city itself has a clear and fascinating identity. When reading about Rosewater, you start to understand why residents would fight for its independence.… (more)