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4.41 AVERAGE
4.41 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There's something about the Sun Eater series that keeps me engaged, especially as we hurl closer to the end of it, despite the fact that I often wish the author had been a lot less verbose and edited the books better. There's some dead moments, some repetition of Hadrian's thoughts in different moments that sometimes work as nice bookends but sometimes just feel like unecessary bloating. And yet, you want to read through to the end and see how it all happens, despite knowing more or less how it ends already.
I appreciated in Ashes of Man how we go through Hadrian's PSTD from the events in the previous book. It's important to explore and feel his fear and grief and exhaustion. But things don't get better and I'm really starting to feel the same exhaustion Hadrian must be feeling because things just keep getting worse. More and more.And Valka's loss hurt, especially with just how senseless and devoid of a last heroic stand it was. After everything she's done, it was not the death she deserved, but I understand we can't always have the kind of death historians will write about. The senselessness is the point and the reality of most deaths. But man, it hurt.
The last 1/3 of the book really picked up and ended with a proper bang, but the first 2/3 could have been trimmed out a bit.
I appreciated in Ashes of Man how we go through Hadrian's PSTD from the events in the previous book. It's important to explore and feel his fear and grief and exhaustion. But things don't get better and I'm really starting to feel the same exhaustion Hadrian must be feeling because things just keep getting worse. More and more.
The last 1/3 of the book really picked up and ended with a proper bang, but the first 2/3 could have been trimmed out a bit.
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Crying
Wow, just wow! Ruocchio put on another masterclass clinic in how to send a reader or listener through a roller coaster of emotions. I don’t know exactly how to feel because I’m so incredibly angry and emotional but at the same time, I’m excited for the future from such an exhilarating story. I haven’t said it before, but I probably should, Ruocchio has been solidified as one of my favorites, and easily my favorite sci-fi author. I loved this almost as much as Demon in White and it was everything I wanted it to be after the incredible events that Kingdoms of Death finished on, and then the way Ashes of Manfinishes, just has me seething to see what happens next in the penultimate novel, Disquiet Gods.
“We have need of heroes, however broken, however terrible, however insufficient they may be. And we have need of more than one hero, for heroes do break, you know.”
Like its predecessors, Ashes of Man starts out a bit slow but builds up and really pays off around the halfway point of the story and from there on out is total chaos. Hadrians trauma has always been a main part of the story, but this time around it felt like a lot more was put on it, the years have waned on him and he’s a shell of his former self. Watching him deal with all the trauma while going through more is enough to break any man, the way any great Greek tragedy would. I’ve gushed on it since book one, but the narration by Samuel Roukin is just on another level and he continues to bring it. Also, Lorian’s voice has been very familiar and I couldn’t place it for a while, but it finally hit me after watching a movie, Lorian sounds just like the actor, Giovanni Ribisi!
Thank you to @dawbooks and @netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. Overall, this was an enjoyable addition to the series. I think it struggled with pacing throughout most of the first big chunk of the book. But the ending was wild, as always, and I cried for the first time reading this series. Very excited for this to hit shelves so we can get the 6th book!"