Read The Lives of Tao Tao Series Book One Wesley Chu ARGH! Oxford Books
Read The Lives of Tao Tao Series Book One Wesley Chu ARGH! Oxford Books
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The Lives of Tao Tao Series Book One Wesley Chu ARGH! Oxford Books Reviews
- A while ago I was introduced to this world through Rise of Io and I swore I was going to read more of Wesley Chu's books. I was not disappointed! Admittedly, knowing some of the things that were going to happen further down the timeline kept me from getting fully engaged in some aspects of the story, but I still had a great time.
I've read one or two other reviews that describe this as book to read to get yourself motivated and I have to agree. Reading about Roen's progress in his secret agent training and Tao's demands for better performance from his human host had me looking at my own gut and thinking "I can do better" and start looking at ways to get into shape. If you're in the mood for a book that can inspire you to do more for your diet and exercise, I highly recommend this book.
This was such a fun, action packed, humor filled read. The characters, even the nearly immortal aliens, are so relatable and interesting. It really helped to fill in some of the gaps in my understanding of the world from picking up a later book. Even the villains are entertaining. I love intelligent villains and Genjix know what they're doing. This is a true underdog story and I really want to continue with the series.
If you're at all interested in books about aliens being the driving force behind human evolution, or even just stories about an underdog turning his life around, I highly recommend this book, possibly this series. - I will give you a quick run down of what it is about (with no spoilers) below. First, I want to say what was the most enjoyable for me were the characters. I liked them. I rooted for Roen. I cared! There is a lot to say about that feeling when it comes to Sci-fi, it is at times overlooked. Someone being badass is great but if they aren't real, well, then why do I care? I loved the relationships, the vulnerability and the human experience explored. It might feature aliens, but it has quite a bit of human experience in its heart.
Science fiction is a genre that is liable to take you just about anywhere. The Lives of Tao is very unique. Before the evolution of man an alien form became stranded on Earth. They found a way to 'inhabit' animals and eventually man. When they inhabited a human they were able to communicate with it. Think of it like another personality, a guiding voice with intellect, experience and advanced technology capabilities. Throughout history these aliens inhabited some of the most influential of humans (Presidents, rulers, scientists, explorers) The aliens themselves divided into two factions - ones that believed they should rule humans and those that believed they should work with them. The factions are at war and the fate of the human race is at stake. That is your setting.
The book opens with a human operative that is killed. The aliens, once inside a human, cannot leave until the human dies. Once the human dies they are in a very vulnerable state and must find another host quickly. Tao finds Roen, an overweight, desk jockey with a low self esteem and very little drive. Roen's journey with Tao's lead is a believable one (as far as you can accept he has an alien in his head) It isn't easy for him to give up pizza and start jogging! (I can relate to that I have dreamt of running that marathon and dreaming is as far as I've gotten so far) Roen's journey is funny and endearing. I loved Sonya, who was raised to be a host for the Prophus. Her mother was a host so she had the distinct advantage of knowing what she was getting into, she is also badass and kicks Roen's butt! She becomes his trainer for the ops missions he will soon be sent on and they develop a friendship.
It this kind of science fiction interests you , this is your book. It's not overly technical, bogged down with terms you won't understand ( I don't like that kind of sci-fi). I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that the relationships Roen builds were some of the highlights of the book for me. He is a good person, with the same flaws and fears as anyone and how he deals with them and overcomes them is really inspiring. - Rating 4.5 stars rounded to 5.
An excellent James Bond-ish spin on a familiar Science Fiction trope. What if aliens possessed humans, but were forced to try to influence the humans behavior instead of directly controlling them?
I really liked this book and found it well written, well edited, engaging, entertaining and, at times, funny. The story follows Tao, an alien who has inhabited thousands of humans, as he is unfortunately stuck in an overweight computer programmer with huge self image problems named Roen. Since the aliens are at war, Tao must whip Roen into shape, making him into a super spy and then go on missions to protect assets and attack the enemy. At first, Roen thinks this is really cool, but later learns the down side and has existential questions about what they are doing.
The themes throughout are subtle enough that some readers might not catch them. Both Roen and Tan trouble over the idea of killing for the greater good. Does the end justify the means? If we kill one person to save another, we are still murders, are we not? How does one know for certain that the murder was truly necessary to save lives? How much death is absolutely necessary to change an outcome? And where is that line drawn? We can kill a million by dropping a bomb thinking that by doing so we are saving ten million lives, but how can we be certain of the future of those ten million deaths? I felt like these crises of consciousness that both Roen and Tao were experiencing are what really set this book apart from the typical run and gun pulp fiction and gave the action elements more gravitas.
I only deduct a half star because I felt the ending a wee bit predictable. I just purchased the second book in the series and am excited about reading it.
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