Disquiet Gods

The Sun Eater #6

by Christopher Ruocchio, Samuel Roukin (Narrator)

The sixth novel of the galaxy-spanning Sun Eater series merges the best of space opera and epic fantasy, as Hadrian Marlowe continues down a path that can only end in fire.

The end is nigh.

It has been nearly two hundred years since Hadrian Marlowe assaulted the person of the Emperor and walked away from war. From his Empire. His duty. From the will and service of the eldritch being known only as the Quiet. The galaxy lies in the grip of a terrible plague, and worse, the Cielcin have overrun the realms of men.

A messenger has come to Jadd, bearing a summons from the Sollan Emperor for the one-time hero. A summons, a pardon, and a plea. HAPSIS, the Emperor’s secret first-contact intelligence organization, has located one of the dreadful Watchers, the immense, powerful beings worshipped by the Pale Cielcin.

Called out of retirement and exile, the old hero—accompanied by his daughter, Cassandra—must race across the galaxy and against time to accomplish one last, impossible

To kill a god.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Space Opera, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adult

Audible Audio

First published April 2, 2024

About the author

Christopher Ruocchio is the author of The Sun Eater, a space opera fantasy series, as well as the Assistant Editor at Baen Books, where he has co-edited four anthologies. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University, where he studied English Rhetoric and the Classics. Christopher has been writing since he was eight and sold his first novel, Empire of Silence, at twenty-two. To date, his books have been published in five languages.

Christopher lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife, Jenna. He may be found on both Facebook and Twitter with the handle ‘TheRuocchio.’

Reviews

[Petrik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review on Disquiet Gods

ARC provided by the publisher—Baen Books—in exchange for an honest review.

This book... What a penultimate installment. Disquiet Gods is a festival of epic science fantasy masterwork cranked to maximum level.

Melancholy.
I am feeling the melody of melancholy right now. From reading the book, and because the end of the series is nigh. It is bittersweet to have read every book in The Sun Eater series up to Disquiet Gods, including all the companion novellas and collections of short stories. For those who don’t know, I read Empire of Silence for the first time in September 2023. That was seven months ago. From the many messages I received, although I am joyful to have influenced more people to start reading this absolutely incredible series, I must say I am the one who has to offer my gratitude to Christopher Ruocchio for writing the series and every one of you for pushing me to read The Sun Eater series. A series I consider to be the best sci-fi series of all time. And there is the potential for the series to rank even higher after the explosive final book, Shadows Upon Time, is out. But it feels bittersweet right now to finished every installment in The Sun Eater series so far. Not only that. On top of having my praise blurbed at the back of Disquiet Gods hardcover, I have the honor of having my name mentioned in the acknowledgment section at the beginning of the novel, too; in one of my favorite books to one of my favorite series of all time! That is special to me. And Disquiet Gods, the sixth volume in The Sun Eater series, is ridiculously phenomenal. If you have read The Sun Eater up to Ashes of Man, and you refuse to hear my thoughts before reading Disquiet Gods, I vouch and understand your decision. What matters to me more is that you read this mindblowing penultimate installment. It will be worth your time. I had space-high expectations, and Ruocchio exceeded them.

“Life is very long. I had not known my brother in centuries. It may seem strange to you, dear Reader, who has not perhaps the luxury of so long a life, that my brother should retain so great a hold on me after so long—and yet it is so. But the impact of childhood, I have found, does not diminish. Not after a hundred years, not after five.”

Disquiet Gods is almost 300,000 words long. That’s almost as large as Demon in White, the third and the biggest volume of The Sun Eater series, an installment hailed by many members of The Red Company to be the best book of the series. One of the most discernible things about Demon in White was how—structurally speaking—it felt like five connecting story arcs or novels organized into one book. And I am so damn pleased to see Ruocchio implement a similar story structure design (but different content) to Disquiet Gods. There is a LOT of information to absorb from this book. A LOT. This is something the fans of the series should experience for themselves. I cannot emphasize this highly enough. Henceforth, in this review, instead of merely repeating my praises of the series—all of them are still valid and more for this book—I’d like to review this book by sharing my spoiler-free thoughts about each story arc in Disquiet Gods. I will start with the first one, the beginning, on the planet of Jadd.

“Stranger still that on both occasions, you should be at the heart of things… Do you not see now wherefore your coming is to us as the footsteps of doom?” She said this last in Classical English, and I recognized the phrase.
“Tolkien,” I said.’

200 years have passed since the end of Ashes of Man. Hadrian Marlowe is more than 600 years old now. He is aging. And he is tired. But the war between the Cielcin and humanity continues to ravage the Sollan Empire, with the Cielcin in the winning position. The realms of men are terribly plagued with overwhelming malice from the Cielcin, but the spark of hope has not dimmed. A messenger has come to Jadd, bearing a summons from the Sollan Emperor for the one-time hero, Hadrian Marlowe the Halfmortal. A summons, a pardon, and a plea. HAPSIS, the Emperor’s secret first-contact intelligence organization, has located one of the dreadful Watchers, the immense, powerful beings worshipped by the Pale Cielcin. Hadrian, Cassandra, and Neema must race across the galaxy to locate the Watcher and kill it.

“One is always exposed in the void, even on the vastest starship, without the comforting blanket of the sky to keep one warm. But in that moment, I imagined—and perhaps I sensed—a will, a malice, as though some terrible eye was questing in the Dark, scouring the stars. Jadd had been a paradise, a garden behind whose walls I had long been kept safe. I had returned to infinite space, the ceaseless night of the wider universe. To my old world and life.”

It is accurate to state the story parts in Jadd is, by far, the tiniest section of Disquiet Gods. It is only 50 pages long, and remembering all the insanity that unfolds after Hadrian left Jadd on his next mission, it is probably easy for other readers to forget this smaller Jadd portion. But personally speaking... Jadd is one of my favorite planets in The Sun Eater. The vivid planet of fire felt equally infused with calm tempest and energy. The molten rocks, magma, volcano, and the cultures. Although, understandably, Hadrian Al Brutan needs to move on from the planet to proceed with the story quickly, Jadd left a strong impression on me, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want more of it. Thankfully, I did read Daughter of Swords, The Royal Game, and The Fangs of Oannos before reading Disquiet Gods. They are brilliant short stories in The Sun Eater, and they worked as a mini-trilogy prequel to this novel, showing more of Hadrian and Cassandra’s life in Jadd. This is nothing to complain about, though. Hopefully, one day, Ruocchio will write a novella or two about Hadrian's time in Jadd. And Disquiet Gods only gets better and better with each story arc, as evidenced by immediacy in the second story arc: Planet Sabratha.

“We cannot decide the world we live in ourselves, but we can change the world for those who follow after.”

Honestly, the only part of this penultimate novel I can mark as a possible minor criticism for other readers—and this is being super nitpicky because I don't even consider this a criticism—is to be patient with the calm before the storm moments. Approximately the first 150 pages of Disquiet Gods are focused on introducing new characters, getting the characters back on track, and exploring the desert planet Sabratha. This is, as I said, not a criticism. Almost every main novel in The Sun Eater, except Ashes of Man, begins with a huge time jump. It is only proper that Ruocchio takes his time for readers to feel acquainted with Hadrian, the new characters, and the galaxy again. It is essential to do this, especially in Disquiet Gods. Due to circumstances, the first third of Disquiet Gods is centered on Hadrian and many new characters appearing in the series for the first time. Some notable new characters, among many, are Cassandra, Neema, Edouard, and Ramanthanu. I cannot imagine the rest of Disquiet Gods shining as bright in qualities without the vital foundation laid in the first two story arcs of the novel. And once the storm begins... trust me. You won't be able to stop the bonkers vortex this book will trap you in. Disquiet Gods is easily the wildest installment in the series so far. And if you've read the series up to here, you know this notion should not be taken lightly.

“I was nothing at all. The barest drop in a limitless ocean. One photon against the infinite Dark. One is enough. The voice that whispered to me then was not my own, nor was it Ushara’s… It was no voice at all, hardly to be heard. But it was right. Had I not seen—had I not been shown—had I so easily forgotten how fragile the darkness is? One photon was enough to hold it back.”

Some of you Sun Eater readers might know I'm working as an art director for The Broken Binding edition of The Sun Eater series. Progress is going smoothly for the first three main novels of The Sun Eater. It will be a while before I get to work on Disquiet Gods, but the scenes and details from the first 260 pages of Disquiet Gods would make my work as an art director easier. There were sufficient iconic scenes to choose and work on from the Jadd and Sabratha story arc. However, things changed after I read the rest of the novel. There are now too many magnificent scenes to choose and sacrifice. The ending sequence of the Sabratha story arc was superbly imaginative, crazy, and outrageously epic in scope. Hadrian's adventure and struggle relentlessly drop my jaw. And when I thought things couldn't get crazier, Ruocchio assured me that the first two story arcs in Disquiet Gods were a warm-up before he commands his imagination and storytelling to fire at will in the remaining three story arcs.

“The one must work for the good of the many, so the Mux Sae says, but the Lothrians would destroy every one for their many—not realizing the contradiction.”

To strengthen my points about the third story arc of Disquiet Gods, allow me to reflect a bit about the eternally stamped scenes in my amygdala from Demon in White. Coincidentally... It is also the third story arc of Demon in White. And in the gleaming city of Forum as well! I constantly praise The Sun Eater as one of the most ambitious and crucial science fantasy or space opera series of our time, but in Demon in White, Ruocchio actually displayed the vast scope of his storytelling by including a relatively small and pulse-pounding murder mystery section. If you are like me, who loved the political thriller section in Demon in White, we are blessed to witness another form of this storytelling’s incarnation in Disquiet Gods.

“It is not power that builds empires, that asserts order on the stars. It is vision. Vision and the heroic will to act. Where there is that vision, all else follows. Where it is not, there is decadence, desperation, and decay. I understood all this then, in that moment, though it has taken me much time to order my thoughts on the matter, and perhaps it is only now—by the light of my murdered sun and the dark days that have followed it—that I see things clearly.”

The galaxy-scope threats posed by the Cielcin are forcing The Children of Earth and the Sun in The Sollan Empire to come together for a brave counter-attack against the Cielcin. As you can probably expect, with many pillars of authority in charge, plus a conflicting and compelling reunion with a specific beloved character, unity among fellow humans is never fated to proceed smoothly. Ruocchio’s political intrigue and scheming are handled masterfully. I cannot praise it highly enough. The range and level of his storytelling are simply astounding. The narrative in the third story arc of Disquiet Gods was the most breathtaking and intense within the entire novel. And as I said earlier, events did escalate into a new higher plane of existence in Disquiet Gods. One chapter in particular, one of the longest chapters ever penned in the series so far, is jam-packed with revelations and emotions. I am trying to keep things vague, but some pivotal revelations here reminded me of Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time video game. Disquiet Gods bestow its reader with titanic information about The Quiet, The Watcher, the Extrasolarians, and The Cielcin. The scope of Hadrian’s earth-shattering mission is, to say the least, universally staggering.

“I say it is the cruel law of art that all things must die, and that we ourselves must die . . . having exhausted every suffering, so that the grass, not of oblivion but of eternal life, should grow, fertilized by works.”

I cannot talk much about my thoughts on the details in the remaining two story arcs of Disquiet Gods. They are the story arc in Planet Latarra and another planet I prefer to leave unnamed. But I can say this. Everything you’ve read in the series, everything about Disquiet Gods, amplifies the leviathan weight behind the recurring quotes: “Seek hardship” and “Why should your burden be light?” It was so powerful. I have read many series, and I respect series that speak and cherish the reader. It was as if Ruocchio said: “We are in this journey together. What you’ve read in the previous books, all of them played an irreplaceable part.” That’s what I felt from reading this penultimate volume. The remaining two story arcs reinforced this point more extensively.

“You believe you fight to reduce the evil in what is… You fight to increase the good. Every person you save, every world left untrammeled by evil serves to increase the good in that final accounting. You asked why he does not end all that he has made: because the story is not yet finished, even now, and he will not end it until every bead of light has had its day.

It felt rewarding to read a series where not only every book is tremendous, but all of them are paramount to the overarching narrative. Ruocchio never neglects this. In Disquiet Gods, events from Empire of Silence to Ashes of Man were reflected. Howling Dark, Demon in White, and Kingdoms of Death are the biggest contributors of them all. I am so delighted by this. It will be easy to refute any argument that states a specific main installment in The Sun Eater as a filler or unnecessary installment. Every one of them matters. Howling Dark and Disquiet Gods felt like they were hyperlinked. As we approach the explosive light of Goddodin, readers will reasonably expect satisfying major revelations and convergence, and Disquiet Gods successfully deliver what the reader craves and needs.

“It’s war, Hadrian… Each of us pretends to be fighting for right, or Earth or gods . . . but in truth, we’re each only fighting for ourselves. The Cielcin are no different. They need to eat. All that matters, ultimately, is that we win. How we won will be decided later, that it may be said we fought with honor.”

As Hadrian undertook his impossible mission to do what must be, Ruocchio prepared a 150-page battle sequence to close this volume of The Sun Eater. I won’t mention the name of the battle. I won’t mention the name of the planet. Witness the danger Hadrian and The Sollan Empire encountered yourself. The Ruocchano (the climax sequences) of Disquiet Gods was explosive, terrifying, and filled with insane twists and turns. The emotional damage inflicted was nothing short of remarkable. I am not kidding. Even the brief remark of a character’s eyes was evidently enough to get me emotional. Disquiet Gods proved once again that the writing and the world-building of this series, as I always say, are impeccable and massive in scope. Ruocchio demonstrated it is possible to craft the chemistry formula for an excellent blend of science and fantasy series.

“People conceive of war and battle as mere events, happening for discrete periods of time in a specific place. But war is a place unto itself. A new universe, one with its own laws of time and space. Seconds which might have passed one after another in ordinary time pass all at once in war—so that hours vanish in instants—or not at all. In war, often a single second contains lifetimes.”

Masterpiece.
Disquiet Gods is a science fantasy masterpiece. I have done my best to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible. Though this review is long, I assure you I haven’t covered the fragments of the greatness in Disquiet Gods. The Sun Eater is a quintessential display of journey before destination. We know the final destination of The Sun Eater. The details of the journey, though... We have to find out and experience them ourselves. At the moment, I lack the confidence to determine which books among the top 3 books of The Sun Eater should reign as the best volume of the series. Demon in White, Kingdoms of Death, and Disquiet Gods will have to be content with sharing the title for now. To wrap this review up, I will repeat what I have said. Ruocchio deserves a crown for broadening the horizon of possibility in the genre. This series is a future classic in the making. If you haven't started reading the series yet, give the series a chance. At least up until Howling Dark. You have time to bask in the light of the series before the epic ending to come in Shadows Upon Time, the seventh and final book of The Sun Eater series. Where the intricate legend of the Sun Eater will be witnessed. I long for that day the dirge of the Cielcin will be sung. And I hope you will be there with me on that monumental day.

“Pain. Our fear of pain is the foundation of all morality. It is that fear that shapes our world, orders civilization... 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.

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[Smitty1423 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picture getting clearer of why this guy might need to blow up that sun lmao see yall in November

5/5

[Jonah Evarts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is unbelievable. Christopher Ruocchio is a genius. Suneater is in the pantheon of the greatest works of fiction currently out there if you ask me

[Jake Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gonna not talk about specifics because it is book 6 of a series, but here are my thoughts.

Book was gasoline. In my Ashes of Man review I had it slightly lower score relative to Demon In White as I felt it didn't have the same degree of just batshit cool stuff. Disquiet Gods has plenty of batship insane cool stuff.

Basically my only con is there is like a 50-60 page section around the teen chapters were I was less engaged. Recently I was listened to a podcast with Ada Palmer, Ken Liu, and someone else, sorry I forget your name other person(Edit: Jo Walton, thanks Kyle), and one of them(I forget which) said they often ask themselves while writing why can't the next really interesting thing happen right now, instead of when I was going to put it. And in that small set of chapters I was left wondering why the next really interesting thing can't happen now felt that way for 60 pages of 770. Even if it did have some really cool lore in there.

This is what I have for criticism, This is the level of nitpicking I have to resort to, because guess what.

The other 710 pages? Incredible. Hadrian's character development continues to just be incredible, he is old at this point, and not old for a normal person, old for someone in his world, the centuries have washed over him, and he feels like he has lived those centuries. At no point has he felt like he has changed abruptly, or artificially, and yet when I go back to Empire of Silence the protagonist I find is alien to me after reading him in this book.

Also I can't go into detail, but there was a section of this book that made previous events better. Payoff that I didn't realize was setup, story that I thought was there for it's own merit that now I know was necessary for the story of the Sun Eater. This book made the entire series feel tighter, and less indulgent.

Then like the entire back 70% of this book grabbed a hold of me(that's right, the last 70%), I stopped last night at 2am, and dreamed of Sun Eater, political tension, battles, revelations, lore, and some truly mind bending, utterly unique events. The most common criticism of Empire of Silence is originality, and here stands Disquiet Gods, not just a normal level of original, but a book and world that is one of the most unique and original worlds and stories that I have ever read, and as it has for over a million words now, it remains thought provoking, introspective, and keeping me up at night reading past the witching hour.

9.4/10

[Matt's Fantasy Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watch my video review by clicking here.

One of the greatest stories ever told that takes the series in some wonderfully unexpected directions.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Right so context. I'm not (or maybe wasn't) a Sun Eater hater. Kingdoms of Death and Ashes of Man were good books. They had fallen off from the incredible, compellingly good books that were Howling Dark and Demon in White but they were still good. You can go look at the evidence of my past reviews to see my thoughts and I still stand by all of them. I'm not just some hater coming out of the woodwork to trash on a new release. Despite books four and five being a step down for me, I've been a Sun Eater fan for years now.

Do I need to spend this much time justifying my opinion? Probably not, but this is the internet and my opinions on those four books are important context to how I view this one.

I've tried to tag the things that are explicit spoilers. Everything else should just be names of things that appear or are relevant.

I never really think about or go back and write reviews for books I finished two months ago, let alone books I don't like all that much. I've delayed writing this review because the things I didn't like about it would make this review gigantic and probably unorganized. Hopefully there is at least some organization to the following list.

- Poor editing -
Disquiet Gods was incredibly repetitive both narratively and with the information it delivers to the reader. There were unneeded chapters exploring alien ruins for far too long. There was a sequence of six or seven chapters in the middle of the book where the same conversation was repeated six or seven times just to the different characters. A character introduces information to Hadrian in one scene and then for the purpose of reminding the reader of it, Hadrian then repeats that information as if the character that introduced it didn't know it. I also got an explanation of how the Watchers work a dozen times. In the introduction Ruocchio stated that he deleted 40k words from this book already and I'm baffled how much of it still needed to be edited down. There were also plenty of typos to go around. But it was an ARC, it's not final! True. But it's an ARC I paid 15 dollars for.

- Disposable characters -
This was only a small issue I had with previous books. But the new Exhibit A is Cassandra. She spends the entire book participating in the same two scenes with Hadrian and has no personality despite being twice the age that Hadrian was at the start of this series. She exists to follow Hadrian around and is a walking example of the tedious overprotection trope that plagues so many conversations with her in this book. On top of that, Cassandra backtracks on a lot of the work done in the past two books to shove Hadrian into solitude, which not only causes all that setup to fall flat but replaces previously interesting characters with someone we only care about nominally. Exhibits B-Z for this issue was everybody else that would appear and then die within the same plot sequence. Don't ask me to name any of them because I can't. Selene and Lorian are my two exceptions here and it's because they've been given time to stick around.

- Hadrian doesn't have a foil anymore -
And Hadrian without someone around to contradict him and tell him he's wrong is insufferable. It's a symptom of the lack of good side characters and in no other Sun Eater book has it been more apparent that Hadrian needs contradiction to work than in this one. This compounds with a later point in this list about the morality in this series but in general the page to page narrative is just worse without a back and forth between interesting characters.

- A weird scene -
Where we discover that the space communists (who are evil btw) are building an army of intersex soldiers (who are evil btw). Is that a disingenuous interpretation of that scene? Probably. But the fact that it's an easy interpretation to have at all pisses me off. So much of the development of this series has been removing nuance from stuff set up in the early books and this is a clear example of it. The Lothrians are some faux, simply constructed, group of evil people. The Cielcin have become unquestioningly grotesque. The Extrasolarians have become nearly universally depraved. And in general the Sollan Empire has gone from being competitively horrible to being, while still grey, undoubtedly the best of the societies in the galaxy.

- The official demise of Moral Ambiguity. Time of death: Chapter 40, in which Hadrian Marlowe meets God. -
There's been a steady decline in the nuance that this series takes to portray it's main conflict. (See the points above as well I guess.) It started in Kingdoms of Death with the introduction of the Lothrians and with the Cielcin continually torturing Hadrian. It continued in Ashes of Man with Urbaine being a cartoonishly evil character. And in Disquiet Gods... the war between the two sets of eldritch beings was instead revealed to be between a very unambiguously loving God and the evil angels that have turned against him. Like...what??? I don't even mind the Christian imagery or that there's a Catholic character that argues theology with and tries to convert Hadrian. I don't like them all that much. I think they pull me out of an otherwise immersive series. But that's not my main issue. My main issue is that it's just... dull. It's boring. It's been done. It took some incomprehensible conflict and made it one sided. Why does Hadrian suddenly have some divine mandate to exterminate a species? Is that really how we're going to get to the end of this series? God said to kill the Cielcin? Fuck any agency that Hadrian had in the decision I guess. Any moral question about it that Hadrian has or would have is now just moot. It overwhelms so many other interesting cultural and moral factors from earlier in the series that were leading to Hadrian's decision. If the portrayal of the Quiet suddenly shifts in book seven to being manipulative of Hadrian and falsely good, that would be fine. But there's no indication that that's where this is going. Instead we've gone through the entire moral test of the first three Sun Eater books, been given blatant hints to a solution in books four and five, and then finally just handed the answer key in book six. It's just reductive.

There is good! Kharn Sagara. Vorgossos. Lorian. Forum. Please don't notice that these are just things from previous books appearing again that are still good. Selene. Brethren. The Mericanii. There are more things I could list. In general Disquiet Gods was a list of good things from previous books appearing again and a much larger overshadowing list of things that annoyed the hell out of me. Odds are low that I read book seven at this point. The setup for the ending is just not that compelling to me. Sun Eater has been a trending worse and worse since Demon in White. Always forward, always down I guess?

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

2025 reread update: Recency bias was not a factor in my original review. This book goes so hard. I enjoyed it even more on my second read. Loved catching some of the lore drop stuff I missed the first time. Every single chapter was engaging. I did like Cassandra more this time, but I still wished we got to see her do more. This book is my favorite in the series as I write this, having not yet read Shadows Upon Time.

5 stars just isn't enough for this. This is the best Sun Eater book since Demon in White and rivals it for the best in the series. It's like Howling Dark cranked to 11 with a structure like Demon In White, but at the same time unlike the other volumes in terms of plot. The story goes places that I could have never expected or anticipated and almost every choice was both exciting and satisfying.

I think what I liked most about this book is how Ruocchio really leaned into the lore and more mysterious aspects of the world and gave us some really awesome (and awesomely weird) scenes related to that. This mean that the conflict with the Cielcin is present but more in the background here than in the previous volumes which makes the book and the series feel fresh. The reason I compare it with Howling Dark is because of both the vibe it has and the way it kind of circles back to some things to pay off some big stuff from earlier in the series. There were like 5 or 6 times in this book where something happened that re-contextualized things or just caught me completely off guard in a good way. There were points where I might be casually reading on my phone when I had a few spare minutes and I had to stop and put it down because I knew I wanted to read certain sections with more focus and attention. And I'm glad I did that because there is some big stuff here especially in the second half of the book that I wanted to be fully immersed for.

I also really liked the structure because, like Demon In White, I feel that there are some distinct acts in this book that each have their own story and all of them were great. It's why I never felt bored reading this. This book lets each part sink in but you never stay in one place long enough for it to get stale.

If I had any minor criticism I'd probably say it's in regard to one of the new characters introduced here. And when I say that it's not really that I disliked the character at all just that we only see them through Hadrian's eyes which made them feel not as developed as they could be. I expected the character to possibly be a new favorite and they were just kind of there. On the other hand returning characters in this are absolutely fantastic. And some new additions are very very unexpected and I'm here for it.

If you're someone who liked Empire of Silence a lot but maybe you weren't as hot on the sequels this book may end up being your least favorite. I'd say it is absolutely the least similar to Empire of Silence of all books in the series. However, if you're someone who really loved books 2-5 and especially books 2 and 3 this is probably going to rival for your favorite book in the series. Christopher Ruocchio is a mad man and I'm happy for it.

[Gyan K · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟! I am amazed at Ruocchio’s eloquence, research, neatly honed craft, plotting and pacing, and all that at such a young age. The story is laden with heavy religious overtones, metaphors, analogies. Footprints in the sand, pluralism/nondualism, multiple universes dying and rebirthing. Aside from the obvious Catholicism and the stark parallels between the holy Terran Chantry and Hinduism with its Havans, rituals, and Prasadas, there are elements of Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Shintoism sprinkled throughout. I loved the dystopian, wondrous, and often grotesque amalgamation of science and religion over millennia. The depicted evolution of and the clever use of language, literature, and history enriches the narrative.
The story is full of surprises, revelations, twists and turns, mystery and drama. This is the best of the Sun Eater books so far!

[King Crusoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this will be the Sun Eater book I have the most complicated relationship with at least until the next installment comes out sometime mid-2025 (or so). This is for a small number of reasons, but mostly comes down to how insane of a book it is compared even to its predecessors, which were themselves already pretty crazy at times, and how it's structured to some degree as well. My friends and I have this aversion to the phrase "batshit insane" for reasons I shall not disclose here, but I seriously have no better way of putting how this book went, and how its reveals felt, than actual batshit insanity.

But first I want to back up a smidge.

Anybody who has read (or is reading) the series has access to this book RIGHT NOW. You can buy it directly from Baen Books's website - the eARC that is. (Side-note: this eARC purchase actually provides a higher payout for Ruocchio than even a hardcover purchase does, so I recommend it if you're a fan.) That is how I am reviewing this book now, a little over 2 months before its official release.

Now we cut to my experience with the book: as I said before, it was absolute insanity, and I don't even know where to begin reviewing this book. TL;DR: it's a freaking doozy.

I mentioned in my review of Ashes of Man (it may have been the video review on YouTube, it may have been the written one on here, I don't remember) that it seemed quite clear that that book was the end of the 2nd Arc of Sun Eater as a series. Disquiet Gods confirms this by unequivocally being merely part 1 of this final arc (and we'll touch on this later in the review too).

If you are a fan of Howling Dark and Demon in White, this book is for you. Given that those two are the most popular answers for #1 of the series...this means liking this is practically a no-brainer. Much of the plot of Disquiet Gods reflects and ties in with what came in that early arc of the series (notably HD), most especially in the back half. It is awesome, and it actually confirmed a lot of my suspicions for the ultimate goal of this book just based on foreshadowing I picked up from my reread of Howling Dark in the middle of 2023. That was super cool.

The rest of the plot however, in the first half...well, let's just say it continues all of the really crazy and/or cool cosmic shit that's been slowly being laid from the beginning, but which really started happening in the middle of Demon in White, the climax of Kingdoms of Death, and as a background "character" of sorts in Ashes of Man. Disquiet Gods continues all of that, and Ruocchio therein cranks the dial all the up to 11 - 12 even - too. It is absolutely bonkers where this book goes at times (the end of the first act is one of those sequences; the 50-60% mark is another), and I have such huge respect for Ruocchio for what he managed to achieve and accomplish here, especially as somebody who has gone on record as a straight-up hater of math. The cosmic material in Disquiet Gods, and the scope of the book - the series in general as a result - is unfathomably epic and hard to put to words. I find myself scrabbling for SOME way to say it without just spoiling everything, but to do so feels genuinely impossible. The fact that this has been done at all is a monument to fiction writing as an entire medium. Chapter 40 happened to be a chapter that gave Ruocchio trouble for up to 2 months, and it becomes very obvious why that was the case when you read it.

Structurally, Disquiet Gods most resembles that of Demon in White as well - again, something that fans of this series are probably going to love to hear. Not only is Disquiet Gods practically equal in length to Demon in White, it has the exact same feel of being 3 distinct acts within a larger whole. Though this is not my personal favorite thing (I preferred, say, the pacing and structure of Howling Dark to that of Demon in White's - a lot of why I still rank HD higher than its sequel), I am still happy to say that Disquiet Gods reads INSANELY quickly. I took a month to read Demon in White. I read this in barely more than 2 weeks. Obviously, I read very slowly, but even I plowed through this, and WANTED to get through it that quickly where I normally want to pace myself a bit with Ruocchio's writing and style.

Act 1 of Disquiet Gods is absolute GAS; Act 2 is the perfect balance of pensive and forward-moving (compared to Act 2 of DiW which I admit felt a little slow at times); Act 3 is a satisfying conclusion to a lot of stuff foreshadowed previously in the series even though I found my personal spatial reasoning during the climax rather difficult to grapple with for some reason. Every single act contains more than its fair share of hilariously crazy stuff though, and I frequently found myself cackling at the sheer audacity of Ruocchio to do what he's done here. Oh, and to add to all the praise here, DG has easily the strongest opener of the series too.

The only thing I found myself to be broadly "worried" about with DG as I neared its conclusion was just the fact that the material of the first 40% (though I suppose even upwards of 66% is appropriate to say) of the book broadly was left just "unresolved" in some sense as the book went into the final act that it needed to have. This lack of a resolution for this one major aspect of the story is, of course, intentional, because that material is meant to be explored deeper and finished later, in Book 7. This is what I talked about earlier of DG feeling like just Part 1 of this final act. Never did I ever feel like any of the other mainline novels in the series were "incomplete" or like they were just PART of a greater whole left incomplete (no, not even KoD and AoM felt this way to me, even though they WERE originally being written as one and split in the middle of the process, with material added to account for the split in the wake of that move). DG is the closest the series comes to this “incompleteness” as a result of this finale being so big, so bombastic, so insanely huge in scope that it cannot be done in one binding.

Rest assured, however, that Ruocchio does still give this a satisfying ending - this is no supposed "Dust of Dreams" or "The Veiled Throne" where there is no proper climax and resolution because the book's been literally split into two bindings. Additionally, my one major concern with DG - that this "unresolved" thread would remain that way - was also fixed in the very last chapter. Ruocchio does set the reminder that that threat exists and is the next goal now that DG's climax has achieved what it was set out to achieve. This made me forgive whatever problem I had with the structure of the book, and has left me mostly just mad Book 7 isn't the book coming out in 2 months instead. I want it right now basically.

But I said at the top that this might be the book in the series I have the most complicated relationship with...why is that? Well, most of it is what I've already talked about in one way or another. But I also want to say that this one is going to be a doozy to proofread/do another copy edit pass on for the Diamond Edition on my re-read in a couple years. This will definitely be the most time-consuming one for sure.

With all of that being said...I THINK I've finished saying what I primarily wanted to say here. As a final note, however, I would like to say that those of you worried this book will kill you as a reader the way the last two books did basically need not worry! I will not clarify what I mean by "basically" in this context :)

Finally, I would like to add that if you haven't read the following short stories and/or novellas yet, you will absolutely get a lot more out of this book if you do so before picking this up:
- The Lesser Devil (the first of the side-novellas)
- Kill the King (in Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 2)
- The Dregs of Empire (the third of the side-novellas, tho a novel in its own right)
- Mother of Monsters (in Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 3)
- The Royal Game (in Grimdark Magazine, Issue #34)
- Daughter of Swords (in Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 3)
To be fair, I recommend you read all of the side-stuff as a general rule, cuz its all great, but these especially before DG.

Anyway. This review was tough to write, and it might still be riddled with holes of things I did forget to bring up, but it's complete enough that I will leave it as is for now. I will do a video review of Disquiet Gods on YouTube on March 26th, 1 week before the officially-slated release.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 Stars
Spoiler Free Series Review https://youtu.be/kXL0N5cbLEA
Disquiet Gods Review https://youtu.be/4OSmXltz9qY

This is very much a case of a series that becomes stronger with time. I enjoyed the earlier installments in this series but I still had some criticisms.

This most recent book addressed so many of those previous issues. As the second to last book in the series, this one was filled with important plot and character development as the author speeds towards the finale. It felt more like a space opera, rather than sci fantasy.

I look forward to the finale book to see how this author pulls it all together in the end.

[Benghis Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread update: loved this one on second read even more. The deliberately paced start to the archaeological section didn't make up as big a chunk as I had remembered (it's still not my fav -- I had a really hard time visualizing everything here), and my previously primary criticism about certain side characters not being brought to ultra-vivid life was just not shared by my present-day self. The novels are simply Hadrian-centric in a way I don't think I had fully accepted on first read, and this time I focused more on Hadrian's relationships to everyone around him rather than caring that each side character really stand out to me with their own quirky personality.

Once the first half climax hits it's off to the races, and I just was glued to the page yet again from that point to the end. I know long, drawn out action-y sequences aren't everyone's cup of tea since they can leave you wrung out, but Ruocchio's exended set pieces are so full of unique situations and new twists and turns that they just don't get tiresome to me.

The stuff around ch 40 is probably going to leave me debating with myself for the rest of my life whether I'm happier with it in the series or not. But either way, I love how bold Ruocchio went with realizing his vision, and I'll always respect the choices here to the utmost.

Original Review:

Yet another brilliant entry in one of my favorite series! It's just such a treat to pick up with a series you love after a bit of a wait and be able to sink back in with a favorite character to continue the journey. And what a journey this one took me on, with so many classic Sun Eater twists and turns I could never have seen coming. The back half was pure dynamite.

I wouldn't say this is my favorite Sun Eater book, but probably somewhere in the middle, as it did take a little while for me to become fully enthralled by it. There's a lengthy archaeological plot line toward the beginning that I was wanting to love a lot more than I did, and for whatever reason the side characters in this section just never came alive for me in a way that many had in the previous books. The one on the cover was a particular disappointment, since she is fairly prominent in terms of presence in the book while not making much of an impression. This is no doubt one of the downsides of a single POV story, since Ruocchio did bring her to vivid life from her own POV in her story in Tales vol 3.

The trade-off is that I've formed such a close connection with our dramatic storyteller Hadrian, and we've now moved into a very interesting and poignant part of his long life. His philosophical and personal musings continue to engage my heart and mind, and I feel like I know him on such an intimate level that I'm just closer to Hadrian than just about any other character I've read.

When the shit starts to inevitably hit the fan in this book, we're off to the races and it's one mind-blowing sequence after the next. It goes into high-concept territory reminiscent of certain previous moments we've had, but much further. Maybe too far for my own liking in one instance (Ch 40), since I'm ok with leaving things more mysterious rather than getting a fuller peek behind the curtain and getting lots of cosmological answers. But on the whole I love when Ruocchio goes big and bold and weird, and especially everything in the final act of Disquiet Gods just hit like many of my favorite iconic Sun Eater sequences.

Now I await the final chapter of this masterpiece of a tale -- always forward, always down!

[R. A. Strich · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a recent interview, Christopher Ruocchio said, that while writing 'Disquiet Gods' his only intention was to make it be better than 'Demon in White' - which is the third book in his epic 'Sun-Eater' saga.
If you have read it yourself or only heard about it from reviews, you might already know that trying such a thing alone seems like an impossible task; one that is destined to fail.
Writing a masterpiece - an all time best - might happen occasionally, but doing so with *intent* is like summoning disaster. Normally, that is.
But what can I say, Ruocchio made it work somehow. This book is "batshit insane", as many in the fandom like to phrase it. It's another statement as to why this author deserves to be amongst the very greatest writers of our time. And seeing him find more and more success - even if it's so late in the series - just makes me happy.

But what about the book now? 'Disquiet Gods', the penultimate volume in the series, the last step before the big finale that is looming over the series since its very first page. That inevitable choice the protagonist makes, that ultimate event that earned Hadrian Marlowe his haunting nickname of Sun Eater.

Well, it's a masterpiece, so much I already wrote. It is insane on every front a book or story in general can be. Phenomenal. Rivalling the all-so-cherished 'Demon in White'.
For me personally, I think I must still give that one the edge, but they are close... Very close. It mainly comes down to legacy needing time and some personal preferences that I need to sit on a little longer to judge them finally.
I won't get into spoilers here, maybe only include a small rambling about implications at the very very end of the review (it will be marked as so, don't worry), but the book gets wild.

But first of all: Why all the 'Demon in White' comparisons? Why does every review weigh these two against each other? Apart from the raw quality of them, there are some other things connecting the books and making 'Disquiet Gods' somewhat of a sibling in spirit. And these things mainly come down to the structure and therefore the feel of the entire narrative.

Because as is the signature feature for 'Demon in White', Ruocchio also made 'Disquiet Gods' to feel like 3-4 books packed into one through how it is constructed.
How much ground the books in this series are able to cover is insane, and that's especially true for these two entries.
All of that doesn't come across as dreadful to read or disconnected at all, as it still clearly follows one interconnected tapestry of a narrative. Each event in the series - since the very beginning - has consequences that branch off and have a direct and/or indirect impact on the following events.
That way, 'Disquiet Gods' and 'Demon in White' achieve the opposite of feeling like a book with many slapped-together side plots or anything similar to that. Ruocchio is just too good for that and uses said direct consequences to make these books like an avalanche from start to finish.
One event flows directly into the next - sometimes expected and therefore with a lot of engagement and awaiting from the reader - and at other times way more suprising and shocking. It's so well thought out that I honestly can't really believe the process, the author claims to have when writing. It's magical, how well everything just flows together and never feels unjustified.

This sectioning of the book also benefits the story because it makes it easier to seperate the different plotlines going on and the progresses made on different fronts of the overarching storyline without being confusing.
That way, every section can be dedicated to one aspect of the story, connected with the rest by the character-developments and larger politics and lore, but never loose track of the individual themes and ideas Ruocchio wants to tell with this individual plotline.

I can only imagine, what a mess of plot this series might devolve into, if treated differently. It is a usual problem though for authors that tackle such vast and large-in-scale narratives.
Sun Eater spans millions of years in its lore, tackles countless philosophical concepts and deals with hundreds of characters and factions.
All the while still having only one central protagonist and but one arc that he is going through.
Ruocchio cleverly avoids the distraction and interferance, that each aspect could cause with any other. He can frame each new revelation or confrontation exactly the way it needs to be, with exactly the setting it needs to happen in and as such create the perfect headspace for the reader to fully grasp, what that scene and revelation has to offer.
And through the intelligent interconnection of everything he adds to that the feeling of a break-neck pace and massive stakes throughout each segment.
It's brilliant and leads to a almost 1100 page book being an absolute pageturner.

Every page could hold a new twist; could hold another revelation, a new idea or planet, maybe even the start to a new, almost enclosed setting/section. The pages just turn and turn and turn and... then there is the ending.
Which in this case is probably the most "cliffhanger-ish" of the series so far. But I don't think anyone can really judge the book, because in the end it is the penultimate volume and paves the way for the epic conclusion that should be in our hands next year.

There is but one thing in 'Disquiet Gods', that still makes me unsure whether it claims the top-spot in the series for me. Getting into that would be a massive series spoiler, but I think I can cover the reason behind it without telling too much. Because it only comes down to the point, this book has in the series and what naturally comes with that.

The closer a story gets to its conclusion, the more things are revealed and answered - at least in most cases.
The same thing is still true with Sun-Eater, and there are a LOT of questions that need answering. And a lot of progress being made, as I might have mentioned.
Especially in a series like this, where a heavy focus lies on exploring deeper themes, resolutions and answers (at least these, that are more or less final - given the progression of the story), it is an even more delicate matter. An approach and goals are attached, that need to have questions linger for a time and to play with ambigiuity to give the reader and characters more possibility to interpret and think.
I loved how Sun-Eater tackled larger-than-life concepts of Lovecraftian scale by always just barely dodging away from giving final explanations. Concepts are handled with much care to make them understandable and the reader able to grasp them, but to not be overexplained.

And here is where the one nit-pick comes in: The overexplaining.
At one point in the book, there is a section, that gives us a clearer picture of all these "unexplainable" forces than ever before. How it is done is crazily creative and well written, but as the concepts are so theoretical and, again, larger-than-life, not comprehensible for the human mind as of yet, giving clearer answers kind of felt weird for me. At least in a SciFi book, that clearly sets out to be a continuation of our own real-world history.
I don't know, it's just a taste thing...
As fascinating it is to give answers on how our cosmos became the way it is and which powers may lie beyond that cause everything and influence it, taking away room for interpretation makes it less believable in my opinion.
At that point in the novel, I honestly started to have a problem with the direction the series seemed to head in. But fortunately I can trust in Ruocchio, because as much as I didn't 100% dig that certain section and it's consequences, he paddled back from it a bit and continued to phrase and frame the same implications in different light, therefore bringing back a lot of ambiguity and room to think about it.
Still, it did leave a short but sour note towards the middle of the book.

And then the madness began once again and 'Disquiet Gods' delivered once again one of the greatest and balls-to-the-wall final action-sequences there is. With resolutions and confrontations left and right, that leave GIGANTIC consequences.
Some of these plotlines we waited for since the very beginning of the series. Since book 2s famous insanity, since book 3s lingering questions. 'Disquiet Gods' now brings them all together.
And it all works through the glory that is the protagonist Hadrian Marlowe and his closest accompanies - to not spoil too much.
It's just great and leads to scenes, that will stay engraved in my mind forever.
Oh poor little Daniel... Was Cheyenne nice to you? :')
Fuck, that scene... That chapter... Ruocchio managed to break me with the fate of something, that I didn't think could possibly be humanized in any way... And he did within maybe two paragraphs. Fuck that hurt so gooooood and was haunting at the same time. And you will know what I mean when you read this book... Holy shit that chapter...

But okay, I'll stop raving now, it has been enough. I can only praise Sun Eater and Christopher Ruocchio and recommend you to read it once again. I hope so many more people will now discover the insanity that this man puts out every year and blesses the reading community with.

Onwards. Always further. Always down. I must continue.
(hopefully not alone though, but with a lot more people that discover the series :))



____________________SPOILERS_____________________








____________________STILL SPOILERS :) ____________________








____________________YOU SURE YOU BELONG HERE?__________________









Alright. You shall go on.

I'm not gonna make this too long, but the thing I mentioned I am not quite sure of yet, basically comes down to the role of Hadrian that's now really pinned down to being a "chosen by a godlike being".
It has always been clear that he was serving some bigger purpose and in some ways was a pawn of these bigger powers, but it was never framed with this much of a religious feeling to it. It is especially his new "self", after yet another rebirth - which this time is way more literal and also more heavily explained through "Science".
Its done better and more believable than it should have been - that much should be said - but still was just leaving me feeling a bit restricted in the potential meaning and interpretation.
But I just didn't really get why all of this was necessary. Especially to do it again.
It took some time to adjust to this new version of Hadrian, as he also acts a bit differently than before - especially in the beginning. Always smiling (now symmetrically) like a know-all. He has changed over the series, sure, but this one just took some time; this "prophet-like" being he came across as in the beginning.
I have said, that the novel kind of paddled back and settled itself at a bit less radical of a execution of said concept, but still. That first impact did leave an impression on the rest of the novel.

Also how the final revelations/answers about the Quiet (or Absolute I should say) and the Watchers felt a bit off for me; a bit less of what the series has been for me before. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but everything became so much simpler through it. So much less otherworldly and instead almost easy to grasp.

Also it leads to some statements about religion, that I interpreted as a bit strange in the first place. After some discussion with other fans, I like it a bit more now and seem to have interpreted it a bit wrong... Anti-Religion is always great, but this at first read more like it came out of a pro-religion camp. Especially in SciFi I find stuff like that just stupid. But okay... I guess it's meant to be exactly the opposite, exactly what I thought it should be in this case.
The final book will show though, there is still a lot to be said about these things and Ruocchio may get back to it and reveal some more things, have it all be another layer in his masterplan.
I'm pumped. But we all have to wait now... Time is a terrible thing... Hadrian has this quote regarding time but I forgot it tbh, just [insert here].
Bye :)

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have loved each installment of this series so far. The religious themes were always apparent, but in an open and vague sort of way that didn't isolate a non-Christian reader. I also very much enjoy angel versus demons themes pulled from Christian mythology. The author being Catholic is very apparent, and that was also perfectly okay by me. Of course he's going to explore his existential musings in his books with that religious lens. I quite enjoy that as long as I'm not being preached at.

But then, boom! Egg Jesus. The Quiet being a monotheistic entity was always known, but vague and nuanced. Now, there's no wiggle room. This is the Christian god. Our "good" angel explains this by describing that, actually, Hadrian isn't saving the existence of this god. Silly Hadrian, god wants to save you! The egg is just an incarnation of himself that will still inevitably come, and that their Oracle incarnation has been killed once before (Jesus). You can't stop egg Jesus, Hadrian. Judgement Day is coming no matter what you do.

We the readers get to experience a whole sermon directed at egg Jesus's wayward sheep (Hadrian). In a church, no less. By an angel. And don't forget God is like, so sad by human suffering. He'd really like to save you from this galactic genocide with scary predator aliens but that would make him a tyrant to interfere. Don't worry, he totally loves you. Now follow His plan already!

If this was clearly labeled as Christian Fic, I would have been able to make an informed choice. Christian Sci-Fi as a genre should absolutely exist. But I shouldn't have had to experience a bait and switch 6 books in for that sub-genre to make itself clear.

[Read By Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, I don't love where the macro story in Sun Eater is going, I think, but Ruocchio is such a good writer that it doesn't matter that much. This book is crazy and definitely mind bending and thought provoking, but some of the answers to the questions we are getting are in directions that I have little to no interest in. There is also a major character introduced in this one that I think didn't really land. They are more of a concept of a character, than a character themselves. Ruocchio's side characters have always been a relative weakness of the series.

However, the last third or so of this book was absolutely wild, top tier entertainment and mind-blowing reveals, creepy imagery and some of the best characters in the series. As always, the character writing for Hadrian is just incredible, Hadrian is very very old and he feels his age. And as always, Ruocchio's prose is fantastic.

Not my favorite of the series like it is for some people, but not my least favorite either.

[Scot Glasgow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've finished my most anticipated read of 2024 - Disquiet Gods, Book 6 of the Sun Eater Saga by the masterful Christopher Ruocchio. The good news is that this will most certainly be the best book I read this year ... which incidentally is also potentially the bad news, as I doubt any of my reads throughout the rest of the year will get to this level.

A few disclaimers, for those who care about such things:

1) I was always going to love this book. My positivity bias for my pantheon of my very favorite authors (Robin Hobb, George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Christopher Ruocchio) has been well documented (and sometimes mocked) at this point.

2) Being named in the actual acknowledgments in this book (I'm Scot) further cements my love for this book, and I won't pretend that it didn't mean a great deal to me. That being said, refer to #1 - there was never an option that I wouldn't love this book.

Disclaimers out of the way, there is a very real possibility that this will knock Kingdoms of Death down one notch and just simply become my favorite Sun Eater book thus far. You make think it odd that KoD is my favorite - it is many Sun Eater fans' least favorite. The wonderful thing about this series is that you can ask 100 random Sun Eater fans what their favorite book in the series is, and there will be a normal distribution of various answers (though Demon in White would have the highest percentage, and with good reason - it is one of the best SFF books ever written.)

For spoiler reasons, and this being the 6th book in the series, I won't get into the nuts and bolts of the story, but suffice to say the world building in this book was cranked up to 11. I think it's very fair to say that if you loved Howling Dark (and I did,) you will adore this book as well. Then again, it's hard for me to create a reality in which any Sun Eater fan who has made it this far with Hadrian's story won't at least like the book.

If you had planned to wait until the release date in April and have the means to do so, I would highly encourage you to purchase Disquiet Gods as an e-Arc from BAEN and read it early as I have. You won't be disappointed.

I'm already looking forward to my immersive re-read with the brilliant Samuel Roukin in April. He is going to CRUSH this narration, and I'm absolutely here for it.

[John Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Sci-Fi of 2024.

Absolute masterclass. If you enjoyed book 2-3 then you’ll 100% love this. It’s basically a book baby between the 2. You get a character coming back from book which was awesome and you get the political machinations of book 3. What’s not to love?

I enjoyed the addition of Hadrian’s daughter, Cassandra. Since becoming a Dad I always get a better relationship from parent/child stories than I would have otherwise since I truly can understand the love that Hadrian feels. I do wish Cassandra would have had more of a part other than Hadrian telling her she can’t come with him and Cassandra pleading her way into coming, but I’m sure she’ll have an important part in book 7 that I am so ready for!

I enjoyed Ruocchio’s chapter about the God in his book and kind of opening your eyes about real life and our relationship with God. Nice bit of Christian psychology for ya.

Favorite books this year so far:
1. Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff
2. Disquiet Gods by Christopher Ruocchio
3. The Dragons of Deepwood Fen by Bradley Beaulieu
4. The King Killing Queen by Shawn Speakman
5. Son of the Blacksword by Larry Correia

[Alex Nieves · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is fantastic and beautifully written. So much happened in this book that it's going to take a while to sink in but once again Ruocchio knocked it out of the park.

[Joshua Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite things in the Sun Eater saga is when Ruocchio digs into the world-building, infusing it with philosophical discussions often of a metaphysical nature. Which he does here superbly. I felt he built upon a lot of the questions initially posed in the first two books in particular got deeper and more layered explanations to a lot of these questions. I feel the more thought-provoking concepts added so much to this book and the series as a whole. While I remain critical of his action sequences-every single action sequence in this series is too long in my eyes-my overall feeling at this point of this series is excitement to see how it all ends.

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 6 and this series is still at its peak. I might have just read what will be my favorite book of the year.

[Joey Parton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how Ruocchio's books get better and better. I only just finished this book, but this could be my new favorite of the series.

[Xyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another masterpiece, pushing the boundaries in every way.

Disquiet Gods is — as anyone who's read this series would suspect — a fantastic read. But even among its peers, it stands in the top echelon.

There is so much to say about this book, as it hearkens back to so many of its predecessors. Much like Demon in White, Disquiet Gods feels like multiple 5 star banger books within a single book, with some of the best political intrigue you will have ever read. Much like Howling Dark, Disquiet Gods deals with darkness, cosmic horror, and existentialism. There is more to say, about similarities to the other books, but that I'll leave for you to discover, Reader.

This book is very "out there," even by the series' usual standards. There is an incredible amount of mystery, and yet, as we approach the end of our story, numerous mammoth revelations.

The climax is incredible as anyone familiar with Christopher Ruocchio's work has come to expect. This brilliantly sets up the beginning of the end, and I can't wait for the final conclusion.

An absolute must read.

[Liam J.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It burns me how biblically analogous this saga can be… but this was still good.

I still feel the characters leave much to be desired, though. I thought Ruocchio was learning by book 3, but alas he seems to have stagnated a bit as an author over the last three installments.

[Matteo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reader, I cannot make you understand. Unless you have seen what I have seen - and you have not - words fail utterly.
Even for those who stood beside me, words fail.

COSA MI E' PIACIUTO

- Un romanzo che presenta, per quasi 700 pagine, un susseguirsi continuo di scoperte, rivelazioni e le tanto attese rispose a molti dei quesiti che hanno tormentato i lettori durante la lettura della serie;
- Citazioni dal mondo classico, dalla letteratura anglofona, dall’epica e dal mito: Disquiet Gods è la summa delle conoscenze del passato dell’umanità, messe in campo (e in dubbio) da un Hadrian Marlowe estremamente provato dalle vicende;
- Lo stile si conferma aspetto fondamentale: studiato e ripulito come mai prima d’ora, avvolge il lettore donando una soddisfazione tangibile che va al di là della storia e dei suoi personaggi;
- Emozionante e complessa, ancora una volta la trama affronta temi come le diversità all’interno del tessuto sociale, la ricerca di un posto e di uno scopo, la religione, la vita oltre la morte, il concetto stesso di umanità in relazione al resto dell’universo che ci circonda;
- Ruocchio conferma di non voler cercare facili consensi, e davanti ad alcune scelte narrative opta non per la via più semplice o assimilabile ai piaceri del “fanservice”, bensì per quella più coerente con il disegno che da tempo ha strutturato;
- Worldbuilding in ulteriore crescita: ogni libro permette di esplorare un nuovo, affascinante angolo di questa galassia sconfinata.

COSA POTREBBE PIACERE MENO (NON A ME)

- A differenza dei romanzi precedenti, il ritmo estremamente rapido potrebbe lasciare spiazzato chi ha sempre preferito una narrazione più compassata.

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Hardly five minutes of life, and the beast was begging for an end.
Do we tolerate our suffering only because we come into it gradually?

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Disquiet Gods è un romanzo che comincia a tirare, dando non poca soddisfazione, i tantissimi fili dell’arazzo che Christopher Ruocchio ha intessuto con la sua saga monumentale.
Volume ricchissimo di azione, riflessioni e risposte, propone una ricetta dal ritmo assai più elevato dei libri che lo hanno preceduto, ma senza dimenticarsi quelli che sono sempre stati i cavalli di battaglia della produzione: epica, malinconia, dolore, ma anche dedizione, amore e amicizia, speranza per l’umanità intera. Un altro, meraviglioso passo verso il finale che ci attende.

[James Morpurgo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruocchio back to his best!

Disquiet Gods is the sixth main book of the seven planned in the Sun Eater series and this was every bit as good as the fan favourites Demon in White or Howling Dark. The comparison to these titles is more than simply because the themes and locations used were revisited and this was far more than just your favourite band smashing out their greatest hits at a concert - everything hinted at and prophesied earlier on is starting to come together as we reach the conclusion in the final book.

With Kingdoms of Death and Ashes of Man we saw a minor dip in quality from the previous books and they are rarely at the top in reader rankings for the series. This was principally as a result of publishing restrictions on page count which caused one book having to be split into two works. Thankfully, a change in publisher to Baen has allowed Ruocchio to once again outline a larger book with Disquiet Gods being completely as intended. But don't for one moment think that increased word count means filler and bloating, this book has been heavily edited and polished and everything that remains is solid gold.

For the past few years I have been repeatedly saying how underrated this series is and that we are getting prose on a par with Rothfuss at a Sanderson like output of releases and although I still maintain this, it seems like more and more people are now discovering Ruocchio thanks to positive reviews on YouTube and that this series is near to the end and WILL be finished.

My 5 star rating is not because I'm a Sun Eater fanboy, this book was truly excellent. I read the last 8 hours worth in a single sitting (bathroom breaks permitting) as I just could not put it down - I can't remember the last time a book from any other series or author has gripped me in that way. Book 7 will be my most highly anticipated book ever and I have every confidence that this will stick the landing and cement the legacy for this series to become an all time classic.

Disquiet Gods is not officially released until April 2024, but can be purchased as an eArc direct from Baen's website right now.

I would say that I love this latest book, hopefully you would say "you're not wrong"....

[Kaminsod · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of you who are waiting for the proper release date... get hyped!

Disquet Gods combines the atmosphere and mystery of Howling Dark, the amazing plotting and epicness of Demon in White, a super dark lovecraftian first act and whole new level of science fiction ideas, koncepts and themes.

It is a really packed book, combining like 4 different plotlines, preparing everything for the beautiful tragedy that is going to be Book 7 for sure. And imho, it is done even better than in DiW, because here there are some atmospheric dark parts, where the author lets the reader breathe.

I do not really see a point in writting a long review and repeating everything I said before. So, in short.. really special book, combining everything I loved about Sun Eater and more. Right now I would say it is my favorite, but we will see how I feel about that later - it is either this one or Howling Dark.

Buut what I can say for sure is that the first third of the book (the Lovecraft stuff) is by far the best part of the series. The other parts were great as well, no doubt, but my main critique would be that the author did not save the best for last + the final like 10-15% or so was maybe a liiiiittle dragged out. But these are all just little details, I absolutely loved the book and can not wait for the final one. 9,5/10.

[Caeleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't really know what to say other than wow. This is now my favourite book in The Sun Eater series next to Howling Dark. Christopher Ruocchio somehow manages to one up himself once again. He is an author who is constantly improving and adding new things to his books, while not feeling shoehorned in. There is a part in this book around the halfway mark that could've easily been super cheesy, boring felt really preachy or just been a complete flop if not executed correctly, but I thought that it was pulled off masterfully. A top moment in the series so far and one of the coolest moments in sci-fi alongside Brethren in Howling Dark. I could gush about this book and series forever, but if you aren't reading Sun Eater and you're a fan of sci-fi or fantasy then you're really missing out on some of the best the genres have to offer.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic penultimate entry, fast paced but with not constantly fast paced which is good; which gives the characters room to breathe and process their deeds etc. and what has happened. This book has been called Howling Dark 2.0 and that does track.

[Booksblabbering || Cait❣️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 sometimes found the descriptions dragging which bogged down the story with unnecessary, slowing details, I can appreciate the visuals where book turned into 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!

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[Jeff Pena · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's going to take some time to let this book settle before a final decision can be made, but as of right after finishing Disquiet Gods I can safely say it is in the conversation with Demon in White for my favorite novel in the Sun Eater series.

This book is the beginning of the end for the story of Hadrian Marlowe and his journey to become the infamous Sun Eater. Ruocchio packs this book with action, twists, and payoffs that have been building for the entire series while still leaving plenty to be resolved in the final book. While Disquiet Gods does not end with the stinging gut punches of Kingdoms of Death and Ashes of Man, Ruocchio still lands the ending in an impactful way that will make the next 14-18 month wait for the series conclusion to a painfully long respite for fans that are chomping at the bit to see how Hadrian's journey comes to its end.

This electronic advance reading copy of Disquiet Gods was purchased directly from the publisher Baen Books on their website. The eARC is available to anyone who would like to purchase it prior to the novel's full release on April 2, 2024. I would highly recommend fans of the series purchase the eARC not only to get an early look at the full novel but also because funds from the sale of the eARC are split evenly between the publisher and Mr. Ruocchio with no middleman taking a slice of the revenue.

[reluctant_reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so disappointed by the way this story went. I was really hoping for philosophical and moral nuance, creativity, and was given an almost perfect biblical allegory. I read sci-fi and fantasy because it is such an amazing vehicle to have interesting and unique discussions on the biggest questions about life and what it means to be human. Unfortunately, despite the epic scope of The Sun Eater series and my absolutely undying love for Hadrian in the first three books, book 6 was such an intense letdown.

Where was the character development for Cassandra? There really wasn’t any. She’s another side character that pops up every so often but has very little impact on Hadrian or the story itself. And Hadrian doesn’t have anyone to argue with. He is immortal now. He is chosen. He has also made his choice. There isn’t anyone there to question him or offer another perspective or push back—so he just becomes this boring version of himself.

Huge letdown. Still enjoyed it at times. But I felt bored by so much of it.