"The Tao series" (starting with "The Lives of Tao) by Wesley Chu (series; 2013-2019)

 **Chubby nerd becomes secret agent, hilarity ensues; basically "Chuck" but with scifi and aliens and amusing historical Easter Eggs**

Ok so, the setup is that there are aliens called Quasing that have inhabited this planet for millennia upon millennia.  Unable to survive in Earth's atmosphere, they must inhabit living creatures as "hosts", and in this capacity (speaking to their hosts) they have secretly guided all of human history.  Like, actually, all of human history, at one point a Quasing remarks, "To this day, an argument still rages about whether the Neanderthal or the Cro-Magnon was worthier of being raised."  The endgame of course is to get humanity up to the level of interstellar travel, so that the Quasing can finally go home

During the Middle Ages (the exact incident is a plot point, I won't spoil it), the Quasing split into two factions:  The Genjix (bad guys) who believe in the Conflict Doctrine, the idea that manipulating humanity into wars will speed up technological progress; and the Prophus (good guys) who are in favor of working side by side with humans.  Since then, the two sides have been waged in a secret war

That brings us to present-day, in which Tao, a Prophus Quasing, has his host killed during a clandestine operation.  With only limited time to find a new host, he enters Roen Tan, our main character.  Roen is an out-of-shape IT technician, but as there's no way for Tao to leave, he's forced to train Roen up to become an agent in this secret war.  Training montage and a superhero origin story, let's do it!

Make no mistake, although Roen is ostensibly the protagonist, the best character in the whole series is Tao (presumably why he got to be in the title).  Former hosts of his include Lafayette, Genghis Khan, and the Hongwu Emperor, yet he maintains a level of snark that is delightful as he lectures Roen about his many deficiencies

It's also worth noting that the author, Wesley Chu, was actually a professional stuntman.  This makes perfect sense, he has a real knack for writing action scenes, to the point that this series basically feels like an action movie or tv show put into book form.  And not just an action movie, but a martial arts action movie, as Chu's love of martial arts shines through in a way that put a real smile on my face.  Every single character fights with a different martial art, from Roen's human mentor using Savate and Krav Maga, to one badguy's combo of Tae Kwon Do and Wing Chun, to one of Big Bads' mix of Aikido and Ba Gua Zhang.  

As for Roen?  Well, another of Tao's former hosts was Zhang Sanfeng, the inventor of Tai Chi.  Training montage, indeed (Master Lin, Roen's human Tai Chi teacher, is one of the best side characters in the series:  “I have one more thing to teach you. The last piece of your training.” / “Like the dim mak?” / “Stupid boy. Every move I have is a dim mak. That’s why I’m the master.”)

So, it's a classic setup, we gotta train this loser nerd to be a secret agent.  The twist, however, is the Quasing and their role in history.  The plot lends itself perfectly to a little exposition, and piece by piece Tao explains to Roen the true meaning behind all of humanity's historical events.  These range from the minor, like the fact that the 1871 Decennial meeting between Prophus and Genjix was held in Chicago (Roen replies, "so Mrs. O'Leary's cow didn't kick over the lantern, huh?") . . . to the major, such as Tao's enduring shame that he followed orders from the Quasing Council and manipulated the Hongwu Emperor into becoming a tyrant as part of the aforementioned Conflict Doctrine.  These references come fast and frequently, and the more you know about history the more fun it is to spot the references--some explicit, others subtle

That said, if I have one problem with these books, it's that they're a little cavalier with history at times.  I don't mean inaccurate, since as far as I caught off the top of my head (without looking up every historical event referenced to make sure e.g. dates line up) everything was historically accurate.  But I mean in the sense of dealing with some pretty serious issues in an overly lighthearted manner

How to explain?  Well, one book that did this very well was P. Djèlí Clark's fantastic "Ring Shout (which I wrote about last February!).  Inspired by Reconstruction-era America, that novella imagines that the Klu Klux Klan is in fact being empowered by demonic entities.  However, Clark makes sure that he doesn't downplay or trivialize the very real terrors of the actual Klan.  He takes care to walk the line between fantasy and reality, making sure that we know that these awful things really happened and they driven only by humanity's cruelty

On the other hand, where Clark put in a lot of effort on this point . . . Chu kind of doesn't bother.  So I'm not going to lie, it can be a little cringey when there's nothing but a single line about how the LA Riots were covering up a botched covert operation, one character's ancestor was an agent killed during the 228 massacre, or one of the factions had a command center located in one of the World Trade Towers.  When one character asks if a certain plot-critical technology has been tested yet, the other replies, "Two have already been tested over Hiroshima and Nagasaki."  Which, like . . . come on.  More than 200,000 people died in an instant on those two days, with the casualty number roughly doubling at four months due to radiation sickness.  Surely that deserves more than a throwaway line

(in proper American fashion, the Holocaust is the one historical event that's sacred, as it's mentioned multiple times that Hitler was not inhabited by a Quasing.  AsianAvenger would call these books "nothing but a pack of racists")

However, it is what it is.  If that is the book's weakness, it's also its greatest strength, because the rapid-fire references to these historical events is also what makes this story stand out as more than another "zero to hero" secret agent origin story.  For better or for worse, Chu is committed to making these books fun, and I think he succeeds

I loved this book, because yeah, it knows exactly what it is and it's willing to have fun.  It leans into the bit hard, and it's great because of it.  And yes, these books are legitimately hilarious.  Most of the biggest laughs come from conversations between our host characters (yes, we get other viewpoints in later books!) and their Quasing:

“Jesus, did he just shoot at me?” Roen turned the corner and ran north, passing by several rows of cars. Several more bullets hit cars and shattered more windows. “God, he’s trying to kill me!” 

Doubtful, he is most likely aiming for a non-vital area. 

“Every part of me is vital!”

And

Even Brother Renoir, a devout Catholic priest and pacifist, poisoned forty Nazis and mowed down twelve SS with a machine gun before he died.  

“Your definition of pacifism is a little different from most others.” 

I tend to beat that quality out of them early on in our relationship.

And

Get some sleep. Tomorrow’s another long day. The team is fragile and will need your leadership.  

“What leadership?” 

That is why it will be a long day.

And

You are bleeding. Now is not the time for a drink.

“Now is the best time for a drink.” She walked up to the counter and ordered a margarita. 

You are not being wise.  

“This is me being wise. I almost ordered a shot of tequila instead.”

And

“I’m a fixer-upper?”

Actually, you were a complete demolition and rebuild.

“That would be insulting if I didn’t know it was true. Was I that bad?”

You want me to be honest?

“No, lie to me.”

You were a natural.

So there we have it.  Is this a perfect series?  Maybe not.  But it's damn fun.  Three books in the first trilogy, a novella, and then a duology to close it out.  At the very least, a solid use of a few afternoons of your time

I loved this book

“When in Rome, Tao, when in Rome.” 

I lived in Rome for centuries. The last thing the Romans wanted was for the non-Romans to emulate them.