Wesley Chu Books in Order
Explore Wesley Chu’s books in order with reading guides, series overviews, and quick summaries to help you navigate his sci fi, fantasy, and tie in novels.
Last updated: December 23, 2025
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Publication Order
14 books
The Art of Legend
by Wesley Chu
2025
War looms and rumors swirl that the Eternal Khan may return, forcing Jian, Taishi, Sali, Qisami, and their unlikely allies to unite. The trilogy’s finale brings political gambits, sprawling battles, and the question of what it really means to become legendary.
The Art of Destiny
by Wesley Chu
2023
Stripped of his chosen-one status, Jian trains under Taishi alongside a circle of aging grandmasters while empires edge toward war. Assassin Qisami and warrior Sali follow their own missions, weaving a story about found family, shifting loyalties, and self-made fate.
The Art of Prophecy
by Wesley Chu
2022
In a kingdom shaped by prophecy, Jian has trained his whole life to defeat the immortal Eternal Khan. When the prophecy collapses and the Khan dies offstage, gruff war-arts master Taishi drags Jian into the real world to forge his own destiny.
The Lost Book of the White
by Wesley Chu
2020
Settled in New York with their young son, Magnus and Alec are dragged back into danger when thieves steal the Book of the White and stab Magnus with a cursed weapon. Their hunt leads to Shanghai, unstable magic, and a threat from the dead.
Typhoon
by Wesley Chu
2019
Months after the zombie virus devastates China, scavengers Zhu and Elena risk their lives supplying a vertical settlement called the Beacon of Light. When a vast horde, a deadly typhoon of walkers, bears down, loyalty, love, and survival collide.
The Red Scrolls of Magic
by Wesley Chu
2019
High Warlock Magnus Bane plans a romantic European vacation with Shadowhunter Alec Lightwood, but rumors tie him to a murderous demon cult called the Crimson Hand. Clearing his name turns their holiday into a chase across cities, secrets, and demons.
The Fall of Io
by Wesley Chu
2019
After washing out of spy training, Ella Patel returns to cons and heists, hoping to ignore the alien Io in her head. When the Genjix move to contact their homeworld, Ella and Io become the unlikely linchpins in a mission that could save Earth.
Time Siege
by Wesley Chu
2016
Now hiding on a toxic, nearly abandoned Earth, James Griffin-Mars fights to keep his fragile community alive. Hunted by corporate forces and plagued by his failing ability to time travel, he must rally exiles and scientists around one last shot at healing the planet.
The Rise of Io
by Wesley Chu
2016
In the war between alien factions Prophus and Genjix, street hustler Ella Patel is accidentally bonded to Io, a low-ranking, loudmouthed Quasing. To survive, she must train as an agent and investigate murders along a fragile border packed with enemies.
The Days of Tao
by Wesley Chu
2016
Cameron Tan expects a laid-back study-abroad summer in Greece, not an emergency extraction for a Prophus agent carrying vital intel. Caught between his duty and protecting friends, he has to navigate streets turning into a battlefield overnight.
Time Salvager
by Wesley Chu
2015
In a future where Earth is a poisoned ruin, chronman James Griffin-Mars raids doomed moments in history for resources that keep humanity alive. On a supposedly routine mission, he rescues scientist Elise Kim, breaking every rule and turning them into fugitives.
The Rebirths of Tao
by Wesley Chu
2015
Five years after the last battle, the world has split into pro-Prophus and pro-Genjix camps, teetering on the edge of global war. When a Genjix scientist defects with a way to prevent catastrophe, Roen is the only one who can keep him alive.
The Lives of Tao
by Wesley Chu
2013
Out-of-shape IT worker Roen Tan discovers the voice in his head is Tao, an ancient alien who once guided world-changing leaders. Forced into training as a covert operative, Roen stumbles into a secret war that has quietly steered human history.
The Deaths of Tao
by Wesley Chu
2013
The fragile balance between the peaceful Prophus and ruthless Genjix shatters as both sides race to leave Earth. Roen and Tao, now seasoned but exhausted, must juggle family life with a mission to stop a plan that would wipe out humanity.
Where should I start?
If you want alien-in-your-head sci fi with humor: The Lives of Tao → The Deaths of Tao → The Rebirths of Tao → The Days of Tao
If you prefer globe-trotting urban fantasy romances: The Red Scrolls of Magic → The Lost Book of the White
If time travel adventures appeal to you: Time Salvager → Time Siege
If you’re here for epic martial arts fantasy: The Art of Prophecy → The Art of Destiny → The Art of Legend
If you love The Walking Dead’s world: Typhoon
Author bio
Wesley Chu was born in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1976 and spent his early childhood with his grandparents while his parents studied in the United States. In 1982 he joined them in Nebraska and later moved with his family to Chicago.
Chicago is where he grew up and threw himself into gymnastics and martial arts.
Chu studied management information systems at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. After graduation, he worked in consulting and then spent ten years in the banking world, keeping regular hours in an office while chasing creative work on the side.
Outside the office, he trained seriously in gymnastics and Kung Fu, eventually teaching and performing. That physical background led him into stunt work and small acting roles, giving him a close up view of film sets and action choreography.
For several years he balanced those skills with work as a stunt performer and background actor. He joined the Screen Actors Guild, popped up briefly in movies like the holiday comedy Fred Claus, and even played a bank teller in local hockey commercials, a tiny role he still jokes deserved more recognition.
The urge to tell his own stories never went away. Chu wrote on nights and weekends until, in 2011, he submitted a manuscript called The Lives of Tao to an open submission program at the publisher Angry Robot. The book came out in 2013 and introduced Roen Tan, a burned out IT worker whose life changes when an ancient alien named Tao moves into his head.
That mix of big idea science fiction, self deprecating humor, and kinetic action resonated with readers. The Lives of Tao earned an Alex Award from the American Library Association and was a finalist for a major online readers’ choice award, and Chu soon followed it with The Deaths of Tao, The Rebirths of Tao, and the novella The Days of Tao.
By 2014 he had left banking to write full time. Over the next few years he expanded the Tao universe with the Io novels, followed a time traveling scavenger in the duology beginning with Time Salvager, and co wrote The Red Scrolls of Magic and The Lost Book of the White with Cassandra Clare, stepping into the Shadowhunter world of Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood.
He also ventured into other shared universes. For The Walking Dead line of novels he wrote Typhoon, the first book to show the outbreak from a Chinese point of view, and he later launched his own fantasy epic, the War Arts Saga, beginning with The Art of Prophecy, which fuses wuxia style martial arts with questions about fate, empire, and who gets to be called a hero.
Chu’s fiction often centers on ordinary people who get dropped into extraordinary conflicts and have to grow into their responsibilities.
Along the way he has picked up concrete recognition. He won the Astounding Award for Best New Writer in 2015, and several of his books have been optioned for film or television development, reflecting how well his action heavy stories translate off the page.
He still lives in the Chicago area, where he splits his time between writing, gaming, practicing martial arts, and spending time with his wife, Paula Kim, and their Airedale terrier, Eva.
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