A Fixer-Upper Spy

The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of those books that is pretty good all the way through and then really good in the last 50 pages or so. I liked it, then I really liked it.

It's a clever premise--a sort of eons-long spy-versus-spy struggle taking place under our very noses, with eternal beings piggybacking on certain humans throughout history (back to the dinosaurs, even) and fighting for supremacy. Many famous people hosted one of these beings, but this story is about an unlikely hero who gets chosen at random. He's out of shape, awkward, uninspiring, unmotivated, and not a good candidate for clandestine work. His gradual acceptance of a weird situation and a long, painful training is both realistic and funny, though I identified with the poor sod enough to feel pretty attacked through a lot of chapters.... ;)

When the drama gets personal, the action gets really good, and I read it with a lot of pleasure. I think book two has a good shot at being even more fun, and I'm gonna take a look to see if I'm right.

Recommended. Follow the author on twitter, too

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