The Rosewater Redemption

In this mind-bending conclusion to the Rosewater trilogy, following the events of The Rosewater Insurrection, multiple factions wage a complicated war for the future of the Earth. In the alien-influenced city of Rosewater, which recently declared independence from Nigeria, the dead rise, now inhabited by the spirits of the extraterrestrial Homians, whose goal is to replace humankind. As a rogue group of Homians seek to accelerate that process through mass murder, humans such as Rosewater mayor Jack Jacques, time-traveling Oyin Da, psychic Kaaro, and intelligence operative Aminat desperately seek a way to prevent the colonization of Earth. While the courts attempt to define personhood and identity on a legal level, other people look for a more martial, permanent solution. Thompson’s tale is dense and mercurial, with the story line leaping among myriad perspectives and tones even as it jumps from the real world to a liminal landscape in which time, space, and memory are mutable. This ambitious wrap-up requires significant sacrifice and upheaval, but it succeeds admirably. Agent: Alexander Cochran, C+W. (Oct.)