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The Lives Of Tao (2013)

by Wesley Chu(Favorite Author)

3.75 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0857663291 (ISBN13: 9780857663290)

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

publisher

Angry Robot

series

Tao

review 1: The Lives of Tao is a fun book with a neat premise, but (there's no easy way to say this) it's just not very good. The protagonist, Roan, becomes possessed by an alien spirit called Tao whose previous hosts include Genghis Khan and the inventor of T'ai Chi. It turns out, many famous people throughout history have been possessed by such aliens. Unfortunately for Tao, Roan is an overweight IT professional. This is especially bad, since Tao needs Roan to help him fight in an ongoing alien civil war. Okay, so the plot wasn't completely original, but it had potential. Unfortunately, the book turns into a training montage without much plot, and the central conceit (i.e., that our unlikely hero has an alien spirit with vast knowledge cohabiting his brain) didn't pan out as well a... mores it could… one might expect Tao to constantly be sharing his knowledge of past lives, turning Roan into an amazing jack of all trades. Instead, Tao just gives good advice from time to time, and only does a minimum of play-by-play guidance (which is where the book shines for me). Even though the central conceit is squandered, the plot is weak and the characters are weak, I don't regret reading The Lives of Tao. Despite its flaws, it was entertaining, and it could have been a great book with some polishing.
review 2: An interesting and mostly fast paced story about a guy who acquires an alien entity inside him. Recommended to those who like science fiction, thrillers, observations on humanity, with the odd bit of humour. Generally good, but there is one weak point where the main character goes to meet his girlfriend in an obviously dangerous situation, without any backup. The last third of the book is the consequence of this stupidity. Still, I enjoyed the book and have started reading the sequel. less

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