{Book Review} THE DEATHS OF TAO by Wesley Chu

The Deaths of Tao
by Wesley Chu
Publisher: Angry Robot Books
Published: October 2013
Length: 464 pages
Source: publisher via netgalley

The sequel to The Lives of Tao.

The Prophus and the Genjix are at war. For centuries they have sought a way off-planet, guiding humanity’s social and technological development to the stage where space travel is possible. The end is now in sight, and both factions have plans to leave the Earth, but the Genjix method will mean the destruction of the human race.

That’s a price they’re willing to pay.

It’s up to Roen and Tao to save the world. Oh, dear…

 A thoroughly enjoyable follow up to THE LIVES OF TAO. I'm an Angry Robot publishing house junkie...they have such fantastic books like Wesley Chu's. 

Roen & Tao's story continues a few years after where we left them in THE LIVES OF TAO. Now, Roen is married (and separated) to Jill, and they have a toddler son, Cameron, but Cameron lives with his maternal grandparents out in California. 

The war between the Prophus and the Genjix is escalating. Prophus, the general populace, continues on their regular battles, not believing Roen. Meanwhile, Roen follows Tao's suspicions and leaves the organization in pursuit of Tao's belief that something much greater is going on at the Genjix camp, besides the creation of superior specimens of human hosts. 

Although Roen misses his family, his wife Jill & their son Cameron, he is ever-focused on discovering what the Genjix are up to. By chance, he finally DOES discover that Tao's hunches were correct. And Roen aims to stop them for both the Quasing's future and the world's survival. The Genjix mean to achieve their goals no matter the consequences to humans and the humans who house the Genjix Quasings are so fanatical in their belief that the Quasings are deities that they are willing to sacrifice everything, especially Enzo, the human host to the Quasing Genjix leader, Zoras. Superior in form and trained since birth to focus on one ultimate end goal, Enzo is focused and determined to bring about the ultimate end: the goal of turning planet Earth to the home for the Quasings by changing the environment to make it conducive to Quasings, but uninhabitable for humans. Without humans, these Quasings would never have survived all these generations and years, but the Genjix don't care as they view humans as worthy to only be a means to an end whereas the Prophus are regretful for inhabiting humans and grateful to their hosts. It is this most basic of differences that is the cause for the battle and war between the two factions of Quasings. 

If you read THE LIVES OF TAO, you must read this sequel. It accomplishes that which you rarely see in a sequel: it surpasses the first book. Funny and poignant, at times heart-wrenching, this was a kindle bruiser as I had to read on. A fresh look on the world with that question of "what if..." I loved it!