The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu is available on Kindle and in Paperback
I never even heard of this book or author before picking up the Lives of Tao, so I had no idea what to expect. But this book was on the list to read for my book club, so I purchased it and started to read. And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.
The first chapter was a little confusing until I figured out what was going on (that there was actually a sentient being inside the character’s head that was talking to him and the guy wasn’t just plain bonkers), but by chapter two Wesley Chu had me anxiously awaiting to see what happened next.
Enter Roen Tan an over-weight, out-of-shape slob with no real prospects beyond his life of video games, frozen pizzas, and the occasional party night with his roommate. Just a boring, unexceptional life… that is until Roen starts hearing a voice talking inside his head and it’s definitely not his own. And things just get weirder from there (but in a really good way). And so a story of humor and razor edge danger unfolds as Roen learns to adjust to this new unexpected change in his life.
I found it difficult to put this book down as I followed Roen on his journey. I couldn’t help but feel a kinship to him as I know how hard it is to make changes, especially lifestyle changes. His own struggles mirrored some of my own, and I felt very connected to that. Oh, and then there’s the downright side-splitting humor as Tao whips poor Roen into shape (and the two come head to head on many things), and really I found it to be the best part of the whole book!
I also found this book to be a treasure as it really dug deep into each of the characters and made them all come alive as if I knew them personally. The trials they each went through were felt, and by the time I reached the end of the book I wasn’t ready to let them go. Thank goodness there’s a second book the Deaths of Tao (but that’s a different book review!).
I highly recommend this book to people who love science fiction or just like great human interest stories. Be prepared to be entertained and delighted when you pick up this book.
Note: The Lives of Tao is the first of a three book trilogy. The Deaths of Tao is book two and The Rebirths of Tao is due out in April of this year (come on April!). You can check out Wesley Chu’s website here.
Cynthia D. Griffin 
I’d just like to point to two very interesting sessions Wesley Chu did with the writingexcuses podcast. http://www.writingexcuses.com/2013/10/27/writing-excuses-8-43-realistic-melee-fighting-with-wesley-chu/ and http://www.writingexcuses.com/2013/11/10/writing-excuses-8-45-gencon-qa-with-wes-chu/
In there he talked about writing realistic melee fighting and writing in general.
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Awesome! Thanks for sharing Barbara! I’ll have to take a listen. 🙂
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That does sound neat!
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Yeah, I think you’d really like the series Michael. It’s a very cool story. And I think I loved it even more because it has the same “feel” of my own novel.
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