Review: The Deaths of Tao by Wesley Chu

Summary

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…

My thoughts

When I first started reading The Death of Tao, I actually thought I accidentally started the third book already. I was quite surprised by the bigger jump in time and by certain aspects of Roen’s life. Once I double checked that I was indeed reading the right book and kept reading, I really enjoyed that Wesley Chu made the decision to make quite a drastic change to Roen’s personal life without us having to go through all that. Instead, we can concentrate on the fight between the aliens again.

Time jump aside, we did get something I was both expecting but also dreading, because I thought it might get a bit repetitive. A new POV of a character who is new to having an alien inside them, being introduced to the cause and having to learn how to handle tough, even life threatening situations. It was quite a different experience though, and not as boring as I feared. 
I still had a problem with this POV though, because I didn’t enjoy how heavy it was on politics. It was definitely an important aspect of the story and an interesting insight, but I wasn’t too keen on reading about all the details.
Another POV I did like a lot was one that gave more insight into the plans of the bad guys, the Genjix. Nothing like reading from a power-hungry boy’s POV, who can’t control himself, trying to wipe out humanity.

What I also likeed a lot was seeing more about the alien’s history and the influence they had on humanity. I’m still in love with the whole scenario of aliens being responsible for our evolution. Seeing not only Tao’s direct influence on Roen’s life (more extreme than in the first one imo), but also the bigger picture makes for an interesting contrast, making you wonder if the aliens’ influence on individuals’ lives is justified when you know both how hard it is on the humans, but also the alien’s overall agenda.

The Deaths of Tao is almost just as good as The Lives of Tao, but a little less entertaining with some new POVs that I wasn’t always interested in. Wesley Chu did not only add and deepen the relationships of family and friends, but also upped the stakes in The Deaths of Tao. Many lives are in danger and I wasn’t sure who would make it out alive of this one. A decent sequel whose ending made me want to pick up the last book right away.