The Rise of Io
-
- €8.99
Publisher Description
The fate of India lies in the hands of a young street urchin and the alien living inside her head in this rollicking sci-fi adventure from the author The Lives of Tao
Ella Patel—thief, con-artist and smuggler—is in the wrong place at the wrong time. One night, on the border of a demilitarized zone run by the body-swapping alien invaders, she happens upon a man and woman being chased by a group of assailants. The man freezes, leaving the woman to fight off five attackers at once, before succumbing. As she dies, the sparkling light that rises from the woman enters Ella, instead of the man. She soon realizes she’s been inhabited by Io, a low-ranking Quasing who was involved in some of the worst decisions in history. Now, Ella must now help the alien presence to complete her mission and investigate a rash of murders in the border states that maintain the frail peace.
With the Prophus assigned to help her seemingly wanting to stab her in the back, and the enemy Genjix hunting her, Ella must also deal with Io’s annoying inferiority complex. To top it all off, Ella thinks the damn alien voice in her head is trying to get her killed. And if you can’t trust the voices in your head, who can you trust?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This solid latest volume in Chu's Tao series shifts attention from the immortal alien Tao and his human vessel Cameron to a new pairing: another alien, the crabby, self-centered Io, and Indian street urchin Ella Patel. The Prophus and the Genjix, two aspects of a stranded alien species, have secretly been guiding human evolution since the beginning and are now fighting a war intended to raise humans to the level where they can create the technological necessary to return the aliens to their home world. The aliens, who are immaterial and ride their human vessels, have instigated many of humans' greatest triumphs and horrors. Now Io, a perennial incompetent, has chosen Ella to make her play for greatness, but Ella has her own agenda. Three things contribute to the success of this novel: an understated, occasionally snarky sense of humor, well-done action sequences, and strong character development. Io is pretty nasty but has a few saving graces. Ella, isn't much nicer, but her strong moral sense and her refusal to quit win the reader's admiration. Readers familiar with the series will also be pleased when Tao and Cameron also make an exciting reappearance.
