The Deaths of Tao

Executive Summary: Another fun entry in the Tao series that ends with such an awful cliffhanger!Full ReviewA few months ago I had never heard of this series or Mr. Chu. Thanks to Sword & Laser and an Amazon daily deal, I corrected that oversight.I rather enjoyed the [b:The Lives of Tao 15981711 The Lives of Tao (Tao, #1) Wesley Chu https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361886088s/15981711.jpg 19932371] when I read it a few months ago, and moved this book up my list planning to fit it in as soon as my book club schedule allowed.Now that I have read it, all that I can say is “Damn You Wesley Chu!”That's a sure-fire sign of a good book/series if you get angry with the author for leaving you wanting more. It looks like the third book is tentatively coming out at the end of the year, and that's not nearly soon enough!This book was just as much fun as the first one, though maybe not as funny. Once again where the book shines for me is the way Mr. Chu retcons history to fit the aliens in. Did you know that Global Warming is actually the fault of aliens? True story.Galieo: Host to an alien. He wasn't persecuted by the church for blasphemy. It was really because he was part of a different faction of aliens than those who controlled it. You get the idea.I think the best compliment I can give this book is to contrast it with the book I was listening to at the same time: [b:Patriot Games 32682 Patriot Games (Jack Ryan, #1) Tom Clancy https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328007145s/32682.jpg 5054702]. [a:Tom Clancy 3892 Tom Clancy https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1175466521p2/3892.jpg] is arguably the king of the Spy Thriller, and Jack Ryan is one of the best known of the genre. I found this book way more exciting and fun.My only real complaint here is the main villain is a bit too flat. He's a believable character, but he's so unlikable that I found his chapters sometimes frustrating to read. Thankfully though his story line was pretty interesting and Mr. Chu did a good job at making me wish for bad things to happen to him.Overall this book seems to do a good job distinguishing itself from a lot of other sci-fi books out there. Part Spy Thriller, part alien invasion story. Well written and good humor and dialogue. There is a lot to enjoy here and I recommend checking out this series.