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mobysbooks 's review for:
Ashes of Man
by Christopher Ruocchio
In the fifth and, as of yet, latest main entry, the Sun Eater dives into a phase of his journey that is mostly devoted to character development and overcoming trauma.
After the ordeals that Hadrian has been enduring, this book takes a deep breath to reminisce and process the horrors of the past book(s). Ruocchio devotes a lot of time to this development, which serves Hadrian as a character well but at the same time slows down the pacing a lot. It takes a lot of time for Ashes of Man to pick up the pieces and get the plot back on track. When it does, it is great as always. The last quarter of the book is tremendous. We meet great new (and old) characters, and the final stretch will keep you on the edge of your seat.
This circles back to Kingdoms of Death having the same structure of a middle part that was too drawn out but then concluded with a spectacular climax.
Kingdoms of Death and Ashes of Man were planned as one book but separated into two due to being too long. I can't help but think that the story would have profitted from this being one book with a more condensed plot that shortens the slow passages of both Kingdoms of Death and Ashes of Man.
Combine the best of both volumes and you have a 5 star book. With the pacing issues that both contain, Ashes of Man misses the fifth star for me as well.
Now that I am caught up with the series (missing only the latest spin-off novella) I can say that Sun Eater has risen among my favorite series. Three spectacular 5* books and two very good 4* books. Disquiet Gods is my most anticipated book for 2024.
After the ordeals that Hadrian has been enduring, this book takes a deep breath to reminisce and process the horrors of the past book(s). Ruocchio devotes a lot of time to this development, which serves Hadrian as a character well but at the same time slows down the pacing a lot. It takes a lot of time for Ashes of Man to pick up the pieces and get the plot back on track. When it does, it is great as always. The last quarter of the book is tremendous. We meet great new (and old) characters, and the final stretch will keep you on the edge of your seat.
This circles back to Kingdoms of Death having the same structure of a middle part that was too drawn out but then concluded with a spectacular climax.
Kingdoms of Death and Ashes of Man were planned as one book but separated into two due to being too long. I can't help but think that the story would have profitted from this being one book with a more condensed plot that shortens the slow passages of both Kingdoms of Death and Ashes of Man.
Combine the best of both volumes and you have a 5 star book. With the pacing issues that both contain, Ashes of Man misses the fifth star for me as well.
Now that I am caught up with the series (missing only the latest spin-off novella) I can say that Sun Eater has risen among my favorite series. Three spectacular 5* books and two very good 4* books. Disquiet Gods is my most anticipated book for 2024.