Fantasy-Faction are big, big fans of Wesley Chu. Not only have his Tao books been funny, loveable and entertaining, but his ever-varied Twitter feed makes him one of the most fun and interesting authors to follow through social media (do it now!). So, when our friends over at Angry Robot Books asked if we’d be interested in revealing the cover of his latest novel, we said: heck yeah!
For those not familiar with Wesley’s work, this novel – The Rebirth’s of Tao – is the third in his Tao Trilogy (the last one, actually). The novels followa computer geek who is forced to co-exist with an alien. What unravels in the first two books is a sci-fi thriller, but with a lot of emotional depth and, as we have said, humour too. There’s plenty of verbal sparring and genuinely sad and touching moments too. The huge success of this series, and its popularity amongst readers, means that although we’re still waiting on the third book in the series, Angry Robot have already signed up Wesley up for a whole new trilogy (and they’ve paid a six figure sum for it too! Nice, right?).
Anyway, we promised you a cover. You came for a cover. So here’s your cover:
Pretty funky, right? I always like Angry Robot’s covers, but this one By the talented Stewart Larking feels especially cool. I think it is the simpleness of the silhouettes contrasted with the outrageous colours that make it. Built men and slender women with guns is never a bad thing in a Sci-Fi novel, I’ve found, either…
We were able to track down Wesley Chu – who we would like to congratulate for just having finished a draft of his 5th book – and ask his thoughts on the cover. Here’s what he had to say: “Spoiler alert! Did my readers actually think the Genjix and Prophus were going to hash out their little squabble just because Roen and Jill got into the game? Oh no. Alien civil wars are serious business y’all, and it’s time for the next generation to step up. Angry Robot’s cover for The Rebirths of Tao is awesome because just like the previous two Tao covers, it tells a story without giving anything away. Plus, I got a Ken Liu blurb out of it. How cool is that?!”
Here’s the blurb:
Many years have passed since the events in The Deaths of Tao: the world is split into pro-Prophus and pro-Genjix factions, and is poised on the edge of a devastating new World War; the Prophus are hiding; and Roen has a family to take care of.
A Genjix scientist who defects to the other side holds the key to preventing bloodshed on an almost unimaginable scale.
With the might of the Genjix in active pursuit, Roen is the only person who can help him save the world, and the Quasing race, too.
And you thought you were having a stressful day…
In addition to allowing us to host the cover reveal, Angry Robot have said they’ve got an entire trilogy of books (either eBook or Physical) to give away (if you win, you can choose!). All you need to do is leave a comment or sent a tweet to @FantasyFaction telling us what you think would be the best / worst thing about sharing a body with an alien entity. if you’re not willing to roll the dice with the competition, you can pick up the book from the following places:
Jennie Ivins
Richard Marpole
Best thing: well, there’s always someone to talk to, but
Worst thing: never alone
Best thing: never have to feel weird about going to the movies alone
Worst thing: they think #theDress is gold and white, you think it’s blue and black
The best thing would be the influx of knowledge and experience from a completely different culture that you would now have access to. The worst thing, on the other hand, is that using the bathroom would be incredibly awkward.
Worst would be, ‘what if the alien is a smoker?’
Best would be the same.
The best thing would be always having a sounding board for my writing. The worst would probably be trying to explain to the people around me that I’m no weirder than I already was, even though things have gotten much weirder.
The best thing would be that you could have philosophical debates in your head and someone would respond.
The worst thing would be that your body is never just your own so you would lose that sense of individuality and ownership we feel.
The worst thing would be that you want to stay in bed on a Sunday morning but the damn alien keeps yelling at you like an alarm clock to wake up. The best thing is that you finally get your ass out of bed and not sleep until noon and get a workout in.
At least, uh, that’s how the idea for the series began…damn alarm clock.
Best thing – always someone to talk to.
Worst thing – I already have too many voices in my head.
Best: Able to experience another’s perspective.
Worst: As an introvert, I need to be alone sometimes, and now I never will be.