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hank's review against another edition
4.0
My GR friend YouKneeK won't read series unless they are done because she likes reading them straight through to the end. Usually I like to break them up a bit so each individual book feels more fresh but this series needed a straight through read, which I did not do. As a consequence, I was thoroughly lost for the first part of this last installment, until I forced my brain to give up the lost knowledge.
This series was excellent! It had aliens, time travel, robots, body snatching, alien invasion, future tech, cyberspace, mind control and Nigerian politics. It was everything I could have wanted in a sci-fi novel except a space ship or two. I enjoyed every character arc and liked the ending.
Looking forward to what Thompson comes up with next. 4.5 stars, with .5 star because it was a bit chaotic in parts and possibly too much in the story.
This series was excellent! It had aliens, time travel, robots, body snatching, alien invasion, future tech, cyberspace, mind control and Nigerian politics. It was everything I could have wanted in a sci-fi novel except a space ship or two. I enjoyed every character arc and liked the ending.
Looking forward to what Thompson comes up with next. 4.5 stars, with .5 star because it was a bit chaotic in parts and possibly too much in the story.
livelywormy32's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
cojack's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good wrap up to this trilogy, though not completely satisfying. The story has so many threads to follow at this point, this installment felt a little disjointed. On the other hand, having Oyin Da mostly narrate and having fewer (no?) time jumps made the narrative easier to follow in some ways. Thompson writes great characters, and I’ll be looking for other work from him.
Overall, this is a good trilogy and gives the reader a lot to think about, especially in terms of an alien invasion that isn’t bogey men with blasters arriving in spaceships but more an insidious, slow takeover...a “we’re pretending to be here to help make you better but we really want to take everything and destroy your culture” analogy to colonization in Africa.
Overall, this is a good trilogy and gives the reader a lot to think about, especially in terms of an alien invasion that isn’t bogey men with blasters arriving in spaceships but more an insidious, slow takeover...a “we’re pretending to be here to help make you better but we really want to take everything and destroy your culture” analogy to colonization in Africa.
lydia_morris's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I needed to read this to finish the trilogy, the ending feels fitting but somehow I'm still left with the feeling there could have been something more to the culmination of a really novel and interesting alien / scifi trilogy with a unique premise.
readingwithstardust's review against another edition
3.0
Finally! I am, not sure where I've landed now that the series is all said and done... mulling.
taylor_hohulin's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Just plain wow. The Rosewater Redemption wraps up one of the best trilogies I've ever read. It continues all the ideas from the earlier books and expands them to crazy, trippy levels. It explores some of its most interesting ideas in terms of life and personhood, and it brings so many character arcs to satisfying and surprising ends.
Seriously, if you're looking for a truly unique alien invasion story, go check these books out.
Seriously, if you're looking for a truly unique alien invasion story, go check these books out.
the_peg's review against another edition
3.0
A fitting end to the series. This one took a few twists I wasn't expecting and maybe didn't really need - but the pay off was worth it.
chayes77's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
micksland's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars
Nominee: 2020 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
___
This is a very solid conclusion to the “Wormwood Trilogy” which is made all the more impressive by the fact that it came out mere months after book 2
Dr. Thompson portrays a very gritty world with several lovable but morally gray characters. As humans and aliens fight for survival, each species has to make choices. The author weaves in discussions about medical ethics, transhumanism, and the definition of life and personhood. The author’s medical background clearly influenced his novel, and I will forever be inspired by a full-time physician who also writes such interesting books. This is more philosophical and less action-packed than the second book in the series, but I found its themes to be the most enjoyable of the series.
My only complaint is that it came to a screeching halt and all of the conflict was resolved in the final two chapters. It was very abrupt and some would say anticlimactic. It’s still a worthwhile read and I’ll be picking up more of Thompson’s work in the future.
Nominee: 2020 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
___
This is a very solid conclusion to the “Wormwood Trilogy” which is made all the more impressive by the fact that it came out mere months after book 2
Dr. Thompson portrays a very gritty world with several lovable but morally gray characters. As humans and aliens fight for survival, each species has to make choices. The author weaves in discussions about medical ethics, transhumanism, and the definition of life and personhood. The author’s medical background clearly influenced his novel, and I will forever be inspired by a full-time physician who also writes such interesting books. This is more philosophical and less action-packed than the second book in the series, but I found its themes to be the most enjoyable of the series.
My only complaint is that it came to a screeching halt and all of the conflict was resolved in the final two chapters. It was very abrupt and some would say anticlimactic. It’s still a worthwhile read and I’ll be picking up more of Thompson’s work in the future.
peripetia's review against another edition
3.0
I thought that in 2020, I might write a short or not-so-short review for every book read. A challenging resolution, but we'll see.
Anyway, to the point.
Short review: bleh, ok.
Longer review: All the things that I liked from the previous books, the things that first got me hooked, are still there, but there is not real development. Instead it seems like the writing has regressed. The writing has always seemed to me like a script for an action movie, but now it feels like scenes are lifted directly from other media, dumped in the middle of a beautifully constructed world, and the book just reads like Every Single American Action Movie You Have Ever Seen. Like a person is standing around, chaos around them, a helicopter hovering above them. A ladder is lowered, and the character climbs up. You can almost see it, can't you? Yeah, because you have seen it a hundred times before. A CIA agent goes through training: an obstacle course! I'd like to know if they actually exist, or if it's just a popular image reproduced whenever possible. Courtroom scenes are straight-up American courtroom drama. I don't know what the criminal process looks like in Nigeria (in 2060-ish), but I am not entertained by this.
It's not that it's a bad book, and it's probably not as bad as I make it seem, it's just that this is the third of the trilogy and I expected so much more. I expected development - of the story, the characters, the writing. But no. I was bored and I was annoyed and I was glad when it was over. The two previous book, especially the first one, got me holding my breath waiting for the next part to finally come out. Now I'm just done. Maybe that's ok. It is the third part of a trilogy, so maybe I should feel like that. In any case, I do recommend the series. It just, I don't know. It has flaws.
Anyway, to the point.
Short review: bleh, ok.
Longer review: All the things that I liked from the previous books, the things that first got me hooked, are still there, but there is not real development. Instead it seems like the writing has regressed. The writing has always seemed to me like a script for an action movie, but now it feels like scenes are lifted directly from other media, dumped in the middle of a beautifully constructed world, and the book just reads like Every Single American Action Movie You Have Ever Seen. Like a person is standing around, chaos around them, a helicopter hovering above them. A ladder is lowered, and the character climbs up. You can almost see it, can't you? Yeah, because you have seen it a hundred times before. A CIA agent goes through training: an obstacle course! I'd like to know if they actually exist, or if it's just a popular image reproduced whenever possible. Courtroom scenes are straight-up American courtroom drama. I don't know what the criminal process looks like in Nigeria (in 2060-ish), but I am not entertained by this.
It's not that it's a bad book, and it's probably not as bad as I make it seem, it's just that this is the third of the trilogy and I expected so much more. I expected development - of the story, the characters, the writing. But no. I was bored and I was annoyed and I was glad when it was over. The two previous book, especially the first one, got me holding my breath waiting for the next part to finally come out. Now I'm just done. Maybe that's ok. It is the third part of a trilogy, so maybe I should feel like that. In any case, I do recommend the series. It just, I don't know. It has flaws.