Tade Thompson

First contact story set in Nigeria, primarily in Lagos and the fictional city of Rosewater. Protagonist Kaaro has psychic capabilities – he can quickly explore the minds of others, reveal their past, and gain an understanding of their lives. A group of people with these psychic capabilities have evolved. Kaaro is also able to infiltrate a place known as the Xenosphere, in his avatar form which includes the ability to fly. The city of Rosewater has been built around an alien biodome. The show more biodome is opened annually, which enables illnesses to be cured by the alien entity. Kaaro has two jobs – he works for a bank and also reluctantly employs his unusual psychic skills in service of the government. His relationship with a woman and her brother is woven into the narrative.

This is not a plot that can be easily summarized, but the world-building is very well done. It contains an ambiance of extrasensory perception, which comes across vividly. There are many characters that come and go, and they are well-drawn. The storyline alternates between the present timeline in 2066 and the past, which supplies the backstory of how these circumstances came to exist. The author employs our recent world history, so it feels like a speculative version of future events. The United States has become isolated to the point where its actions are unknown to the rest of the world. It contains a lot of darkness and violence, including murders, immolations, and executions.

It is fast paced story – never a dull moment. It is also an intelligently constructed complex story that requires the reader’s close attention. I loved the creativity in this book. It is not your run-of-the-mill first contact story. The book is the first in a trilogy. It inspires the reader’s curiosity for what comes next but also feels like a complete story in itself. show less

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of novels either set in Africa or Nigeria in specific, ranging from complicated crime tales or wild fantasies or hardcore SF.

This one is more hardcore than most. The SF branches into the Zenosphere, alien-headspaces, biopunk nightmares and symbioses and regular everyday Lagos and Nigerian, in general, misbehavior. :)

This novel is packed to the gills with great ideas, interesting storytelling structure set in two times, and a very interesting re-take on the old show more trope of telepathy and noir/spy fiction. To speak of the little parts as if they are the best part is to miss the point, however. As a whole, the novel flies through wild magic-realm-like excursions, flesh-eating biomorphs, bank-fraud prevention, and very real alien invasion stories.

Am I impressed? Intimidated? Thrilled?
Yes. All of the above.

But one thing should be made very clear: in some ways, the alien is not so much the SF elements, but Rosewater, itself. Culture is STRANGE. Be prepared for a weird ride. :) show less

This is a very nice genre-bender, parts SF, Fantasy, and Horror, all surrounding the multiple instances of Molly every time she bleeds. Each time rising from the ground or floor to become a complete copy of herself.

This isn't a humorous novella, however. Indeed, the creep-factor is turned up rather high. Every time a duplicate comes up, she's forced to murder herself.

It works well on several levels. The literal is bad enough, managing to reach over to normalcy while being very horrific, but show more when it becomes a metaphor, a branching out into anything we must murder within ourselves, it also works wonderfully. It might be a desire or a drive, an orientation or even just a natural preference or religious observation...

And yet it still works. :)

And it works very well as a straight horror, too. Being all-out creepy and disturbing is the name of the game. A subtext isn't necessary to enjoy this. Just figuring out who is narrating should keep anyone endlessly fascinating.

Self-examination is a real horrorshow. :) show less

This is a twisted little nugget of a book. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything else like it. Based on the blurb, one would expect to read a suspense novel or a thriller, but it really wasn’t either. Molly Southbourne faces nearly impossible circumstances, because her blood can spontaneously reproduce into murderous replicas of herself. I say murderous, but they don’t set their sights on any old target, just on Molly herself. Despite this, Molly chooses to leave behind the insular show more life she has lived on her parents’ farm and attend university. In the end, The Murders of Molly Southbourne is a story about a girl facing factors outside her control and still trying to find a way to live life on her own terms.
I would recommend this book to more mature readers who don’t mind delving into the gray areas of morality. There is extensive bloodshed, but it is acknowledged in a very clinical manner, so it doesn’t come across as being gory. show less