Review of Ashes of Man by Christopher Ruocchio

I will not write a proper intro to this review. Readers of Christopher Ruocchio's Sun Eater series who have read the first four books are just looking for the basic summary to have an idea what they are getting into before inevitably purchasing the book. Let's do that.

Ashes of Man (2022) picks up precisely where Kingdoms of Death left off—not a surprise considering Ruocchio wrote them in one go. Marlowe has been rescued after his seven-year imprisonment in the hands of the Cielcin and is back in humanity's hands. His status as returning hero is not guaranteed, however. There are many people in the Empire skeptical of the half-mortal's intentions. Marlowe is put through the ringer of humanity's power circles, before learning his fate. And that, as they say, is just the beginning.

The first half of Ashes of Man is a touch slow. Cleaning up the pieces of Kingdoms of Death, the wait is worth it, however. A major “surprise” awaits. I say “surprise” because readers who spend more time than me connecting the dots of Ruocchio's lore will likely have figured out some of the wheels within wheels. If anything, the reveal does a nice job of answering several mysteries in the series thus far. I will not spoil things here, only say it is satisfying.

The second half of the book is faster in pace, but doesn't by default hold as much water. There are times the action feels more obligatory than exciting. Also, Ruocchio has always used the idea of space travel and fugue state to play with the series' internal timeline, but in Ashes it feels exceptionally manipulative. Why couldn't any of what happens have happened in earlier books given the hand-wavy way time dilation plays out? The reader, I suppose like any space opera, just has to go with the flow.

In the end, the success or failure of Ashes of Man can be captured by how quickly you are hoping the overarching story will get to its grand conclusion. In other words, the book either is extending the overarching Sun Eater story unnecessarily (it is after all a bridge book following a bridge book), or, it's more great story content in the Sun Eater series. I lean toward the latter, though I'm not entirely sold. If anything, it does feel penultimate—hopefully. I would hate for the series to overstay its welcome with additional, unplanned books.