The Rise of Io by Wesley Chu

 Reading this book after watching Rogue One was just so well timed.  Just like the movie, the book features a young female heroine thrust into a complex political web and who influence upon this web can make or break the world. That's where the similarities really end since this book was just so gooood.
ogue One was good (that space fight!!) but this book was good throughout.

This a post-apocalyptic story where the world has moved on to the next level of surviving as a whole different society. Very similar to the landscape of Firefly where many of the races are now intermingled even more because of the devastation of the war.

There was a war between humans and aliens. The humans did not fare well and the ultimate outcome of that war was awareness of the Quasing. The alien lifeforms do not have a corporeal form and they needed human hosts to survive. So forms a symbiotic relationship between human and alien. This Quasing has been going on for a long time without humankind even knowing.  As these aliens inhabited bodies, they began to seek to fight one another as was a rift even among them. It is due to these feuding factions that the biggest tragedies of our world can be credited for.

All of this meant nothing to our heroine, Patel, as she was living her days surviving in Crate Town, India. Crate town is a large city full of containers turned homes for the steely inhabiant. The city has unique makeup that borders on dangerous but resourceful communitty. Everyone does what they can to survive but the community will still come together to protect themselves. Just like many other children of Crate Town, Patel had lost her parents due to the alien war and has learned to survive by being a good street rat. I do believe she would give Aladdin a run for his money. 

Patel witnesses a fight between an amazing female fighter and strangers. The female is overwhelmed even with Patels help as the result is fatal. Patel then finds herself as a host. Which she has no idea of this as she just sees this mist rise up from the body of the female fighter and then whoosh right into Patel. That would terrify any normal person! Very quickly, Patel's world has broadened into one that involves even more aliens, war, espionage, knife throwing, and trying to make as much money off it all as possible.

This was such a great entertaining read. It is not a chosen one story as it was all coincendance. It could have been anyone that witnessed the fight, although I doubt many would be hiding themselves in a pile of garbage. Or most likely, it would have been no one at all and the alien would have perished. We would have had no story or it could have been an entirely different story. Since Patel let her kindess overrule her reason, we see her struggle to accept and thrive in her new role.

The idea of co-habiting my body with an alien is just so uncomfortable. The book did address the perks of never being alone, having access to a vast library of experience and knowledge within your mind, and always having someone watch your back. My heart feels for Patel though. The suffocating sense that someone,something is always there and is able to read my thoughts. With the added bonus of being able to control my body while I am asleep or unconscious. No, thank you.

There was so much intrigue!  This whole novel was just rich with juicy story bits. I was completely entertained. I was touched by one of the death scenes. Her intense fiery need for revenge added to my appreciation of her.

I would definitely recommend this book. Story is great, the world-building is seamless, and it is just fascinating overall.