The Lives of Tao Paperback – Illustrated, April 30, 2013

I'll bet that Wes Chu's life motto isn't YOLO ("You Only Live Once"). In The Lives of Tao, the title character is a very old, somewhat snarky alien who has been stranded on earth for generations. Tao and his fellow aliens crash landed here many years ago and they can only survive in host bodies. When the host dies, they must move on and Tao has moved on many, many times.The book opens with a bang, literally, as Tao and his host are in a spy-vs-spy caper that goes wrong. Bullets are flying and Edward, Tao's host, makes the ultimate sacrifice in a dive off the John Hancock building. Edward's body doesn't survive, but Tao lives on.Tao doesn't have time to be too picky in selecting a new host and he settles into the body of Roen, an overweight, not overly ambitious IT technician. Now Roen has a voice in his head and a world of trouble headed his way.The Lives of Tao is a fun romp. Combining the action of a James Bond movie with a secret history of the world worthy of it's own subdivision of the X-files, Tao and a cast of aliens and humans work to whip Roen into the shape he'll need in his new role as soldier/secret agent/spy. Because, you see, there are two factions of aliens and they're at war.In a way, The Lives of Tao, is kind of the ultimate self-improvement book. Roen has to get fit or die. There's a lot he has to learn. Tao may live forever, but Roen's survival is always in doubt. In a way Wes Chu might have done too good a job in casting Roen as a hapless every man, I found the other characters, especially Tao, more compelling. But Roen improves as the book goes on and I found myself rooting for him.The hidden history that gets revealed in The Lives of Tao is clever and sometimes teasingly referenced. The book doesn't get bogged down in heavy details, it blasts along as an adventure, the kind of thing that would make a fun summer movie, the kind that leaves the door open to host of sequels. I have no idea if The Lives of Tao will ever be seen on a movie screen (it should!) but that sequel book is already in the works.There's no need to YOLO. You can have more fun and action than can fit in one life. The Lives of Tao is a complete story with heroes and villains, life and love and non-stop action. But Wes Chu has more to tell us about The Lives of Tao and that's a good thing.

I have to admit that at first when I read the synopsis for this story, I didn’t think much of it. It sounded almost exactly like the TV show Chuck, but with aliens. But then I saw that this book was nominated for a Campbell award, not to mention that the first two books were on the kindle daily deal. And once I started the Lives of Tao, I never looked back.Meet Roen Tan. He’s an out of shape IT guy who hates his job along with the thought that he isn’t doing anything with his life. He is regretful of the decisions he’s made, but believes he has no way of making up for them and improving his life. His nights are spent at clubs, getting drunk and hitting only women, only to be ditched after he willing pays for their drinks; leaving him alone to sulk in his sad life, but when he starts hearing a voice in his head, his life changes forever.Meet Tao. He is an alien a part of a species known only as the Quasing; he and his people crashed landed on earth billions of years ago when dinosaurs roamed the land. Eventually they learned they could inhabit said creatures, for they could not live on this planet without a host. The Quasing only have one goal and that is to build a spaceship in order to go back home. The only problem is that the creatures on earth weren’t advanced mentally or physically to make their dream a reality. So when humans began to evolve, the Quasing began to make allies with them and guide them so that one day they could create the technology needed return home.However, some of the Quasing had different views on how to go about guiding the human race. One half ,known as the Genjix, believed that tragedy results in innovation and eventually after the humans recovered from each disaster caused by the Genjix, then they’d have a way home. As for the other half, the Prophus, they believe the humans needed to be built up, rather than broken down; the humans needed guidance to advance. This disagreement in methods for reaching their goal resulted in the start of an all-out war between the two factions, with the humans as the pawns. One day after Tao’s former host, Edward Blair, takes his own life, Tao comes across Roen and together they train Roen in order to prepare him for the fight against the Genjix, one of which the Prophus are losing.The Lives of Tao has many attributes that makes it a great novel. I honestly found the book to be funny. The witty banter between Roen and Tao is, in my opinion, is the highlight of this book. The two characters have perfect chemistry and complement each other. At many points in the book I found myself laughing at their arguments or one of Tao’s jibes to Roen. Then there are the actions scenes which make the book shine. It might have something to do with the author being a martial artist that makes him do such a great job with fight scenes. They are detailed and clear, but not so much that you get lost in the fight and lose sight if what is happening. Some authors can’t manage it. They try to give you every single detail and it makes the novel confusing.The characters are another aspect of this book. I truly enjoyed Roen’s transformation in the book from coward to hero. I found it fitting that it didn’t happen overnight. Roen’s change was gradual and it felt real Some I loved too much to let go, others were truly deserving of the hate I felt for them, but that’s what I love about the villains. I loved to hate them. And they make the story so much better by putting the characters in tough situations, forcing them to make life changing decisions which add suspense to the book.Final Verdict: I can see why this book is Campbell nominated. The story of Chuck cannot truly compare to Roen's tragic tale. I laughed, cried, and whooped every step of the way. After finishing this book it's safe to say I am eager for the next one. I highly recommended thus book to anyone whose looking for a funny, action packed novel.

I found it to be a mixture of old and new elements, somewhat funny and witty dialogs at times.If one likes such plots, one should give it a try.

Just finished The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu. I’m a bit late to the party with this one and I don’t know why I’ve waited so long but now I can pretty much read the entire series in short order which I fully intend to do as this was such a good read.The book starts with a James Bond type action scene in which one man dies and as he takes his last breath the alien entity that lived within him is released and seeks the shelter of a new host. By way of background: many, many years ago aliens crash landed on the planet earth and unable to survive without a host eventually settled on humans. Their ultimate aim is to return home yet during their time here the group of aliens have become divided over the treatment of humans and civil war has ensued. The Genjix are the more powerful of the two groups of aliens. They believe that humans are little more than a means to an end – to get off the planet. The Prothus on the other hand want to protect humans and the planet – they pretty much also want to get off planet but think this can be achieved in a more balanced fashion.In terms of the alien/host relationship. When an alien takes over a human the two remain in symbiosis until the death of the host – in fact this is the only way for the alien to be released. In that respect humans are groomed from an early age training for the day when they might be deemed worthy to become a host.The names of the two main characters in the story are Tao (the alien) and Roen (his host). Roen is an unsuspecting and pretty much unwilling host. He’s not ready for this experience and takes a lot of training to get anything up to a standard where he can keep himself alive even! Tao is a very interesting character and shares some of his prior history at the start of each chapter which makes for quite intriguing reading.I’m not really going to elaborate on the plot but more outline what worked for me with this story.Firstly, it’s actually good fun. The dialogue between Roen and Tao is amusing to say the least. Chu really set this up well by finding two such opposite characters.Secondly, I really like the idea that for once the central protagonist is not really ‘the chosen one’. Roen is an unfit, nerdy, tongue tied, computer geek who’s idea of a good time is a big greasy pizza oozing with cheese and a couple of beers. He doesn’t have an inner ninja waiting to break out and frankly even when he has trained hard he’s still no hardass-butt-kicking hero. He frequently fumbles his gun or goes into a complete paralysis stuck like a rabbit in the headlights at the first sign of danger. I just find it really refreshing to have a relatively normal guy. I’m not saying he’s the most easy to like character I’ve ever read because frankly he can be a bit whiney but he feels real with all his flaws.Thirdly, I like the main concept of the aliens who are really a little like body snatchers – okay, they don’t kill the human or make another version when they inhabit but let’s face it – the only way you’re going to be released from this situation is if you meet the Grim Reaper.Fourthly, the pacing is fast and there’s plenty of action.I’m not going to deny that I had a few niggles and conflicting feelings when reading – like, the war between the aliens, I’m not really convinced by it. At the end of the day none of the aliens actually ever seem to die – they just jump ship. The only real casualties are the humans which is kind of ironic given that the Prothus are warring with their kind in order to protect people from mistreatment. I also wasn’t convinced that under the circumstances so many humans would be on side ready to devote or even sacrifice themselves for the alien cause – particularly when ultimately the aliens want to leave. Where on earth would that leave the humans – the aliens after all seem to have been the main instigators of our entire history not to mention the main catalyst for inventions. And, when the aliens are eventually in a position to leave – well, how they going to get out of the bodies that are hosting them??? That’s not going to end well for the hosts methinks. I don’t see what the humans get out of the relationship other than a complete lack of privacy from the moment they become a host to the moment of their quite often untimely death? Not that there’s much you can do about it anyway – you’re not exactly asked for consent before your body is taken over.But, in spite of my niggles or questions I did really enjoy this and I can’t wait to see where it leads next. Like I said it’s a whole bunch of fun and a little whirlwind of a book where the pages just speed by. Providing you don’t want to scrutinise the detail to an nth degree this is a very enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend.

A great premise with plenty of action. I read this after time salvager and was still thought the quality to be very good. Will be reading the next one after a short hiatus from Wesley Chu material.

Very cool and unique premise. Looking forward to finding out more and seeing the characters develop! Buying book 2 immediately.

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.