A review by tpaulsff
Ashes of Man by Christopher Ruocchio

adventurous emotional 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

4.25

Ashes of Man is the immediate follow up to Kingdoms of Death and book 5 of the Sun eater series. Hadrian is returned to the empire after his harrowing imprisonment at the hands of the evil Cielcin. Now, the alien menace threatens the heart of the empire itself. 

“Silent is my fury. A silence beyond words. 
   Nothing endures, nor lasts forever. Not stone, not empires, not life itself. Even the stars will one day burn down- as I have seen and know perhaps better than any other man. Even the darkness that comes after all will one day pass into new light. This record, too, and this warm scribe- my hand- perhaps, will fade. The stones here on colchis shall fall into the sea, and the sea dissolve to foam. The stars shall burn the worlds to ash, and cool themselves to cinders. 
   All things fade. Fall. Shatter.”

This is a book about dealing with trauma, loss and recovery. After the events of the previous few installment, Hadrian’s character evolves to his latest form. While this book doesn’t quite reach the epic heights of books 2 and 3, it is still epic and enthralling in its own right, while also moving the story along nicely to set up the final act. The prose, as usual, is lush and fantastic. The plotting is tight and the scope and world building massive. This series is easily planting itself in my top series of all time. Roucchio is a fantastic author and I’ll continue to read his works going forward. 

This one is easy to recommend to anyone who loves deep, long, epic space operas. 4.25/5.