Roen Tan is overweight, sloppy, unhappy with his IT job and discontented with life in general, with perhaps the one exception of the crush he nurtures for his co-worker, Jill.
Edward Blair is handsome and suave, a smooth operator. He is a James Bond type from his looks and dress right down to the reality that he is, in fact, an operative.
The difference between the two?
One guy has a voice in his head and the other does not.
But before the end of the night that voice will have changed residence and the life of Roen Tan, such as it is, will never be the same. If he survives long enough to have a life, that is.
Author Wesley Chu’s debut novel is an action-adventure thriller coupled with alien possession, espionage, war and just a touch of romance. Add in some history, a touch of humor, an attractive female partner and a buddy-cop aspect and you will still fall short of fully appreciating what The Lives of Tao has to offer.
Your best bet?
Read it for yourself.
A week ago I came across two reviews back-to-back that described this book with the kind of enthusiasm and emphasis on fun that makes me sit up and take notice. I quickly purchased this for the Kindle and tore through it. It delivered on all that the reviews promised.
The Lives of Tao offers up a great deal of the familiar in a way that makes it feel fresh and does so by creating characters in Roen and Tao that you want to get to know.
This is one novel that I will be recommending (and gifting) for a long time to come.
A long, long time ago…in dinosaur days, to be exact, an alien ship crash-landed on Earth, leaving its passengers in a state of peril. The only way for them to survive was to inhabit nearby life forms. Thus began the long journey of these alien beings as they determined to intervene in the course of evolution with the goal of eventually being able to return home. Throughout the existence of humanity these beings have been inhabiting known and little known persons, directing events so as to push technology forward. Over the course of time this group split in to two factions: the Genjix, who believe that humans reach their potential best when in a state of conflict, and the Prophus who prefer to follow a more peaceful road. As these two groups grew to be more and more at odds with one another, war erupted and this war, waged through their human hosts, has been raging for centuries.
Roen Tan is going about the business of his listless existence when he suddenly finds himself the vessel for a presence that calls itself Tao. Roen soon discovers that not only is he stuck with this alien until his death, but that a host of human-inhabiting Genjix want Tao captured something fierce, and they will be only too happy to kill Roen to make that happen.
What unfolds is what one Amazon reviewer described as the television show “Chuck..with aliens”. I have not seen the show, though commercials have given me a good idea of the overall plot and on the surface this seems like a very apt description. What makes this book great, however, is that Chu takes things to a deeper level. He gives his characters some nice depth, creates a warm and engaging relationship between Tao and Roen, and pens exciting movie-style action that keeps the tension building as Roen goes through a process of changing his life.
There is some great humor here, though I hesitate to call it “laugh-out-loud funny” as author Myke Cole states on the cover. Humor is a very personal thing. For me the humor was clever, perhaps a little sarcastic at times, and interspersed well within the novel to break up tense moments without harming the momentum of the story.
For as well as Chu pens the thriller aspects of the story, it is Roen and Tao and Sonya and Jill (and a few dastardly antagonists) that make the story so enjoyable. Particularly effective is the way in which Chu reveals Tao’s long history through selections of dreams implanted in Roen’s mind that start each chapter. There is a ‘story within the story’ aspect to these chapter intros that builds as the book progresses and is integrated smoothly into the overall narrative.
The Lives of Tao is a fun read, and I am excited to see that a sequel is already out for my reading pleasure. The Lives of Tao is highly accessible science fiction with an emphasis on characters you are sure to enjoy.
Yet another fan of Mr. Chu. Glad to hear it. I liked the sample that I read, but was too behind on other projects to start another.
If you liked the sample you’ll love the rest of the book. It only gets better as it goes along.
I was looking at this at the bookstore last week and almost bought it. Seems like I may have to go back for it. 🙂
It is funny because the first time I saw it there was something about the cover that attracted my eye but also made me think I wouldn’t enjoy it. Now that I’ve read it the cover art could not be more perfect for the book. This is a case of fantastic art direction.
I have been seeing this around and I want to get it at some point. Glad you also liked it. 🙂
Yes, get it! 🙂
Well now, this sounds like a novel I would love! Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
I do think of it as one that would have a lot of crossover appeal in regards to readers of a variety of genres.
I am in the midst of it now and I am thoroughly enjoying it. (I delayed heading out this morning so I could read a little more.) I appreciate the conversations between the host and inhabitor.
You have once again found another winner for me. Thank you!
I’m happy that you are enjoying it, I had been on the lookout for another recommendation for you, especially since I am behind in my James S.A. Corey and Hugh Howey reading.
oooooh, sounds interesting! will have to check it out…
I suspect you would enjoy it. I wish I could split my reading self into a dozen clones so I could get to the next book and not have to lay aside any of my current reading.
Oooooooh, this one sounds like it could be a lot of fun. I’ve been hearing a fair bit about it recently.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much! It’s always wonderful to click with a book the way it sounds like you did here.
I agree. I wish that happened with every read, but then I guess we wouldn’t have special experiences then.
I agree – there were a few times I chuckled out loud…namely the mugging scene – which I later chatted with the author to find out that was from his own real life experience in Chicago..but most of it was just smirky. I hope you enjoy the second one. I thought it was must stronger than the first.
Oh really? That is wild. That scene was a very fun one, I chuckled as well. Happy to hear that you felt the second was a stronger book, which is what we hope we find in an author’s work. If I don’t get it for Christmas I imagine I’ll be buying it for myself soon after.
This sounds like so much fun! And what an awesome cover. I’m on it 🙂
It is such an effective cover once you see what the story is about. I commend the art direction at Angry Robot books for this one.
I knew you’d get a kick out of this one! I read it and really enjoyed it, and basically forced the book on my husband and made him read it too, and he liked it as well. I’m hoping to see Wesley Chu at a convention next year so I can thank him in person for such a great ride.
I’m so happy you reviewed it as yours was the one that pushed me over the edge. I bought it immediately after reading your review, the second positive one in as many days. I’ll enjoy reading about your con experience!
I heard of this book when the author was a guest on Writing Excuses about 2 months ago. But sadly, when I last when to my local Barnes & Noble they only had the sequel and not the original book (which is starting to piss me off because I’ve seen several times where they have had the sequel and not the original book).
I’m still going to look into it in sometime soon, but I’ve got a few other books I need to get through first. But it’s always good to hear good things about a book that I was already interested in.
I am waaay behind on Writing Excuses. I’ll have to catch that one.
I am so happy to read that others have the same annoyances with BN that I have. I realize they have limited shelf space, but to me it is very poor planning to get a sequel and not re-order the first book at the same time. They’ve lost sales from me in the past when that has happened. And it annoys me as I want their brick and mortar stores to stay open.