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hawkeyegough's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was a lot of fun and had an original concept that shone as the backbone of the plot. Once it got going, it built on itself in a realistic (if somewhat hammy) way. This book reads like if Joe Everyman suddenly had the spirit of James Bond mixed with General Sherman shoved into his head. While this has been done before in fiction, I feel that where this book stands alone is the way the spirits - better classified as aliens - are shown to be manipulating our history throughout time for their own goals. I won’t go too far into this to avoid spoilers, but this aspect felt deep and as realistic as brain-hopping incorporeal aliens can get in a fun setting that is happy to bend some of the rules of reality.
Another refreshing addition to this two-brains-one-body scenario is that the “host” can largely shut out his passenger and ignore him if the whim strikes to do so. That plus the fact that the main character and host begins to feel remorse and even malaise because he’s fighting for a cause that’s literally alien to him. This moral evaluation by the main character felt like it fit well in what is a slightly darker take on familiar action and adventure plot points.
If the reader allows himself to go along with Wesley Chu on his debut novel and embrace the tone and style he uses to great effect, it all comes together in a really entertaining package. I think most people would enjoy this book, and I’m planning to pick up the next one so I can follow the journey to the next stop.
Another refreshing addition to this two-brains-one-body scenario is that the “host” can largely shut out his passenger and ignore him if the whim strikes to do so. That plus the fact that the main character and host begins to feel remorse and even malaise because he’s fighting for a cause that’s literally alien to him. This moral evaluation by the main character felt like it fit well in what is a slightly darker take on familiar action and adventure plot points.
If the reader allows himself to go along with Wesley Chu on his debut novel and embrace the tone and style he uses to great effect, it all comes together in a really entertaining package. I think most people would enjoy this book, and I’m planning to pick up the next one so I can follow the journey to the next stop.
wickedmitch's review against another edition
5.0
This book provides a fresh take on the old trope of aliens inhabiting human bodies and manipulating world affairs. It tells a rather engaging story as well and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
estanceveyrac's review against another edition
DNF, chapter 19, a bit over 200 pages.
I forced myself to read way longer that I would have, had I not acquired all three volumes of the triology...
It's a very boy-ish book. Like peak mediocrity of toxic masculinity. A whiny dude, obnoxious, can't stand that in life, won't read about it in my free time.
I forced myself to read way longer that I would have, had I not acquired all three volumes of the triology...
It's a very boy-ish book. Like peak mediocrity of toxic masculinity. A whiny dude, obnoxious, can't stand that in life, won't read about it in my free time.
fakespy87's review
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
odin45mp's review against another edition
3.0
I met the author briefly at GenCon this year, which inspired me to pull this back up out of my "Kindle Daily Deal Purchases that I will read Someday in the Distant Future" pile. It is a fast read, and has some entertaining moments. I loved the interplay between the main character Roen and his alien symbiont Tao. The basic plot is that humanity has been secretly manipulated by a noncorporeal alien species that has been conducting bloody ideological wars amongst itself for most of recorded human history. Tao is one of the good guys' top agents, but his host is killed and he is forced to take up residence in IT slob Roen. Insert a couple of training montages and Roen is ready to learn how to be a top spy. Many of the secondary characters are thin enough that you can't see them when they turn sideways, including people who should factor deeply in Roen's life, like his roommate and girlfriend. The book has its flaws, but it has some good ideas and was a first novel. I will be checking out the rest of the series, and hopefully Chu is steered by a stronger editorial hand, because I see potential here.
timinbc's review against another edition
3.0
I dunno, I think I'm being generous at three stars.
First, there's the basic premise, that humans are being "ridden" by aliens who are split into two factions and have been manipulating human affairs for millennia. OK at first glance, but a tad shaky on implementation. It's a bit like "past lives" where no one ever celebrates having been an unlucky peasant whose job was mucking out stables till he died at 27 from the plague. Chu tries to play the ubiquity of the aliens as a bit of a joke (for example, he could well have included "Classic Coke? Yeah, that was us") but as it builds up it gets unworkable. YMMV.
At times Chu does address the philosophical questions such as "do humans matter anymore?" As Roen gets more skilled he has to get past the shock of his first kill, but a few pages later he's mowing down opponents and sending his teammates to their deaths without hesitation.
Roen is a schlub, and Chu handles his development reasonably well. But he never makes us LIKE Roen, and his female characters are odd. One is hyper-capable and the other is all "ooh, Roeny!" Sonya almost made it to interesting, but then the plot turned ... and Jill likes Roen for no discernible reason.
Tao and his colleagues are annoyingly smug. The bad guys are stock cardboard nyah-hah-hah characters whose only interesting feature is that every couple of chapters we learn that not only does A report to B, but B reports to C, and C to D, and D to E .... and each time we realize that the guy we thought was a hyper-capable leader is in fact a schlub and it's the NEW guy who's all badass.
There are some action scenes, all fist-signally and stuff so we know he's done the research for those who like military SF. Didn't care for the resolution of the final one, though perhaps a more experienced writer could have sold it to me as "sometimes you win a fight just because you were lucky."
There are several signs that the book could have used some work by the various kinds of editors, but I am prepared to blame the publisher for this.
It's a lightweight book with occasional pretensions of being more, but stays lightweight because the base and the writing are just not strong enough to support any attempts at philosophy. Read it as lightweight and you'll probably enjoy it.
But I'll probably let #2 go unread.
First, there's the basic premise, that humans are being "ridden" by aliens who are split into two factions and have been manipulating human affairs for millennia. OK at first glance, but a tad shaky on implementation. It's a bit like "past lives" where no one ever celebrates having been an unlucky peasant whose job was mucking out stables till he died at 27 from the plague. Chu tries to play the ubiquity of the aliens as a bit of a joke (for example, he could well have included "Classic Coke? Yeah, that was us") but as it builds up it gets unworkable. YMMV.
At times Chu does address the philosophical questions such as "do humans matter anymore?" As Roen gets more skilled he has to get past the shock of his first kill, but a few pages later he's mowing down opponents and sending his teammates to their deaths without hesitation.
Roen is a schlub, and Chu handles his development reasonably well. But he never makes us LIKE Roen, and his female characters are odd. One is hyper-capable and the other is all "ooh, Roeny!" Sonya almost made it to interesting, but then the plot turned ... and Jill likes Roen for no discernible reason.
Tao and his colleagues are annoyingly smug. The bad guys are stock cardboard nyah-hah-hah characters whose only interesting feature is that every couple of chapters we learn that not only does A report to B, but B reports to C, and C to D, and D to E .... and each time we realize that the guy we thought was a hyper-capable leader is in fact a schlub and it's the NEW guy who's all badass.
There are some action scenes, all fist-signally and stuff so we know he's done the research for those who like military SF. Didn't care for the resolution of the final one, though perhaps a more experienced writer could have sold it to me as "sometimes you win a fight just because you were lucky."
There are several signs that the book could have used some work by the various kinds of editors, but I am prepared to blame the publisher for this.
It's a lightweight book with occasional pretensions of being more, but stays lightweight because the base and the writing are just not strong enough to support any attempts at philosophy. Read it as lightweight and you'll probably enjoy it.
But I'll probably let #2 go unread.
trin's review against another edition
1.0
Sexist garbage. Not only is this book a textbook example of semi-competent male hero/hyper-competent female sidekick, Chu takes things a notch further by suggesting that women are literally interchangeable. Chu's worthless male "hero" is in an improbable love triangle with two skilled women, and Chu actually solves this problem by . Because of the wonders of science fiction, I guess.
So congrats, dude! You've achieved a new level of gross!
Spoiler
combining the rival ladies into a single personSo congrats, dude! You've achieved a new level of gross!