Series: The Sun Eater #3
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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.
