Kingdoms of Death by Christopher Ruocchio

Title: Kingdoms of Death

Author: Christopher Ruocchio

Genre: Sci-Fi Fantasy

Series: The Sun Eater #4

Hardcover, 544 pages

Publication: March 8, 2022 by DAW

Source: I received a review copy in exchange for honest review.
Buy|Amazon|B&N|

Hadrian Marlowe is trapped.

For nearly a century, he has been a guest of the Emperor, forced into the role of advisor, a prisoner of his own legend. But the war is changing. Mankind is losing.

The Cielcin are spilling into human space from the fringes, picking their targets with cunning precision. The Great Prince Syriani Dorayaica is uniting their clans, forging them into an army and threat the likes of which mankind has never seen.

And the Empire stands alone.

Now the Emperor has no choice but to give Hadrian Marlowe--once his favorite knight--one more impossible task: journey across the galaxy to the Lothrian Commonwealth and convince them to join the war. But not all is as it seems, and Hadrian's journey will take him far beyond the Empire, beyond the Commonwealth, impossibly deep behind enemy lines.

 MY THOUGHTS

Kingdoms of Death is perfectly named in the fourth installment of the Sun Eater series. The book starts exactly where Demon in White ended, with Hadrian captured by the Cielcin. The title foreshadows what readers can expect, and its as morbid and dark as the title implies. The Sun Eater series is one of my all-time favorite Science Fiction Fantasy ever and each book gets outdoing its predecessor. And while I enjoyed Kingdoms of Death I found the pacing a lot slower than all the previous books, with little to no action till three-quarters of the way through.

For majority of the book, Hadrian is held prisoner as the Cielcins try to extract information about the Empire and the Emperor’s whereabouts. At this time readers are giving an in depth look behind enemy lines and learn about the Cielcin Hierarchy. And to no one’s surprise like all empire or military structure, there are always cracks and unrest amongst the people.

I normally never have an issue with length. Kingdoms of Death clocks out with over 500 pages, but of those 500+ pages, 350 pages felt very stagnant and too long of a build-up. It wasn’t until we were closer towards the end did the story pick up. As I mentioned before, the title of the book was quite fitting as we saw MASS casualty. I was in complete shock at the turn of events and the destruction of the Red Company and many other soldiers. With how it all ended, I’m not sure what to expect next. The Sun Eater Series writing, and storytelling is the crème de la crème when it comes to this genre but what made this series extra special to me are the characters. With most of the characters gone, I’m not sure I want to continue. Although, I know I shouldn’t be surprised since from the very first book, from the very beginning Hadrian did say this wasn’t a story with a happy-ending.

Kingdoms of Death was a solid installment to the series. I will probably take a break to see if I’ll continue. In my opinion this wasn’t the strongest book, but the series as a whole is without a doubt a five+ star series. If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend the first book in the series, Empire of Silence.

 

Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio

Title: Demon in White

Author: Christopher Ruocchio

Genre: Science Fiction Fantasy
Series: The Sun Eater #3

Hardcover, 784 pages 

Publication: July 28, 2020 by DAW

Source: Personal Library
Buy|Amazon|B&N|

Hadrian has been serving the Empire in military engagements against the Cielcin, the vicious alien civilization bent on humanity's destruction. After Hadrian and his Red Company achieve a great victory, a cult-like fervor builds around him. However, pressures within the Imperial government scared of his rise to prominence result in an assassination attempt, luckily thwarted.

With the Empire too dangerous to stay, Hadrian and his crew leave for a massive library on a distant world. There, he finds the next key to unlocking the secrets of the Quiet: a set of coordinates for their origin planet, unnamed and now lifeless. Hadrian's true purpose in serving in the military was to aid his search of a rumored connection between the first Emperor and the Quiet, the ancient, seemingly long-dead race linked to so many of Hadrian's extraordinary experiences.

Will this mysterious lost planet have the answers?

 

MY THOUGHTS

Hadrian Marlowe has had many battles; such as family expectations, living on the streets, as a gladiator in the Colosseum on Emesh and on the front line as a soldier against the Cielcin. But in the latest installment, Demon in White, Hadrian is confronted with a new battle, politics. Within the Sollan Empire amongst Caesar’s court Hadrian is thrown head first in invested waters. He must learn to navigate court maneuverings and decipher who is a friend or foe.

Like all books in The Sun Eater series, the story is narrated by Hadrian as he recounts his journey across the galaxy. I’ve mentioned in previous reviews how I love this style of writing. It’s an intimate panache of storytelling. Readers are truly able to peek behind the proverbial curtains to see and feel what the writer is expressing. Before Hadrian became the infamous Halfmortal, Emperor Reborn, Demon in White he wanted to be a scholiast. And it hit me while reading, that he actually achieved it (Since the book started at the end as Hadrian narrates his rise and fall). A Scholiast is a commentator on ancient and classical literature. That’s precisely what Hadrian is doing and we’re reading his commentary! Ruocchio is absolutely brilliant!

The first two novels were well plotted and written and Demon in White is no exception. Just when I thought the series couldn’t get any better and more complex; Ruocchio peels back another layer of the world expanding on the systems, beliefs and characters. While I love everything about this series. What makes this series stand out from other Sci-Fi novels and memorable are the characters. This series is extremely character driven. The characters are a great representation of the world that Ruocchio has created. They are multifaceted, rich, realistic, flawed yet redeemable. I’m sure many readers feel the same way when I say that we’ve been with Hadrian and the gang since the beginning that we know them like we know ourselves.

Demon in White was another incredible addition to the series. As I said before these books are well written and the crème de la crème of its genre. I don’t know why but with this third installment I can see and just instinctively feel like Ruocchio has hit his rhythm with Demon in White. Or maybe as a reader, this is one of those big turning moment for Hadrian as friends and enemies from the beginning seem to fall away and the core main players are now defined.

I highly recommend reading this series if you haven’t read it yet. It’s pretty damn near perfection as a series goes. And as always, start at the beginning with Empire of Silence, Book 1 because you can’t miss anything, everything is crucial! I can easily say this is one of my all-time favorite series. I cannot describe my love for this series nor how it makes me feel. No words can do it justice…but if it must be said/read please check out my previous reviews of the first two books :D. I’m excited to start the next book and ecstatic to learn that this is no longer a quartet; book 5 arrives at the end of 2022.