Rosewater

Written by: Tade Thompson

First line: I'm at the Integrity Bank job for forty minutes before the anxiety kicks in.

Why you should read this book: If you enjoy complexity in your science fiction plots and attention to detail in speculative world-building, you'll find lots to love in this Afro-futurism novel (first in a trilogy) about an angry psychic whose world is shaped by an alien entity known as "Wormwood," which has been skulking about the earth's crust since 2012. In 2066, Kaaro lives in Rosewater, a ring-shaped town in Nigeria that has sprung up around the alien "biodome," which opens once a year and heals human maladies, with varying results. But something is killing men and women like Kaaro, and now that he finally has something to live for (love), he needs to figure out what kind of danger he might be in before it destroys him.

Why you shouldn't read this book: I thought I wouldn't be able to get into it because the main character is such a curmudgeon, but he grows.