Tough Traveling: Mentor

The Thursday feature "Tough Traveling" is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information. Compulsive list-maker that I am, I'm very excited to take part!

This week's tour topic is: Mentor

A tour official who will be at your service until halfway through the tour, when you will unexpectedly lose him.

Ah, I love it when we get "easier" theme weeks. That's when we get to play around with more unconventional lists and I'm always looking forward to what others might put on theirs. Mentors of all shapes and sizes populate the fantasy and sci-fi genres so I'm gonna have some fun.


Midnight Riot/Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
Probably one of my favorite mentor figures in an urban fantasy series is Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who's not only one talented detective but a hell of a wizard as well. Head of the Folly and the last officially sanctioned English Wizard, Nightingale takes on the protagonist Peter Grant as his apprentice and subjects him to repetitive magical exercises. Nightingale's a bit of an anachronism, being much older than he looks, and his total fail with modern technology is merely a part of his charm. (Review)

The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu
Tao is an atypical mentor, being an ancient alien life-form called a Quasing whose race crash-landed on the planet millions of years before the first humans even walked the earth. Incompatible with the atmosphere, Quasings must take a host in order to survive. Now split into two warring factions, the Quasings are at war. That's how our protagonist, the self-doubting, weak-willed, TV-dinner-munching Roen Tan wakes up one day with an alien's voice in his head. Tao must whip out-of-shape Roen for the coming battle, turning him from a loser to a super spy killing machine. (Review)

The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan
In book two of the Memoirs of Lady Trent series, Natalie is the young woman who shares Isabella's love and fascination with dragons and natural history. Refusing to be married off by her family, Natalie joins the expedition to Eriga against her father's wishes. Isabella makes arrangements to stow Natalie away on the ship, hiding her away until they are safely away from port. On their journey, Natalie becomes Isabella's apprentice of sorts, becoming her companion while also learning research methods. (Review)

The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley
Emperor Sanlitun has three children, the oldest being Kaden the heir who has spent the last eight years of his life sequestered in a remote monastery in the mountains, learning the mysteries of the monks who live there. One day, Kaden gets a new mentor in the form of Master Tan, whose teaching methods generally boil down to committing child abuse and torture on his poor royal apprentice, including depriving him of sustenance and beating him bloody almost on a daily basis and pretty much just making Kaden's life a living hell. (Review)

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
The Monstrumologist series is probably the most un-YA young adult series I've ever read - as in, if adapted completely faithfully, a movie based on this novel would get no lower than a resounding R-rating in terms of all the violence, blood and gore. The books are written in the form of a diary by protagonist Will Henry, who recalls his life as a twelve year old orphan taken in by Dr. Pellinore Warthope, a man with a most unusual, gruesome specialty. Will Henry becomes the doctor's indispensable assistant and apprentice in his study and research of monsters. (Review)

Book Review: The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu (#LoTaoLT)

The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu

Genre: Science Fiction, Historical Fiction

Publisher: Angry Robot

Publication Date: April 2013

Narrator: Mikael Naramore

Author Info: www.chuforthought.com

Wendy's Rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had so much fun livetweeting my read that I did it again with Wesley Chu at #LoTaoLT and lots of fun. I'm certain The Lives of Tao is a little peek in to Chu's mind and I would definitely like to raid his movie collection and compare notes on the Terminator saga one day...

The prologue introduces us to Edward, host to the alien named Tao. They have an amusing relationship that we soon learn goes well beyond mere parasite and host. Their friendship is very real and, in a surprising turn of events for so early in the book, I found myself already caring for Tao.

Following the events of the prologue, Tao ends up in a new host, Roen Tan, who is not exactly the ideal soldier for the Quasings' great big, millennia old war between their factions, the Genjix and the Prophus. Roen lacks confidence, ambition, and physical skills, therefore Tao and his companions have a big task ahead of them in training Roen.

While Roen does play a huge part in the story as Tao's host, this book is called the Lives of Tao. But Chu does a great job of letting Tao have some of the focus, with each chapter opening with Tao describing his time with some of his past hosts. This insight into some of history's great heroes and villains is moving, and it is integral to the overall story of the Quasings and their war on earth. I loved the way Chu worked in our history, sometimes in depth, other times in passing comments -- but it becomes clear that the Quasings have had their hands in every major event in our history. It also becomes clear that there really are no good guys in this.

The first half of the story involves Tao getting Roen in shape and teaching him the ins and outs of survival as an agent of the Prophus, with the help of another agent, Sonya. I really liked the natural progression of Roen's preparations, that comes complete with his disgruntled lack of appreciation for the process. Chu doesn't immediately -- or ever turn Roen into a super agent who can suddenly kick ass. He survives some of his missions by luck and by the skills and sacrifices of others. And when it comes to the final showdown, he doesn't magically overcome. Despite the whole concept of aliens on our planet, Chu keeps this story and all the characters very real and down to earth.

Thanks to WhisperSync, I both read and listened to this and enjoyed both options. Mikael Naramore's narration was great, with special love for his enigmatic Tao.

The Lives of Tao Livetweet! #LoTaoLT

I had so much fun livetweeting my reading of Miserere: An Autumn Tale with author Teresa Frohock, that I decided to try it again!

The Lives of Tao was selected as this month's read for my little book club, and author Wesley Chu is on-call to comment and answer my non-spoilery questions. Be sure to check the hashtag #LoTaoLT on my personal account, @nightxade!

When out-of-shape IT technician Roen woke up and started hearing voices in his head, he naturally assumed he was losing it. He wasn’t. He now has a passenger in his brain – an ancient alien life-form called Tao, whose race crash-landed on Earth before the first fish crawled out of the oceans. Now split into two opposing factions – the peace-loving, but under-represented Prophus, and the savage, powerful Genjix – the aliens have been in a state of civil war for centuries. Both sides are searching for a way off-planet, and the Genjix will sacrifice the entire human race, if that’s what it takes. Meanwhile, Roen is having to train to be the ultimate secret agent. Like that’s going to end up well…

An Interview with Wesley Chu, Author of The Deaths of Tao

Following the success of his debut novel The Lives of Tao, Wesley Chu is back with the highly anticipated sequel. Be sure to check out our review of The Deaths of Tao, which was everything I could have hoped for and more!

And yet, I still couldn't get enough. Thankfully, it was Wes to the rescue! He was awesome enough to stop by here at The BiblioSanctum for a nice chat, and I got to geek out about Roen, Tao, the Prophus and the Genjix for a little while longer. I had so much fun doing this interview, and I really hope you'll enjoy it too!

Book Review: The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu

The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: Book 1 of Tao

Publisher: Angry Robot

Date of Publication: April 30, 2013

Author Information: Website | Twitter


Alien stories are always a fun ride, especially when 1) the aliens are unconventional, and 2) their relationship with humankind goes beyond the typical invade them/uplift them dichotomy. Alien stories are even more interesting when they're mixed up in a spy thriller. That being said, the latter isn't usually my cup of tea, but I have to appreciate The Lives of Tao for not taking itself too seriously and for being just quirky enough to win me over.

I'm also as fond of unconventional heroes as I am of unconventional aliens. A self-doubting, weak-willed, TV-dinner-munching and out-of-shape IT technician working at a dead end job probably isn't someone who immediately comes to mind when you think of the ultimate secret agent. It definitely wasn't what ancient alien life-form Tao had in mind either when he had to choose a new host after the untimely death of his last one, but it's not like he had a choice. That's how our hapless protagonist Roen Tan woke up one day hearing an alien's voice in his head.

Two factions make up Tao's species, the Quasings: the peace-loving Prophus and the savage Genjix. The two sides have been engaged in a covert war for centuries, with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance. As a high-profile Prophus, Tao finds himself racing against time to whip Roen into shape and to train him in the subtle arts of espionage. His new host must become combat-ready and fast -- before the Genjix can discover his identity and eliminate him.

An alien consciousness in a person's head certainly isn't a new idea, but like I said before, this book struck me as more unique and scores highly with me because of the complexity in the relationship between the aliens and humans. And that's not all to it either; the internal conflicts between the Quasings themselves also gave this story a nice spin. Basically, stories about aliens that are out to invade earth and kill everyone are a dime a dozen. It's nice to read one where the extraterrestrials (or at least a faction of them, anyway) are on our side for a change, and what you do know, aliens can disagree amongst themselves too when it comes to how to deal with us puny humans.

This was a really great book, filled with action and suspense as well as plenty of humor. However, beneath all that is also a very good message. Throughout the course of the novel, we see Roen grow from a loser with low self-esteem to a someone with confidence who's no longer afraid to fight for what he wants. As unlikely as it sounds, this really is a Cinderella story, with its main character starting out dejected and miserable but ending up a much happier and healthier man. Tao taught Roen many things beyond gathering intelligence and martial arts, not the very least is the fact that complaining will get you nowhere. If you want something, you have to work for it -- and getting off your butt is only the first step.

All in all, an entertaining science fiction thriller with a heavy dose of comedy, which almost makes this one feel like an...urban sci-fi? In any case, it'll be like nothing you've read before. I'm looking forward to more by Wesley Chu, and definitely can't wait until we catch up with Roen and Tao again.

Final verdict:

4 of 5 stars

Book Review: The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu

First, I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Roen Tan is an out-of-shape IT tech just trying to make it through the daily grind when he becomes the host of an advanced alien named Tao. When he finally becomes aware of Tao, Roen thinks he’s about to live the glamorous life of a super spy as Tao gives him knowledge beyond his measure and starts whipping him into shape with diet and exercise. Roen quickly learns that James Bond’s glamorous life is a complete fraud and that spy work is tedious, time-consuming, and nothing like a superhero movie. However, Roen does find himself with Tao’s help and begins to push past his safe boundaries.

The first thing you should know about me is I always root for the underdogs. I am a huge fan of unconventional heroes doing unconventional things, especially unconventional things they seem ill suited for. Roen fits all of those qualifications. Reading this story was like watching an awkward friend grow into a graceful swan. It was funny, endearing, and just a tad bit cute—all things considered. At the beginning of this story, Roen isn’t living more than he’s just existing. He wants a better life, but he’s not motivated to take the steps needed to achieve that until he becomes Tao’s new host.

Tao’s people have lived on earth long before humans were even conceived, and they’ve been working just as long to find a way off this rock. This has been a very slow process for them since their survival on Earth means they have to rely on host bodies to protect them and carry out the tasks necessary to their goals. As with any group trying to achieve a common goal, though, there’s dissension about how that goal should be achieved. For this reason, after many years of working together, Tao’s people split into two factions—the peaceful Prophus and the warlike Genjix.

Second thing you should know about it is that I love history, so I appreciated how Chu incorporated that into his story by having the Prophus and Genjix part of every pivotal moment of history and explaining a little bit about how their involvement shaped those moments. Tao, who is part of Prophus, admits that both sides have done some terrible things throughout history, but sometimes, you have to choose the lesser of two evils for the greater good. This is one of the things that Roen begins to struggle with as he becomes a better Prophus agent.

Roen made me laugh out loud and roll my eyes often at the same time. The character felt like the type of friend I’d call up and say, "Calm down, man. Breathe. Now, you go and be awesome, Roen." He reminded me so much of someone I know who I could picture in Roen’s place doing the exact same things. Over the course of the story, he didn’t become some supreme super spy, but he grew as a person and as an agent. He came to terms with his new mission in life. Yeah, he did some amazing things during this, but through it all, Roen managed to continue to feel like an everyday person.

I loved Tao’s seriousness tinged with just a hint of humor, and I thought the story of his race and their struggle was interesting. Their role in history and the vast knowledge they possessed was a nice touch. Even though they seem to have all the elements there to be a super race, they’re still hindered by their divisiveness, vulnerability and lack of resources on a planet that they’re basically manipulating down this technological evolutionary path to aid their agenda. I wish I could’ve learned a little more about Tao’s people, but that’s such a small complaint for an otherwise fun book.

This was a wonderfully engaging story. The tone used felt very familiar, giving the story a very easygoing feel that kept me reading. It doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously, which was a welcomed break from all the grimdark I’d been reading lately.

Final Verdict: 

4 of 5 stars