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 Deaths of Tao by Wesley Chu

The Deaths of Tao by Wesley Chu

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: Book 2 of Tao

Publisher: Angry Robot

Date of Publication: October 29, 2013

Author Information: Website | Twitter 

Mogsy's Rating: 4 of 5 stars - "Even bigger and better than the first book, with both the Prophus and Genjix raising the stakes. Not to mention that incredibly explosive ending"

I had the great pleasure of reading Wesley Chu's debut The Lives of Tao earlier this year, so needless to say I was pretty excited about reading the sequel. And to my delight, The Deaths of Tao turned out to be a worthy follow-up to its predecessor! In many ways, I liked it even more than the first book; after all, the scope of the story has gotten bigger, but it still retains all the humor and action that first drew me in.

And yet, there are some changes too, most of which I enjoyed. For one thing, we're no longer focusing on the transformation of Roen Tan from an overweight dejected IT guy to an athletic fighting machine. After the first book, Tao has managed to train his human host into a full-fledged Prophus agent. But just because we no longer have the amusement of seeing Tao whip Roen into shape anymore, that doesn't mean the fun is over. Roen still has problems, just most of them now involve his personal life.

A few years have passed since the end of the first book. Apparently there has been no happily-ever-after for Roen and Jill, even after the two of them had gotten married and had a son. The Prophus and Genjix war has caused a rift between the couple, and Jill blames Tao for making Roen put his missions ahead of his family. It also hasn't helped that their side has been steadily losing ground while the enemy has been making headway in their plans to dominate the human race.

Things are looking dire, but I actually quite like the direction this series has taken, as the dynamics between Roen and Tao's relationship have shifted. Of course, the humor and witty banter's still there, but now Roen's crumbling marriage is a source of tension between the human and alien, not to mention the pressure's on everyone now that it looks like the Genjix are about to win. The Prophus aren't taking it lying down though, and are still doing what they can to stop them.

Normally, I'd be wary about sequels that skip ahead a bunch of years, with characters whose relationships have evolved drastically. To a certain extent, a part of me always wishes that they could stay the same, but at the same time I know that runs the risk of becoming stale and stagnant. Changes therefore have to be handled carefully. However, I liked everything Wesley Chu did in this sequel; the changes are all compelling and they add to the story. I especially enjoyed reading about how the past few years have affected Roen and Jill, as well as their Quasings Tao and Baji. It's also great how the narration has expanded beyond Roen to include Jill and others.

Like I said, The Deaths of Tao is bigger and better. Firstly, this time we get to follow the war on a more international scale. Roen and his team are sent on a mission to Taiwan, where most of this book takes place, and Wesley Chu brings this setting to life with his wonderful descriptions of the country and its culture. Next, we discover that the Quasing conflict actually goes a lot deeper than we realized, extending into the economic and political realms. More information is revealed about how the aliens have influenced humanity and our history since time eternal. Lastly, a new villain emerges in the form of Enzo, a truly scary and insane megalomaniac who's unpredictable because he doesn't always play by the rules. Still, I find it incredibly interesting to see into the heads of bad guys, and as such I was pretty happy that we also got a part of the book told in his perspective.

I couldn't believe it when I got to the ending. Admittedly, it came way too soon, but it was also everything I could hope for. We get not one but three explosive clashes happening in different parts of the world, and then both alien factions raise the stakes. Now begins the wait for book three, and thanks to that cliffhanger I know I'm going to have a hard time being patient to see what happens next!

For more about Wesley Chu and THE DEATHS OF TAO, be sure to check in again later this week for an interview with the author!

 4 of 5 stars

A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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