This was fantastic and this author continues to cement himself as a leading voice in sci fi. I need the next book now now now.

I've been talking about Ruocchio's series for years. He does good work, building out a complicated universe filled with a diverse range of factions, weird and wonderful tech, and people that live inside that space. Of course, the centrepiece of the story is Hadrian Marlowe, once an arse-kicking knight of the Solar Imperium, and before that all kinds of things, including a runaway son, a gladiator, and a general troubleshooter for his somewhat decrepit polity. Of course that kind of troubleshooting invovles warfare with aliens, blowing up clandestine research facilities, and tracking down technological abominations, so there's a breadth of coverage there. And now, he's back in this latest volume, Disquiet Gods.
Anyway. Marlowe. He's been through the wringer the last few books, and that doesn't really change here. He's still rocking that penchant for sticking his neck out, for taking risks, for saying not-quite the right thing to not-quite the right person. There's a sense to him of someone determined to walk away, to not be seen as a hero any longer, to fade into the west, as it were, and live outside the shadow of his own legend. This is, however, quite a long book, so I think you can all expect ithis plan not to work out exactly as he hopes. That said, this is Marlowe with a stake in events. He's trying to build something personal now, trying to look at his relationships, his family and friends, those that have survived, and keep them safe, keep them alive. Whether that's the best thing for them or not is rather open to question, but still. This version of Hadrian has matured enough to recognise his own weaknesses, and recovered sufficiently from the trauma laid out behind him in order to at least function. He's someone whose life has derailed maginificently from its expectations, and Hadrian is, if not resigned to that, at least comfortable in it; perhaps, as the story begins, too much so. Still, after the lavishly wrought inner worlds of earlier stories, its enjoyable to see him on something of an upswing.

In this he's helped by his relationships, with those surviving acquaintainces he has. As time passes for Hadrian Marlowe, we the reader risk growing a little disconnected from events, as the Patrician Marlowe, rendered long-lived by science and caste, outlives those other characters we loved so well - even when they don't get disembowelled, assassinated or otherwise fall to misadventure. Still, there's a few familiar faces in here to enliven the spirit, in terms of friends and enemies both and a swathe of new people whom we're learning about alongside our protagonist, and whom, as ever, the author draws with a rich and vivid passion to his prose that makes it both believable and great fun. Because while this is a story about galactic empries, about war between the stars, about atrocities and super-science and the inner heart of humanity and their story, it's also a apean to the person, to people, to the value that one clear vision can have if it finds itself lifted up by those around, about how no-one is an island. ABout human need and folly and loss and fear, yes, but about our strengths, our compassion and friendhsip and love for one another and how tht can make and break both people and empires.

And if you're not into that, hmm. Well. Okay. The story lives on. The universe lives on, filled with horrendously alien aliens, who would like nothing better thn to eat you for their own aracane reasons (or, you know, for fun). Filled with people who've handed over more or less of themselves to machinery. To those who claim to live forever, flitting from one re-animated body to the next. Filled with horrors to blight the soul, absolutely, or even to slowly wrap it in turgid chains of protocol and a fog of formality. Of Empire, not without ambition, but with an impending mortality, Byzantium on the wane. But also a universe with laughter, with vital, fierce people who can and will change the world. And that's what makes the stoy, I think, because the world feels complicated, liek we see a small piece of a wider mosaic, and even what we see is filled with life and colour and movement and other stories just out of frame. It's a world that has textruee and heft, in a story which demands your attention.

Speaking of....well. I won't delve into the tale here because it gives too much away really. But this is the beginning fo the end, I think, you can feel different voices building to a crescendo, you can feel institutions tottering, can feel choices being laid down which will drive a path to ruin, or something more. It's a story of fast-paced escapes, duels, unlikely alliances, extremely likely betrayals, and more than a little love. And for that, with that, it builds a story worth reading. It's not all fast-paced space battles; and though some of the more introspective pieces feel a little laboured, or occasionally felt suspect or made me uncomfortable
, there's still a thoughtful, compelling story here, which will keep you turning pages until it's done.

Need a new, epic, visually stunning, creeping dread sci fi kick after Dune? Read this series.

THIS ISN’T THE LAST BOOK?!
After more than two hundred years of exile on Jadd after Hadrian struck the Emperor across the face, the Sollan Empire had faded to the fringes of Hadrian’s mind. That is until a delegate of the Emperor tracks Hadrian down and offers him a pardon in exchange for his service. Killing a Watcher. Killing a God.
But Hadrian is old and he has a daughter who is his only connection to Valka - Cassandra. As strong and stubborn as both her parents.
Yet the Empire needed Hadrian Marlowe. The Emperor needed him.

This felt a lot more supernatural than the previous books with so many dimensions at play that my eyes were also seeing double, triple - just like those investigating - trying to understand the sci fi concepts.

Marlowe plants you at the centre of the planets and ships he finds himself on. If there’s another epic movie franchise like Dune, this will be it. Whilst I found the descriptions sometimes felt dragging and bogged the story down with unnecessary, slowing details, I can appreciate the visuals where book could turn to movie. Perhaps this is because I have aphantasia so struggle to imagine the imagery.

Marlowe manages to capture creeping existential dread and horror extremely well. Hadrian has centuries of years behind him and yet contemplates the end of life constantly, a shadow overhanging his head.

Have I not said that freedom is like the sea? That a man may swim in any direction he chooses, but all he will do in that sea is drown.

I don’t know if Marlowe is religious, or what faith he follows, yet as a Christian myself, I felt this handled the debate of God, creation, and suffering extremely well. This explores why a Creator may allow pain, how we have free will, how good and evil must wrestle in order for our agency to choose our future.

This isn’t just a space opera, it’s a psychological exploration of creation, depression, existentialism, religion, and human (species?) nature.

Our experiences of pain teach us the nature of suffering, and so we are moved to minimize that suffering in others. Pain grounds our reality, is the cornerstone of our interactions with the objective world. Pain makes us human, teaches us to be human.

At first, I thought the pacing was off. However, at 90% I started to suspect this might not be the last book…
Whilst this doesn’t end on a huge cliffhanger like previous instalments, it ends on a huge high and completed some story arcs that have been plaguing Hadrian for a few books.

Thank you to Head of Zeus for providing an arc in exchange for a review!

Another hit for Ruocchio. Sun Eater deserves all the praise it gets. The story itself is elevated to the point that the last book needs to be released now.