Rosewater

''The story bounces over multiple decades, laying out Kaaro's sordid past and assorted sins, but it never loses sight of the big picture, in which the machinations of aliens (whom the reader will find both understandable and frightening) and psychics are just the backdrop for a character-driven, morally gray tale of hope and potential redemption.''
—Publishers Weekly, starred review


''One of the most imaginative alien invasion scenarios I have come across...''
—Aliette de Bodard, Nebula and BSFA award-winning author of THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS


''This thrilling, ambitious novel offers a deftly woven and incisive blend of science fiction, psychology, action, and mystery. Highly recommended.''
—Kate Elliott, author of BLACK WOLVES and COLD MAGIC


''Part thriller, part mystery and part phantasmagoric journey across a strange yet not-too-distant future, and reminiscent at times of both Roger Zelazny and Nnedi Okorafor, Rosewater is the hardboiled, Nigerian alien invasion story you always wanted and now simply couldn't do without!''
—Lavie Tidhar, author of A MAN LIES DREAMING and CENTRAL STATION


Between meeting a boy who bursts into flames, alien floaters that want to devour him, and a butterfly woman who he has sex with when he enters the xenosphere, Kaaro's life is far from the simple one he wants. But he left simple behind a long time ago when he was caught stealing and nearly killed by an angry mob. Now he works for a government agency called Section 45, and they want him to find a women known as Bicycle Girl. And that's just the beginning.


An alien entity lives beneath the ground, forming a biodome around which the city of Rosewater thrives. The cities of Rosewater are enamored by the dome, hoping for a chance to meet the beings within or possibly be invited to come in themselves. But Kaaro isn't so enamored. He was in the biodome at one point and decided to leave it behind. When something begins killing off other sensitives like himself, Kaaro defies Section 45 to search for an answer, facing his past and comes to a realization about a horrifying future.