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marta0r's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
willowwitch's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
hank's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderfully weird with a ton of ideas packed into the book. 4.5 stars rounded up, Tade is stuffing so many pieces into the story it can be hard to keep up sometimes. Girl power! Aminat, Femi, Lora all rock! Femi's character arc is fascinating to me, I find myself alternately cheering for her and loathing her and am completely uncertain where my final emotion will land at the end of the trilogy. Very unusual, I tend to make quick judgments and stick to them. I will definitely read the third book when it comes out.
shellbellbell's review against another edition
4.0
This book is better than the first one, only because it's no longer narrated by Kaaro. Multiple character POVs are involved, and the story is improved by that choice. Now that I'm no longer distracted by how unlikable the first person narrator is, I can actually appreciate this unique take on alien invasion in a foreign-to-me setting.It's action-y, intriguing, a page-turner. A fun read. I can see it being adapted to a movie or TV series one day. And in general I wholeheartedly support spec fic set in Lagos or anywhere else on the African continent. More please!
suzemo's review against another edition
3.0
I'm never quite sure if I should call this post apocalyptic or dystopian, but here we are.
Second book in the Rosewater trilogy, one definitely needs to read Rosewater before moving onto Insurrection. The first novel's main character, Kaaro, largely takes a back seat in this novel. The storyline is more linear, more traditional, and more action-sci/fi (I think).
It's told through a few third person viewpoints - Aminat (Kaaro's live in girlfriend and best character in the series, I think) takes up most of it. There's Jack, who is the "mayor" of Rosewater, before declaring it a city-state and going to war with Nigeria. There's Alyssa, who is a resident of Rosewater who gets subsumed by the alien... mind? consciousness? form? and there's a writer, who seems to exist for info-dumps in the latter part of the book.
Honestly? I did not like this one as much as Rosewater. It does continue the story of both the city and the alien life force/form and continues to tell the story. I would throw in a content warning, because Thompson's writing is just as gritty and rough here as anywhere else I've read it - and there are descriptions of rape, violence (necklacing, in particular) that someone more sensitive might want to stay away from, but over all, it was a solid book.
I'll definitely see where the story ends with the last in the trilogy, but this just dragged a little long for me, and I will not be jumping straight to Redemption until I've had a little... palate cleansing.
Second book in the Rosewater trilogy, one definitely needs to read Rosewater before moving onto Insurrection. The first novel's main character, Kaaro, largely takes a back seat in this novel. The storyline is more linear, more traditional, and more action-sci/fi (I think).
It's told through a few third person viewpoints - Aminat (Kaaro's live in girlfriend and best character in the series, I think) takes up most of it. There's Jack, who is the "mayor" of Rosewater, before declaring it a city-state and going to war with Nigeria. There's Alyssa, who is a resident of Rosewater who gets subsumed by the alien... mind? consciousness? form? and there's a writer, who seems to exist for info-dumps in the latter part of the book.
Honestly? I did not like this one as much as Rosewater. It does continue the story of both the city and the alien life force/form and continues to tell the story. I would throw in a content warning, because Thompson's writing is just as gritty and rough here as anywhere else I've read it - and there are descriptions of rape, violence (necklacing, in particular) that someone more sensitive might want to stay away from, but over all, it was a solid book.
I'll definitely see where the story ends with the last in the trilogy, but this just dragged a little long for me, and I will not be jumping straight to Redemption until I've had a little... palate cleansing.
livelywormy32's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
cojack's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars. All the world and character building in the first book pays off in this second installment. Lots of action & twists, with plenty left to explore in the final book. I love the way the author blends aliens, political history, intrigue, action, human foibles, and humor.
emnii's review against another edition
3.0
Reviewer's Note: This is a review of the second novel in the Wormwood trilogy, so spoilers for the first novel should be expected. If you haven't read Rosewater, you should do that first because it's excellent, but The Rosewater Insurrection does an admirable job of bringing a new reader up to speed. While I never recommend jumping into the middle of a trilogy, it could work in this case. Either way, the spoiler-free review of The Rosewater Insurrection is that it's action-packed and slightly weird, but doesn't quite live up to the previous novel. 7/10. Last warning, spoilers for Rosewater will follow.
Following the events of Rosewater, The Rosewater Insurrection follows a handful of different perspectives as the city of Rosewater continues to act as host to an invading but seemingly benevolent alien. What the residents of Rosewater don't know is that the alien is just a "footholder" for a subtle but complete invasion as aliens essentially download themselves into human bodies. While this starts to take shape, the government of Rosewater declares its independence from their host county of Nigeria, which turns all eyes inward at a time when the alien is going through some changes.
Where Rosewater largely followed Kaaro, The Rosewater Insurrection makes Kaaro a secondary character to several others, such as Aminat, the alien avatar Anthony, and other characters more central to the plot. The multiple perspective changes serve to give a more complete picture of what's going on within the city of Rosewater than the singular perspective from Kaaro, but the non-linearity of perspective and the expanded cast is a lot to keep track of sometimes. The point, however, is that Rosewater is the focus of the story moreso than any one character.
While this hopping around might make a novel feel jittery or uneven, The Rosewater Insurrection progressively and competently builds to a crescendo that mostly pays off. Like the previous novel, this one suitably combines the near-future with weirdness and it's still fun the second time around. It does pull some stuff out of its pocket that feels like rewriting continuity a bit, but I'm excited to see where the next novel goes.
Following the events of Rosewater, The Rosewater Insurrection follows a handful of different perspectives as the city of Rosewater continues to act as host to an invading but seemingly benevolent alien. What the residents of Rosewater don't know is that the alien is just a "footholder" for a subtle but complete invasion as aliens essentially download themselves into human bodies. While this starts to take shape, the government of Rosewater declares its independence from their host county of Nigeria, which turns all eyes inward at a time when the alien is going through some changes.
Where Rosewater largely followed Kaaro, The Rosewater Insurrection makes Kaaro a secondary character to several others, such as Aminat, the alien avatar Anthony, and other characters more central to the plot. The multiple perspective changes serve to give a more complete picture of what's going on within the city of Rosewater than the singular perspective from Kaaro, but the non-linearity of perspective and the expanded cast is a lot to keep track of sometimes. The point, however, is that Rosewater is the focus of the story moreso than any one character.
While this hopping around might make a novel feel jittery or uneven, The Rosewater Insurrection progressively and competently builds to a crescendo that mostly pays off. Like the previous novel, this one suitably combines the near-future with weirdness and it's still fun the second time around. It does pull some stuff out of its pocket that feels like rewriting continuity a bit, but I'm excited to see where the next novel goes.
readingwithstardust's review against another edition
3.0
Bit of a slog, not gonna lie. Hoping for a strong finish with book 3!
taylor_hohulin's review against another edition
5.0
HO. LEE. CRAP.
Book Two of the Wormwood Trilogy amps up everything that made Rosewater such an imaginative, exciting sci fi gem. The pacing is absolutely relentless. It reads like 400 straight pages of climax. As creative as Rosewater was, The Rosewater Insurrection goes absolutely bananas in the best way possible. The things it sets up for book three are fascinating, and promise to make things even crazier.
So, yeah. Highly recommended.
Book Two of the Wormwood Trilogy amps up everything that made Rosewater such an imaginative, exciting sci fi gem. The pacing is absolutely relentless. It reads like 400 straight pages of climax. As creative as Rosewater was, The Rosewater Insurrection goes absolutely bananas in the best way possible. The things it sets up for book three are fascinating, and promise to make things even crazier.
So, yeah. Highly recommended.