Mini-Review: The Deaths of Tao by Wesley Chu

The Tao books by Wesley Chu are the perfect spy thrillers for a generation where science fiction is mainstream and dominates pop culture. They are action-packed, full of intrigue, both political and personal, witty, funny, and wrap it all up in alien possession. And of course who could be a more perfect choice for a heroic spy than an overweight, single, gamer in a dead end job?

The Deaths of Tao is the second book of the series, which is in part a trilogy, though it has expanded with a ‘coda’ novella and now a new series set in the world. The Lives of Tao began the series (my review) with a bang and The Deaths of Tao follows up a typical middle book does. Things go dark, it gets bad, really bad. Lack of hope bad. And in the end…well a tiny bit of hope gets thrown in just as a huge and unexpected curveball is thrown in to the mix. And Chu makes this all work without losing the witty, slightly irreverent voice that somehow makes a spy-thriller about alien-possessed people who secretly control the world something that isn’t just believable (in a fiction sense), but is a lot fun to read.

Go forth and read. And believe. And have fun.

Tao Series

The Lives of Tao: My Review, Amazon

The Deaths of Tao: Amazon

The Rebirths of Tao: Amazon

The Days of Tao: Amazon

Io Series

The Rise of Io: Amazon

Mini Review: The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu

If you regularly follow this blog, then you know that I can be a bit … delayed in my reviewing (and if you’re new, howdy and now you know). I’ve made no secret that I’m just busy and it can be hard for me to keep up. But I do keep up, just slowly. So, my reviewing these days runs roughly 3 months behind when I finish a book – unless it doesn’t, because some reviews beg to be written more immediately, but the muse is a finicky seductress, and I digress.

Anyway, my rambling does have a point and that is that I was very happy to see Wesley Chu win the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer at the 2015 Hugo Awards. And that has inspired me to finally get around to my ‘review’ of his debut novel, The Lives of Tao.

Honestly, I don’t have a lot to add to the narrative that you’ll find out there, so details here are intentionally sparse. I will simply say that this book is tons of fun. It’s a (sort-of) weird book about alien possession and international espionage, about secret organizations that actually control the world, and even the evolution of humanity and its civilization. Or maybe it’s about a loser in a go-nowhere tech job. That description alone is enough to probably bounce a number of readers and probably the reason that The Lives of Tao found its home with Angry Robot publishing which is known for taking chances on books that the big publishers can’t envision a market for. But, don’t fall for the trap – this book is too much fun to pass up.

If you love the idea of near-immortal, body snatching aliens controlling everything, where one takes over the life a forgettable geek and turns him into an uber spy and international man of mystery – this book is for you. And if you like the sound of some of that, but the rest seems a bit too far out there…read it anyway. This book is fun. It’s well written, it is damn near impossible to put down, and it always leaves you wanting to read more and more. It’s awesome y’all – it’s the stuff that wins awards. It’s a summer read, a beach read, or hell, it’s a great read for tonight.

Get the point? Read it. And, there are sequels. Plus another trilogy is forthcoming. All is good.

Tao Trilogy

The Lives of Tao: Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon

The Deaths of Tao: Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon

The Rebirths of Tao: Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon

Io Trilogy

The Rise of Io: Forthcoming

Time Salvager: Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon