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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
This was good enough for a novella, but it felt repetitive at times. There is a little too much exposition for my tastes. With a tale this short, I'd rather focus on the side quest at hand. That said, it is well written and easy to enjoy for fans of the series. I wouldn't recommend skipping it.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Without getting too specific, this novella marks Hadrian’s shift from the end of Howling Dark in multiple ways. It shows his change societally and internally. The events of this book help crystallize that transformation through his thoughts and actions. Because of that, this straightforward story is more of a backdrop for Hadrian’s evolution which feels genuine and realistic, something that is hard to pull off. There are some new world-building pieces here too for the series and some questions raised about morality which gave this short book a bit more depth. Worth a read for anyone working their way through Sun Eater.
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As much as I like Crispin, I found this story and theme much more interesting. It is a dark theme and a dark story. I'm interested to see if this means the series will continue to get darker as well. I think that the parallel between The Queen and Hadrian was very interesting. Also being a novella I feel like it should be judged on a different scale.
Spoilers
- This book felt like a more important novella versus The Lesser Evil
- Lady Gadar Malyan commits genocide against 8 million of her people. She did this thinking she was saving them.
- This story asks an interesting question. Who is the greater evil? Valka mentions to Hadrian, "that we are as bad as they are" which is the theme for the story.
- Hadrian's decision to execute Lady Gadar Malyan and her comment about hoping that he gets judged like he judged her. This feels very telling, knowing the actions that Hadrian does by becoming The Sun Eater.
Spoilers
- This book felt like a more important novella versus The Lesser Evil
- Lady Gadar Malyan commits genocide against 8 million of her people. She did this thinking she was saving them.
- This story asks an interesting question. Who is the greater evil? Valka mentions to Hadrian, "that we are as bad as they are" which is the theme for the story.
- Hadrian's decision to execute Lady Gadar Malyan and her comment about hoping that he gets judged like he judged her. This feels very telling, knowing the actions that Hadrian does by becoming The Sun Eater.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A good side story of this universe, and the main character of the series. Not necessary, but gives more time with a character fans love and hate. It’s a short read so not a huge commitment with little pay off, it was just right I’d say. If you like this series, it’s worth a quick read!
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
That sure was some fucked up shit... and I was kinda here for it.
Really glad I decided to read Queen Amid Ashes in in-world chronological order right after Howling Dark, because I really liked seeing how Hadrian is navigating his new role as a knight of the Sollan Empire on this first mission.
It's really damn impressive how much Ruocchio was able to pack into so few pages during this little side quest, if you will. That said, I never really got emotionally invested in the main conflict of this story, even if some of the dark twists and reveals should have hit like a knife to the heart (because for the love of all that is holy, that was DARK).
Still, I devoured this in a single sitting and had an absolute blast. Overall just a great novella that is not necessary reading, but which absolutely adds to the brilliance of The Sun Eater series as a whole. Can't wait to get to Demon in White now!
Really glad I decided to read Queen Amid Ashes in in-world chronological order right after Howling Dark, because I really liked seeing how Hadrian is navigating his new role as a knight of the Sollan Empire on this first mission.
It's really damn impressive how much Ruocchio was able to pack into so few pages during this little side quest, if you will. That said, I never really got emotionally invested in the main conflict of this story, even if some of the dark twists and reveals should have hit like a knife to the heart (because for the love of all that is holy, that was DARK).
Still, I devoured this in a single sitting and had an absolute blast. Overall just a great novella that is not necessary reading, but which absolutely adds to the brilliance of The Sun Eater series as a whole. Can't wait to get to Demon in White now!
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Yet again a very good Sun Eater novella, but this one I enjoyed more than The Lesser Devil. Although the Cielcin themselves were not in this too much, the horror of them was present throughout. This novella really showcased how terrible they are in such a short time. But perhaps more importantly and equally, it showed just how bad the humans of the galaxy can be as well. This series keeps getting better with each instalment, onto Demon in White next.
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced