Reviews

Thank you to DAW Books and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start off by saying that The Sun Eater us currently my favorite science fiction series of all time and book 3, Demon In White, is my favorite science fiction book of all time. That is to say even though my love for these books is baked in there is still a lot for subsequent volumes to live up to in terms of quality. Does Ashes of Man live up to that? 1000 percent yes!

I didn't really know what to expect from this book after the experience of Kingdoms of Death. While it's an fantastic 5 star read it is both very hard on its protagonist and hard on the reader emotionally. With a title like "Ashes of Man" I was honestly expecting more of the same. And while the emotional damage is still very much a part of this book I think it is also safe to say there is some catharis as well. I think a lot of that comes at the start of the book and the brilliant way Ruocchio decided to structure these due to the split of books 4 and 5. The opening chapters are the breath we needed after the intensity of Kingdoms of Death and serves as a small soft reset before things ramp up again.

And when things do ramp up it is best to hold on because the book simply does not stop from there until the conclusion. I said earlier that my favorite book in the series is Demon In White because I feel like that book has some of everything I love in this series. The reason Ashes of Man is a close second is because I got a lot of those same vibes from it. Emotional heart wrenching moments? Yes. Court politics with maybe the best written monarch character in sci fi or fantasy? Yes. Space battles and adventure? Yes. Amazing lore and worldbuilding? Yes. Terrifying aliens? Yes. And of course beautiful prose that made me want to wear out the highlight feature on my Kindle? Earth and Emperor yes! In fact it felt like Ruocchio's writing and prose may be at its highest level here which is a bold statement.

With this book coming out in just a couple of weeks it is time for anyone who reads fantasy and sci fi to stop sleeping on this series and read it now! Even if you haven't started book 1 trust me and go ahead and buy Ashes of Man on release. It's an absolute lock that you will want to read all of the books, and get those gorgeous hardcovers with that amazing art while you can. Join us in the Sollan Empire and read the best sci fi series going today.