Book Review: The Rise of Io by Wesley Chu
Note: This review contains SPOILERS for the previous Tao trilogy, of which I have previously reviewed The Deaths of Tao.
It has been a decade since the end of the Alien World War, when nations under the influence of either the Genjix or Prophus factions of the symbiotic Quasing, or who wanted to avoid joining either side, battled each other openly. The sudden cessation of direct hostilities left soldiers and refugees stranded far from home–and in some cases with no home to return to.
Such was the case of Ella Patel, mother dead and father disappeared presumed dead. She now lives in Crate Town, a neighborhood for displaced persons in northern India. Ella’s learned to survive with thievery and con games, but treats her accomplices well and pays proper respect to her community.
Outsiders are fair game though, and we first meet Ella when she’s on the run with medical supplies stolen from Pakistani gangsters. While hiding out, she witnesses two Westerners being attacked by dark figures. The man freezes, leaving the woman to fight on her own. Ella helps even the odds, but not enough to save the woman’s life. Something sparkling leaves the woman’s body and enters Ella.
Ella now finds herself bonded with the Prophus agent Io, and tasked with investigating a Genjix secret project. She has severe personality clashes with her new partner, and doesn’t trust the cowardly Hamilton, Io’s human assistant. But when she learns the Genjix project is threatening to destroy her home in Crate Town, Ella and Io must learn to work together.
To quickly recap some of the backstory: The Quasing are aliens who crashlanded on Earth millions of years ago. Unable to survive in Earth’s atmosphere, they must bond with the local beings as symbiotes. Ever since humans evolved, the Quasing have been guiding our civilization in an effort to gain the science to get back off Earth.
Some centuries back, the Quasing split into two political factions. The Genjix encourage their vessels to think of them as divine, and consider humans to be a resource to be expended as needed, and to be discarded when the time comes. The Prophus see humans as partners, and want humanity to thrive once the Quasing can leave. They’ve been involved in a quiet civil war ever since. The war turned hot when the existence of the Quasing was revealed to the humans, but right now it’s back to assassinations and secret projects.
While our primary focus is on Ella and Io and their relationship, the book also follows top Genjix agent Shura as she tries to rise in the ranks against her personal enemies, and a certain returning character from the first trilogy.
Good: This book makes good use of contrast in protagonists from the previous trilogy. Ella is a streetwise refugee in an impoverished community, a huge change from Asian-American slacker turned combat operative Roen. And while Tao was a nobody on the ship that crashlanded who rose to the occasion and became a top agent for the Prophus, inhabiting such notables as Genghis Khan, Io had an important job aboard the starship but has been an utter failure as an agent, inhabiting losers and laughingstocks. This has made Io understandably bitter, and she often keeps important information from Ella, worsening their already shaky teamwork.
I like the way the Genjix motto “Conflict breeds Innovation” is both a strength and their greatest weakness as their internal politics take up an inordinate amount of their time and attention.
The book is a fast, fun read and the ending ramps up the pressure once again. How will humanity survive this one?
Less good: Once the returning character shows up, the focus shifts to the personal enmity between that person and Shura, taking page time away from the current protagonists.
Some people may find Io’s personality and actions too unsympathetic to swallow.
Overall: While this book can certainly be read without having gone through the original trilogy as there’s sufficient explanations of the background (and the twists will be harder to predict), I think reading the earlier books first will enhance your enjoyment. Recommended to SF action fans.
