Rebirths of Tao

Having read all three "Tao" books in a row I have mixed feelings about this one.

First and most important: it was fun again. The new family configuration with Tao's changed location made for interesting conflicts and many humorous comments.

The story arose smoothly from Jill's actions at the end of "Deaths of Tao". Characters were mostly believable (except for Enzo who seems over the top evil to me - and shouldn't he have read the Evil Overlord List?), everybody's actions had logical consequences.

The book was also captivating. I wavered quite a bit between "go to bed, have to get up early tomorrow" and "I want to know what happens next". (Sleep won twice.)

On the other hand... at times it felt a bit like "more of the same". Who is beating up the good guys now and for what precise reason? What Tai chi trick will save them from being killed in the next five minutes? What top secret location is everybody at? It was easy to lose count and be a bit surprised at the abrupt ending.

But there is still room for another sequel... which I'd very much like to get.

Recommended!

One more thing: I'd also like to see a more serious treatment of Quasiforming in a novel. How would humankind react if anything like it were actually happening? Might be an interesting premise for a very different book (buy a different author).