The Rosewater Insurrection

Tade Thompson’s Rosewater was the science fiction debut of last year, and its sequel, the second part of his Wormwood trilogy, continues the good work ... As before, Thompson adopts a multiple-viewpoint narration that hops back and forth in time. This disorientating, kaleidoscopic approach pays dividends as the plot strands come together in a coruscating, propulsive tale of colonisation.

The series speeds up from noir Rosewater’s unraveling admission of an invasion plan into political thrillers of invasion action and resistance ... unlike Rosewater, the middle and final novels are narrated through the rotating perspectives of several engaging characters, with familiar figures like the xenospherically sensitive human Kaaro, his secret agent girlfriend Aminat, and time-traveler Oyin Da joining new actors like mayor Jacques, his assistant Lora, and Alyssa, the first Homian alien uploaded to a human body. The rotating narration increases the speed of delivery, with readers jumping to and through different selves ... The concluding books of the Wormwood Trilogy answered most of my questions from Rosewater — I hope fellow readers also delight in getting to briefly experience Molara and Wormwood’s personal takes on the action. Fans of Kaaro and Aminat will be excited to rejoin them as the final books push the breaking point of romantic, community, and self affiliations ... Insurrection and Redemption wild reads. They wrap up threads and suggest new ones. They land a bit close to home ... The Wormwood plant is enticing and bitter. It stays with you. The Wormwood Trilogy is aptly named. Parts of the series keep rising to the tip of my tongue, even now, long after I’ve consumed it. I think I’ve developed a craving to taste it again in its full complexity.

The many narrative threads in this fast-paced future-noir novel will best be understood by readers of Rosewater (2018), but Thompson ably sheds light on the alien agenda while keeping individual personal struggles front and center.