The Lives of Tao series, Book 1 Wesley Chu Angry Robot Fiction, Humor/Sci-Fi Themes: Aliens, Hidden Wonders ****
Description
Since their dying ship crashed on Earth in the age of dinosaurs, the gaseous Quasings have been forced to survive inside native animals, protected from the deadly
atmosphere of this alien world. The nearly-immortal beings watched the first primates descend from the trees, learning to communicate with each other through their evolving
bodies. Today, they influence politics and wars while still working to construct a new ship to take them home... yet they still need host bodies to survive.
Tao, part of the rebellious Prophus group of Quasings, lost his last host in a deadly encounter with the Genjix, who have very different ideas of how to use (or, rather,
abuse) the human race. With every minute exposed to Earth's atmosphere bringing him closer to death, and with Gengix agents still hunting him, he barely manages to latch
onto a new host... Roen Tan, an overweight, underconfident cubicle jockey in a computer engineering firm. Tao's influence has forged (and destroyed) whole empires through
generals and emperors, but Roen can't even jog a city block without winding himself. Unfortunately, once bonded to a host, a Quasing is stuck there until death releases
them. Tao has no choice but to whip Roen into shape as a Prophus agent - and Roen soon learns he has no choice but to listen to the new voice in his head. Even if he wants
no part in this secret alien civil war, Tao's enemies aren't through hunting for him, and to a Genjix agent, Roen's simply one more expendable meatbag.
Review
For the most part, this is an entertaining story, with aliens, intrigue, action, spies, and some nice touches of humor and humanity along the way. Roen starts out as the
kind of drifting underachiever many of us can relate to, stuck in a life he doesn't enjoy but unable to find the resolve or the passion to change things. Just as Tao's
influence helps Roen build a life worth living, he faced the very real possibility of dying in an undercover civil war, one with ties to hidden Quasing influences around the
world. At times, the story drifted, with long stretches between plot elements, and there were also things that seemed potentially important but were forgotten... possibly
because there appears to be at least one more book in the works with the Quasings. A subtle sexist air lurks in the background, despite some competent female agents, though
in all honestly (and at the risk of sounding sexist myself) the book really does seem more like a guy story, with the guns and the covert operations and such, so maybe it's
to be expected. The climax shows both Tao and Roen just how much the former frustrated computer engineer has changed in both body and mind. On the whole, I found it
enjoyable, even if it lacked that extra kick for a higher rating. I don't know that I'll go out of my way to read the sequel, though.
It was the prophecy that founded a religion, that gave the beleaguered nations hope, that justified exorbitant expenditures of time, effort, and cold
hard liang coins once the child was found: the Prophecized Hero of the Tiandi and Champion of the Five Under Heaven, who would rise to slay the Immortal
Khan of the Grass Sea and end the relentless raids of those barbaric Katuian people upon civilized Zhuun lands. Thus was young Jian raised in a luxurious
palace, surrounded by bodyguards and servants catering to every whim, trained by the best war artists in every possible manner of combat... and utterly
incapable of winning a fight against so much as a child, let alone the Khan. Aging windwhisper Taishi, long past her prime, despairs when she discovers
how spoiled the hero-to-be has become, how greed and corruption have turned his training into a mockery. She determines to do her best to salvage the
situation - until the Immortal Khan is killed by someone else, rendering the prophecy obsolete and Jian a political liability.
Jian doesn't understand it. As far back as he can recall, he's been the glorified chosen one. He's learned everything his exalted masters have taught him,
struck every pose perfect as a painting, won every practice match he's ever been in - and never questioned why. Only the one-armed old hag of a war artist
who plucks air currents like harp strings doubts his prowess... but when the very people who once praised him try to kill him in his own garden, only that
old hag defends him, whisking him away from Mute Men assassins and bounty-hungry shadowkills. Faced with the very real possibility that not only was his
entire life a lie but that he may not actually be a good war artist, Jian finds himself staring into a bleak future... but the prophecy may not be quite
as obsolete as everyone believes, and the Champion of the Five Under Heaven may yet be needed to save the land.
The Viperstrike warrior Sali has served the moving cities of the Grass Sea and the Immortal Khan himself with unwavering loyalty. She even bears a piece
of his Will within her, a fragment of soul that beckons her when the Khan's too-mortal body is struck down. Tradition compels her to lay down her life,
to return that fragment of the Khan's will that it may be reborn in a new body... but with the land-chained Zhuun armies destroying her people, Sali
defies her sacred duty to become a Soul Seeker, to find the Khan's new vessel and unite the Grass Sea against the enemy. Once she has found him, she'll
gladly die and return his piece of soul to him - but destiny may have another fate in mind for the warrior.
Review
Warriors who can step through shadows or ride upon winds or even blur time, a "sea" of moving, living plants where cities rove upon great wheels, a
prophecy that appears to have ruined more than it promised to save, and a collection of characters left to pick up the pieces and figure out what went
wrong and why nothing seems to be going right... Chu blends magical martial arts with a well-imagined world and flawed yet interesting characters in
this amusing epic adventure
Starting with Taishi discovering just how far astray the coddled would-be hero has been led by advisors and trainers more interested in their own
glorification (and purses) than with saving Zhuun from the Immortal Khan's people, the tale takes several surprising turns. Jian, naturally, undergoes
some much-needed growing up by being literally chased out of the lap of luxury and into the harsh reality beyond the palace walls... not quite as much
growing up as one might expect by the end, in some ways, but he is still young and has a lot of botched upbringing to erase before he can truly become
anything like a proper hero. Taishi, for her part, sees just enough promise in the boy to keep from giving up on him - just as she's not convinced that
it's the prophecy that failed, a journey that leads her to the heart of the Tiandi religion and some surprising revelations, not to mention some new
allies and enemies along the way. Steadfast warrior Sali of the Grass Sea has dedicated herself fully to her people and her Khan - especially when a
childhood best friend became the new incarnation of the Katuian ruler after the previous one passed away. She eats, sleeps, and breathes tradition...
yet finds herself defying not only the shamans but her own soul's pull toward death when she decides that she can serve the Grass Sea better by finding
the new Khan amid the postwar chaos than by committing suicide in the temple - the first of many clashes she'll encounter with truths and rules she
once considered as solid and unquestionable as the sun and three moons in the heavens. Further complications come from Quisimi, an ambitious (if not
entirely mentally stable) shadowkill mercenary who means to make a name for herself and her crew by taking down the ex-hero and his traitor protector,
the windwhisper war artist Taishi. They all have their parts to play in the unfolding saga, all facing conflicts that force them to reexamine their
loyalties and beliefs and long-unquestioned assumptions. The tale moves decently enough, with plenty of action, many exciting fight sequences and
fascinating settings, some emotion and drama, and more than a touch of humor throughout, though sometimes it feels like it's not quite covering as
much ground as it seems it should be given the page count, if that makes any sense. I wasn't entirely certain I'd read over five hundred pages worth
of story when I reached the end, for all that I generally enjoyed it and look forward to where the saga goes from here.
