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The Sun Eater #Volume 4
Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 4
FIVE STORIES FROM THE UNIVERSE OF THE SUN EATER WRITTEN BY INTERNATIONALLY AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR CHRISTOPHER RUOCCHIO, COLLECTED HERE FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.
A legendary hero. An old soldier. A monster from beyond the stars. In the far future, an old man must kill to save his unborn daughter, must fight to prevent an assassination--the start of a war that would shatter many worlds. Now bear witness go the noon of mankind, of an age when humanity's empire stretches far across the a time of war, of great evils, and of still greater good.
Here are further tales of strange, far worlds. Tales of battle, of desperation, and holy law. And here, too, are tales of a man who will change the fate and future of the galaxy as a whole. Tales of the Sun Eater, of Hadrian Marlowe himself.
PRAISE FOR CHRISTOPHER
"Empire of Silence is epic science fiction at its most genuinely epic. Ruocchio has made something fascinating here, and I can't wait to see what he does next." —James S.A. Corey, New York Times-bestselling author of The Expanse
179 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 15, 2025
106 people are currently reading
551 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Ruocchio
44 books5,136 followersChristopher 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.’
Christopher lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife, Jenna. He may be found on both Facebook and Twitter with the handle ‘TheRuocchio.’
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
October 4, 2025
This is probably the weakest of the short story collections in the Sun Eater series. I did enjoy The Guns of Pharos - a really good story set in between books 1 and 2 - and The Fangs of Oannos, set on Jadd between books 5 and 6, but didn't like anything else in the collection. From the unreliable narrator of The Prince of Man, the incredibly dull The Royal Game, and the Acosmist prequel story, I honestly didn't find much of interest here.
July 27, 2025
Cinque racconti, tutti da 4⭐️ piene.
Ancora una volta Ruocchio conferma la sua maestria nel donare ai suoi testi un fascino quasi mistico, anche e soprattutto grazie a uno stile invidiabile.
Resto sempre dell'idea che riesca a dare il meglio di sé con storie più lunghe e articolate, dove può prendersi il tempo necessario a costruire i personaggi e le situazioni che li coinvolgono, ma anche con meno spazio non delude le aspettative.
Ancora una volta Ruocchio conferma la sua maestria nel donare ai suoi testi un fascino quasi mistico, anche e soprattutto grazie a uno stile invidiabile.
Resto sempre dell'idea che riesca a dare il meglio di sé con storie più lunghe e articolate, dove può prendersi il tempo necessario a costruire i personaggi e le situazioni che li coinvolgono, ma anche con meno spazio non delude le aspettative.
July 23, 2025
4.0 stars—-
This collection wasn’t a 5 star read like the Volume Three, but still worth reading. The best story here is The Fangs of Oannos, but as a reread, it didn’t pack the punch it did the first time.
Guns of Pharos was also very enjoyable as it featured most of the Red Company.
Read this collection after Ashes of Man (spoilers for book 5), and I would recommend it after Disquiet Gods too (but not as necessary).
The Guns of Pharos- 4.5 stars
The Prince of Man- 2 stars
The Royal Game- 4 stars
The Fangs of Oannos- 5 stars
The Acosmist- 3.5 stars
Guns of Pharos follows Bassander Lin when he first meets Otavia Corvo. This solidified Lin as a favorite character in the series.
The Prince of Man follows Hadrian as he duels a Cielcin prince. This is told by an unreliable narrator and doesn’t fit with the rest of Ruocchio’s short stories as the tone is off. It’s my least favorite piece of the Sun Eater universe.
The Royal Game follows a spy as he plots to keep Hadrian from having a child on Jadd.
Fangs of Oannos follows Hadrian as a mysterious delegation from a faraway system arrives in Jadd to cause chaos.
The Acosmist was a story about a Cielcin lord who attempts a coup, but also reveals a lot about the Cielcin gods, history and lore.
This collection wasn’t a 5 star read like the Volume Three, but still worth reading. The best story here is The Fangs of Oannos, but as a reread, it didn’t pack the punch it did the first time.
Guns of Pharos was also very enjoyable as it featured most of the Red Company.
Read this collection after Ashes of Man (spoilers for book 5), and I would recommend it after Disquiet Gods too (but not as necessary).
The Guns of Pharos- 4.5 stars
The Prince of Man- 2 stars
The Royal Game- 4 stars
The Fangs of Oannos- 5 stars
The Acosmist- 3.5 stars
Guns of Pharos follows Bassander Lin when he first meets Otavia Corvo. This solidified Lin as a favorite character in the series.
The Prince of Man follows Hadrian as he duels a Cielcin prince. This is told by an unreliable narrator and doesn’t fit with the rest of Ruocchio’s short stories as the tone is off. It’s my least favorite piece of the Sun Eater universe.
The Royal Game follows a spy as he plots to keep Hadrian from having a child on Jadd.
Fangs of Oannos follows Hadrian as a mysterious delegation from a faraway system arrives in Jadd to cause chaos.
The Acosmist was a story about a Cielcin lord who attempts a coup, but also reveals a lot about the Cielcin gods, history and lore.
December 17, 2025
So . . . because I copy-edited this thing once upon a time before it was actually in the Goodreads database, I forgot about writing a review - let alone actually posting one. Whoops.
“Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 4” is a weird entry in the short story collection series for 2 reasons. Firstly: it was the first Tales volume from Christopher where I had already read basically everything ahead of time, so the “novelty” factor of it is a bit reduced - and that strangely affects my opinion on the collection, albeit just a little bit. Secondly: the way the story collections exist is starting to change a bit as of Volume 4, seeing as “The Guns of Pharos” and “The Prince of Man” are novelettes included at the end of some of the special editions of the series (“Empire of Silence” Diamond/Highmatter Edition for the former; “The Murdered Sun” Anderida Edition for the latter), and many of the stories in future collections are going to be of this same variety - compiling the bonus stories from special editions - often lengthier than the average in former collections. In a way, the tonality of this collection feels a little bit different than the rest as a result, but that’s probably something only I would notice, having worked pretty closely on Volumes 3-4 for the copy edits.
Furthermore; Volume 4 only actually contains 5 stories in it, on account of the 2 novelettes previously mentioned, and on 1 of the 3 remaining stories also being novelette length. Volume 4 is not the longest of the “Tales of the Sun Eater” collections . . . but it is pretty close, despite having the fewest stories.
This isn’t necessarily a problem, mind you, just preferentially, I think I actually prefer either higher diversity of story length or simply the slightly shorter average of Volume 3 compared to the rest up to this point. Like I said, definitely a me thing.
Anyway, to more properly review this thing, I want to talk about WHEN it should be read . . . because in my opinion it’s in a weird place. Just like “Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 3”, Vol. 4 should also not be read until after “Ashes of Man” (book 5 of the main series), but this volume should actually be read BEFORE its predecessor.
Yes. You read that right. Vol. 4 BEFORE Vol. 3. This is because the final story of Vol. 3 features a particular character in it that 2 of the stories in this volume also feature to some degree . . . but the 2 relevant stories in Volume 4 take place BEFORE the relevant story in Volume 3. This is the primary reason I recommend this order. Those stories - “The Royal Game” & “The Fangs of Oannos” from vol. 4 and “Daughter of Swords” from vol. 3 make a sweet little mini-trilogy of stories prior to the opening of “Disquiet Gods” (book 6 of the main series). So if you are somebody reading all the side material, I still recommend “Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 4”, but I recommend it before Volume 3 if you have not read that yet.
In the end, it doesn’t REALLY matter much, but that is my personal recommendation on this front.
(Besides, “Prince of Man” doesn’t really take place in the proper timeline, “The Guns of Pharos” takes place earlier in the series than, say “After the Feast” from vol. 3 does, and “The Acosmist” can vaguely be read anytime post “Ashes of Man” with no issues, so really the broader balance of when material relevant to the main series takes place is just a little bit earlier for this most recent volume compared to the previous in my mind, so . . . yeah. I know, it’s a little weird, but just trust me on that one.
But yeah, anyway, about the stories themselves. “The Guns of Pharos” is Bassander Lin POV in-between books 1 and 2 and is some solid stuff, contextualizing some of what early “Howling Dark” talks about in some fun ways. (The bonus story for the Highmatter Edition of “Howling Dark” and which will most likely feature in the next basic Tales collection is a Jinan POV story that takes place in a similar time by the way, so that’ll be fun!) “Prince of Man” is an apocryphal story that had me laughing a LOT - definitely Christopher’s most fun/funny story to date, made better the more of the main series you’ve read (if you’ve read through around “Kingdoms of Death” you’ll probably catch nearly all the funny little easter eggs and references and whatnot). “The Royal Game” and “The Fangs of Oannos” I already mentioned as being great to pair in a mini-trilogy of sorts with “Daughter of Swords” from Tales 3 ahead of “Disquiet Gods” - the Jadd stuff in these stories is just so good, and does great work expanding on that chapter of Hadrian’s life since DG doesn’t actually spend much time there. Finally, “The Acosmist” is by far the most unique story Christopher has written. If you’ve read it, you know exactly why. It’s really, really cool. Loved it. As the only story in “Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 4” I had not yet read when I copy edited this collection, it made the entire thing HELLA worth it.
So . . . that’s my review over a year and half after I read the collection. (Those start and end dates for my activity are from the copy edit, which occurred long before the collection’s actual release, hence why this Goodreads review is so late. Although the dates might not be 100% accurate at this point. It's been a while.)
“Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 4” is a weird entry in the short story collection series for 2 reasons. Firstly: it was the first Tales volume from Christopher where I had already read basically everything ahead of time, so the “novelty” factor of it is a bit reduced - and that strangely affects my opinion on the collection, albeit just a little bit. Secondly: the way the story collections exist is starting to change a bit as of Volume 4, seeing as “The Guns of Pharos” and “The Prince of Man” are novelettes included at the end of some of the special editions of the series (“Empire of Silence” Diamond/Highmatter Edition for the former; “The Murdered Sun” Anderida Edition for the latter), and many of the stories in future collections are going to be of this same variety - compiling the bonus stories from special editions - often lengthier than the average in former collections. In a way, the tonality of this collection feels a little bit different than the rest as a result, but that’s probably something only I would notice, having worked pretty closely on Volumes 3-4 for the copy edits.
Furthermore; Volume 4 only actually contains 5 stories in it, on account of the 2 novelettes previously mentioned, and on 1 of the 3 remaining stories also being novelette length. Volume 4 is not the longest of the “Tales of the Sun Eater” collections . . . but it is pretty close, despite having the fewest stories.
This isn’t necessarily a problem, mind you, just preferentially, I think I actually prefer either higher diversity of story length or simply the slightly shorter average of Volume 3 compared to the rest up to this point. Like I said, definitely a me thing.
Anyway, to more properly review this thing, I want to talk about WHEN it should be read . . . because in my opinion it’s in a weird place. Just like “Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 3”, Vol. 4 should also not be read until after “Ashes of Man” (book 5 of the main series), but this volume should actually be read BEFORE its predecessor.
Yes. You read that right. Vol. 4 BEFORE Vol. 3. This is because the final story of Vol. 3 features a particular character in it that 2 of the stories in this volume also feature to some degree . . . but the 2 relevant stories in Volume 4 take place BEFORE the relevant story in Volume 3. This is the primary reason I recommend this order. Those stories - “The Royal Game” & “The Fangs of Oannos” from vol. 4 and “Daughter of Swords” from vol. 3 make a sweet little mini-trilogy of stories prior to the opening of “Disquiet Gods” (book 6 of the main series). So if you are somebody reading all the side material, I still recommend “Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 4”, but I recommend it before Volume 3 if you have not read that yet.
In the end, it doesn’t REALLY matter much, but that is my personal recommendation on this front.
(Besides, “Prince of Man” doesn’t really take place in the proper timeline, “The Guns of Pharos” takes place earlier in the series than, say “After the Feast” from vol. 3 does, and “The Acosmist” can vaguely be read anytime post “Ashes of Man” with no issues, so really the broader balance of when material relevant to the main series takes place is just a little bit earlier for this most recent volume compared to the previous in my mind, so . . . yeah. I know, it’s a little weird, but just trust me on that one.
But yeah, anyway, about the stories themselves. “The Guns of Pharos” is Bassander Lin POV in-between books 1 and 2 and is some solid stuff, contextualizing some of what early “Howling Dark” talks about in some fun ways. (The bonus story for the Highmatter Edition of “Howling Dark” and which will most likely feature in the next basic Tales collection is a Jinan POV story that takes place in a similar time by the way, so that’ll be fun!) “Prince of Man” is an apocryphal story that had me laughing a LOT - definitely Christopher’s most fun/funny story to date, made better the more of the main series you’ve read (if you’ve read through around “Kingdoms of Death” you’ll probably catch nearly all the funny little easter eggs and references and whatnot). “The Royal Game” and “The Fangs of Oannos” I already mentioned as being great to pair in a mini-trilogy of sorts with “Daughter of Swords” from Tales 3 ahead of “Disquiet Gods” - the Jadd stuff in these stories is just so good, and does great work expanding on that chapter of Hadrian’s life since DG doesn’t actually spend much time there. Finally, “The Acosmist” is by far the most unique story Christopher has written. If you’ve read it, you know exactly why. It’s really, really cool. Loved it. As the only story in “Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 4” I had not yet read when I copy edited this collection, it made the entire thing HELLA worth it.
So . . . that’s my review over a year and half after I read the collection. (Those start and end dates for my activity are from the copy edit, which occurred long before the collection’s actual release, hence why this Goodreads review is so late. Although the dates might not be 100% accurate at this point. It's been a while.)
July 23, 2025
I really like Ruocchio's short fiction and side stories. They elevate the Suneater series for me.
July 19, 2025
4,25 ⭐
Peut-être un poil sévère car j'ai adoré ces histoires mais j'en avais déjà lu deux, une dans le GrimDark Magazine et la seconde via un envoi de Ruocchio.
Comme toujours le grand maître me régale !
LA MEILLEURE SERIE DE TOUS LES TEMPS (pour moi🥹💕)
Peut-être un poil sévère car j'ai adoré ces histoires mais j'en avais déjà lu deux, une dans le GrimDark Magazine et la seconde via un envoi de Ruocchio.
Comme toujours le grand maître me régale !
LA MEILLEURE SERIE DE TOUS LES TEMPS (pour moi🥹💕)
July 22, 2025
The Guns of Pharos: 4/5
The Prince of Man: 3.5/5
The Royal Game: 3/5
The Fangs of Oannos: 4/5
The Acosmist: 5/5
The Prince of Man: 3.5/5
The Royal Game: 3/5
The Fangs of Oannos: 4/5
The Acosmist: 5/5
October 23, 2025
The last (for now) Sun Eater collection has only 5 offerings but they are part of the main series (though one is presented as apocryphal and false, which of course is, but it is also very funny and had me laughing out loud when reading it)
In order of preference;
The Fangs of Oannos - Hadrian recounts an event on Jadd when an envoy prince from a small kingdom in between the Lothrians and the Jaddians comes seemingly beseching the supreme Prince of Jadd for an alliance against the Lothrians and their Cielcin masters. Cassandra is only a child just starting the Fire School and she is on occasion present, though this is all about Hadrian - excellent stuff and on par with all the episodes from the novels.
The Royal Game - also on jadd but earlier, the secret spymaster of the supreme Prince is already stressed about Hadrian as the Empire has found out about his asylum there and wants him extradited; now that the Prince has approved Hadrian's plea for a daughter mixing his blood with Valka's genetic stuff from the medallion Hadrian wears all the time, the spymaster is even more stressed, so he decides to act and make sure the daughter is never born; of course Hadrian takes exception at that...
The Prince of Man - an apochryphal rendering of Hadrian at Aptucca, supposedly from the lost memoirs of Lorian Aristides, fragment found some 3 millenia later in the 22nd millenium, and with comments from a scholiast of the 24th millenium. This is super funny, with Hadrian "married" with both Valka - who makes her entrance on a palanquin dressed in all finery and jewelry - and Otavia, having 3 pet panthers to be unleashed on his enemies, with all his powers due to Valka's sorcery and so on as he fights a Cielcin prince for the mastery of Aptucca; just had me laughing out loud all the time
The Acosmist - the Prophet as a younger Cielcin - known as the Abysscrosser - on his way to domination and imposing his will on some wayward Cielcin priests who refuse to share their secrets with him - a good dark story but a bit too short and uneven
The Guns of Pharos - the first action of the Red Company from Bassanda Lin's POV - not bad, but again too short and uneven
Overall, this is more or less a must companion for the series than the previous 3 collections and is excellent too.
In order of preference;
The Fangs of Oannos - Hadrian recounts an event on Jadd when an envoy prince from a small kingdom in between the Lothrians and the Jaddians comes seemingly beseching the supreme Prince of Jadd for an alliance against the Lothrians and their Cielcin masters. Cassandra is only a child just starting the Fire School and she is on occasion present, though this is all about Hadrian - excellent stuff and on par with all the episodes from the novels.
The Royal Game - also on jadd but earlier, the secret spymaster of the supreme Prince is already stressed about Hadrian as the Empire has found out about his asylum there and wants him extradited; now that the Prince has approved Hadrian's plea for a daughter mixing his blood with Valka's genetic stuff from the medallion Hadrian wears all the time, the spymaster is even more stressed, so he decides to act and make sure the daughter is never born; of course Hadrian takes exception at that...
The Prince of Man - an apochryphal rendering of Hadrian at Aptucca, supposedly from the lost memoirs of Lorian Aristides, fragment found some 3 millenia later in the 22nd millenium, and with comments from a scholiast of the 24th millenium. This is super funny, with Hadrian "married" with both Valka - who makes her entrance on a palanquin dressed in all finery and jewelry - and Otavia, having 3 pet panthers to be unleashed on his enemies, with all his powers due to Valka's sorcery and so on as he fights a Cielcin prince for the mastery of Aptucca; just had me laughing out loud all the time
The Acosmist - the Prophet as a younger Cielcin - known as the Abysscrosser - on his way to domination and imposing his will on some wayward Cielcin priests who refuse to share their secrets with him - a good dark story but a bit too short and uneven
The Guns of Pharos - the first action of the Red Company from Bassanda Lin's POV - not bad, but again too short and uneven
Overall, this is more or less a must companion for the series than the previous 3 collections and is excellent too.
November 8, 2025
This collection brings together five stories, some of which were previously published as standalone works or included with special editions of the main novels.
I enjoyed reading these stories—my favorites are the ones that revisit familiar characters and expand on the intricacies of the Universe.
I enjoyed reading these stories—my favorites are the ones that revisit familiar characters and expand on the intricacies of the Universe.
November 25, 2025
⭐⭐⭐ ║ Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 4 is easily the weakest batch of Sun Eater short fiction I have read. Nothing here feels essential, though the collection did help me settle back into Ruocchio’s voice and the scope of the universe after time away.
All five stories fall before Disquiet Gods, which makes their release feel oddly timed. None add meaningful weight or emotional resonance and they pale next to the power of the main novels. Still, they served as a quick warm-up before Shadows Upon Time, even if I could have skipped the collection entirely.
The Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio
Book 1: Empire of Silence 5/5
Novella: The Lesser Devil 4/5
Book 2: Howling Dark 5/5
Novella: Queen Amid Ashes 4/5
Short Story Collection: Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 1 3/5
Book 3: Demon in White 5/5
Short Story Collection: Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 2 4/5
Book 4: Kingdoms of Death 5/5
Book 5: Ashes of Man 5/5
Novella: The Dregs of Empire: A Tale of the Sun Eater 4/5
Short Story Collection: Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 3 4/5
Short Story Collection: Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 4 3/5
Book 6: Disquiet Gods 5/5
All five stories fall before Disquiet Gods, which makes their release feel oddly timed. None add meaningful weight or emotional resonance and they pale next to the power of the main novels. Still, they served as a quick warm-up before Shadows Upon Time, even if I could have skipped the collection entirely.
The Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio
Book 1: Empire of Silence 5/5
Novella: The Lesser Devil 4/5
Book 2: Howling Dark 5/5
Novella: Queen Amid Ashes 4/5
Short Story Collection: Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 1 3/5
Book 3: Demon in White 5/5
Short Story Collection: Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 2 4/5
Book 4: Kingdoms of Death 5/5
Book 5: Ashes of Man 5/5
Novella: The Dregs of Empire: A Tale of the Sun Eater 4/5
Short Story Collection: Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 3 4/5
Short Story Collection: Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 4 3/5
Book 6: Disquiet Gods 5/5
July 24, 2025
Best Short Story Collection Yet
Each collection of Tales just gets better. Every story in here is excellent. Some are exceptional such as Fangs and The Acosmist. None are required reading to understand the main series, but if you like Sun Eater and you like seeing different perspectives and some of what Hadrian leaves out of the main narrative then do yourself a favor and read these.
Each collection of Tales just gets better. Every story in here is excellent. Some are exceptional such as Fangs and The Acosmist. None are required reading to understand the main series, but if you like Sun Eater and you like seeing different perspectives and some of what Hadrian leaves out of the main narrative then do yourself a favor and read these.
July 20, 2025
Some were a bit weaker than Tales 3 but The Acosmist was amazing and seems to have huge lore implications that I don't fully understand yet.
Fangs of Oannos is also a highlight and also the longest story, we get a really fun Jadd adventure with lots of political intrigue. Always good to see more of Jadd and I think this one actually has really strong hints for Ruocchio writing historical fiction next? He mentions Hadrian having a lot of interest in Persia, Babylon, etc and I think this is a hint that Ruocchio himself is currently obsessed with the topic, maybe tinfoil hat.
This collection being sort of a mishmash of stories collected from other special editions definitely makes it less of a cohesive collection compared to Tales 3 being such a good transition from Ashes of Man to Disquiet Gods. This one fills in some gaps from across the timeline so I kind of think only super fans will benefit from it.
I'm thinking the Acosmist and Prince of Man might be the most relevant for Shadows Upon Time but we shall see. This is a short read and Ruocchio is getting better at short form content but hoping Tales 5 is a bit more cohesive.
Fangs of Oannos is also a highlight and also the longest story, we get a really fun Jadd adventure with lots of political intrigue. Always good to see more of Jadd and I think this one actually has really strong hints for Ruocchio writing historical fiction next? He mentions Hadrian having a lot of interest in Persia, Babylon, etc and I think this is a hint that Ruocchio himself is currently obsessed with the topic, maybe tinfoil hat.
This collection being sort of a mishmash of stories collected from other special editions definitely makes it less of a cohesive collection compared to Tales 3 being such a good transition from Ashes of Man to Disquiet Gods. This one fills in some gaps from across the timeline so I kind of think only super fans will benefit from it.
I'm thinking the Acosmist and Prince of Man might be the most relevant for Shadows Upon Time but we shall see. This is a short read and Ruocchio is getting better at short form content but hoping Tales 5 is a bit more cohesive.
July 21, 2025
Fantastic short story collection- weirdly, should be read before Tales 3 if you are trying to go chronologically. Prince of Man is one of my favorite shorts that CR has written, and Fangs of Oannos really feels like a missing part of a mainline SE book. All bangers here, highly recommend.
July 16, 2025
Another fantastic set of short stories from the Sun Eater Universe.
These have all of the characteristics one would expect from a Ruocchio composed work -- fantastic prose, amazing dialogue, and despite the fact that they are short stories, intricate plots that will keep you turning the pages.
As the forward suggests, this is best read between Ashes of Man and Disquiet Gods.
5 STARS
These have all of the characteristics one would expect from a Ruocchio composed work -- fantastic prose, amazing dialogue, and despite the fact that they are short stories, intricate plots that will keep you turning the pages.
As the forward suggests, this is best read between Ashes of Man and Disquiet Gods.
5 STARS
September 27, 2025
LE DOY 3 ESTRELLAS PORQUE, COMO SIEMPRE, CON ESTA COLECCIÓN DE CUENTOS EL LORE DE ESTA SAGA DE CIENCIA FICCIÓN CRECE DE MANERA INTERESANTE. Y PORQUE ALGUNAS DE LAS HISTORIAS (LAS QUE HABLAN DEL PROTAGONISTA EN SU EXILIO) SON MUY BUENAS... YA DICHO ESTO, DE TODA LA COLECIÓN DE "CUENTOS" HASTA AHORA, ESTA ES QUIZAS LA MÁS SIMPLE.
Esta colección de cuentos de la saga "Sun Eater" ha sido la más dispersa hasta la fecha. Ya que muchos de los relatos que la componen salieron a la luz en otras publicaciones mucho antes de que este libro se compilara. Creo que es mejor que se lea antes de entrar al volumen 6 de este universo, "Dioses de la Inquietud", debido a que al menos dos de los cuentos tienen que ver con el exilio del protagonista después de que atacara al emperador del Imperio Sollan. Pero supongo que es también posible leerla después del sexto libro... eso depende del lector.
Hay 5 relatos en este libro:
-Los Cañones de Pharos: Que sigue al personaje de "Bassander Lin" (un favorito de todos) cuando conoce y trabaja por primera vez con la mercenaria "Octavia Corvo". He hecho una reseña aparte de este relato anteriormente.
-El Príncipe de Hombres: Este relato sigue al protagonista de la saga (Hadrian) en su duelo con uno de los príncipes de la raza Cielcin. Este relato es poco fiable y no encaja bien con el resto, ya que el tono es más de leyenda popular que de crónica histórica. Lo que resalta este cuento, es el hecho de que aparentemente esta narrado cientos de años después de los hechos acontecidos en los libros principales. Lo cual lo hace el relato más adelantado de la saga... cronológicamente hablando.
-El Juego Real: Sigue a un espía de Jadd que conspira para evitar que Hadrian tenga una hija durante su exilio. También he hecho una reseña aparte de este relato anteriormente.
-Los Colmillos de Oannos: Sigue a Hadrian y a su hija mientras una misteriosa delegación de un sistema estelar lejano llega a Jadd para sembrar el caos en la corte. He hecho también una reseña aparte de este relato anteriormente.
-El Acosmista: Es una historia sobre un señor Cielcin que aparentemente intenta dar un golpe de estado, y romper un taboo que ningún príncipe de esta raza ha osado jamás violar. Lo bueno de este cuento es que revela revela cosas interesantes sobre las tradiciones e historia de esta raza alienígena. Pero es también el más confuso de todos, porque uno no puede estar seguro de quien es este príncipe Cielcin realmente (ni siquiera al final). Se mencionan algunos nombres que dan pistas, pero todo es demasiado ambiguo como para estar completamente seguro... Me hubiera gustado que el autor se expandiera en este cuento en particular.
Con todo, los relatos son buenos. Pero como dije al principio, la mayoría ya habían aparecido en otras publicaciones, así que cuanto cogí este libro lo terminé de leer en un dos por tres. Los cuentos son buenos, pero no tan impresionantes como las compilaciones anteriores (Volumen 1,2 y 3) y quizás por eso no se disfrutan tanto.
Pero son una buena lectura si eres fanático de la saga, porque aportan contexto que es bastante útil para entender la cronología de este universo.
Lo recomiendo. Pero como siempre, solo los fanáticos de esta saga los disfrutaran realmente.
Esta colección de cuentos de la saga "Sun Eater" ha sido la más dispersa hasta la fecha. Ya que muchos de los relatos que la componen salieron a la luz en otras publicaciones mucho antes de que este libro se compilara. Creo que es mejor que se lea antes de entrar al volumen 6 de este universo, "Dioses de la Inquietud", debido a que al menos dos de los cuentos tienen que ver con el exilio del protagonista después de que atacara al emperador del Imperio Sollan. Pero supongo que es también posible leerla después del sexto libro... eso depende del lector.
Hay 5 relatos en este libro:
-Los Cañones de Pharos: Que sigue al personaje de "Bassander Lin" (un favorito de todos) cuando conoce y trabaja por primera vez con la mercenaria "Octavia Corvo". He hecho una reseña aparte de este relato anteriormente.
-El Príncipe de Hombres: Este relato sigue al protagonista de la saga (Hadrian) en su duelo con uno de los príncipes de la raza Cielcin. Este relato es poco fiable y no encaja bien con el resto, ya que el tono es más de leyenda popular que de crónica histórica. Lo que resalta este cuento, es el hecho de que aparentemente esta narrado cientos de años después de los hechos acontecidos en los libros principales. Lo cual lo hace el relato más adelantado de la saga... cronológicamente hablando.
-El Juego Real: Sigue a un espía de Jadd que conspira para evitar que Hadrian tenga una hija durante su exilio. También he hecho una reseña aparte de este relato anteriormente.
-Los Colmillos de Oannos: Sigue a Hadrian y a su hija mientras una misteriosa delegación de un sistema estelar lejano llega a Jadd para sembrar el caos en la corte. He hecho también una reseña aparte de este relato anteriormente.
-El Acosmista: Es una historia sobre un señor Cielcin que aparentemente intenta dar un golpe de estado, y romper un taboo que ningún príncipe de esta raza ha osado jamás violar. Lo bueno de este cuento es que revela revela cosas interesantes sobre las tradiciones e historia de esta raza alienígena. Pero es también el más confuso de todos, porque uno no puede estar seguro de quien es este príncipe Cielcin realmente (ni siquiera al final). Se mencionan algunos nombres que dan pistas, pero todo es demasiado ambiguo como para estar completamente seguro... Me hubiera gustado que el autor se expandiera en este cuento en particular.
Con todo, los relatos son buenos. Pero como dije al principio, la mayoría ya habían aparecido en otras publicaciones, así que cuanto cogí este libro lo terminé de leer en un dos por tres. Los cuentos son buenos, pero no tan impresionantes como las compilaciones anteriores (Volumen 1,2 y 3) y quizás por eso no se disfrutan tanto.
Pero son una buena lectura si eres fanático de la saga, porque aportan contexto que es bastante útil para entender la cronología de este universo.
Lo recomiendo. Pero como siempre, solo los fanáticos de esta saga los disfrutaran realmente.
July 27, 2025
7/25/25: 4 stars. Another great and enjoyable short fiction collection set in the world of the Sun Eater series! I didn't like this one quite as much as Vol. 3, which was all bangers, but honestly, this is a selling point to me; a short story collection where I love everything might be a sign of the author's sheer talent (as in the case of Vol. 3), but it can also be a sign of the author not experimenting enough with the form. I find most often that lots of experimentation leads me to not like every story as much, but to appreciate the collection as a whole even more. While Vol. 3 was a unique combination of high experimentation and perfect match for me, Vol. 4 was the more typical high experimentation that results in me not loving every story but being thrilled that the author is trying new things and working to stretch himself. Overall a worthwhile reading experience that I highly recommend to fans of the series.
January 12, 2026
Not an essential read in any way
Just more world building and interesting stories from periods in between the main books
The Fangs of Oannos is the pick of the bunch here and 5/5 and is as good a short story as I have read.
Only one more book to go :-(
Just more world building and interesting stories from periods in between the main books
The Fangs of Oannos is the pick of the bunch here and 5/5 and is as good a short story as I have read.
Only one more book to go :-(
September 17, 2025
Another great addition of Tales of the Sun Eater. I really enjoyed these stories with my favorite being The Acosmist. It was brilliant and love seeing a POV of characters I’ve been longing to see and especially how they view things.
Tales 3 still remains my favorite Tales edition so far but this was another great read from my favorite author who never disappoints.
Tales 3 still remains my favorite Tales edition so far but this was another great read from my favorite author who never disappoints.
September 10, 2025
Rating: 3.25 ☆
Solid.
Solid.
July 31, 2025
Just now finished Tales Of The Sun Eater volume 4! Overall was A very enjoyable collection of short stories. My favorite and the stand out story being “The Fangs of Oannos” absolutely love the mini arc and trilogy of Royal game,Fangs of Oannos and daughter of swords” part of me feels like those three stories should just all be combined as one big long story. Royal game was very entertaining and just made me so happy to be back in the universe of sun eater after not reading any Sun eater related content for close to four months.. I was in a mini reading slump and just read tales of the sun eater volume 3&4 .. I blew through both of them in about a day! Besides fangs I would say “guns of Pharos” was my second fav story here. Unfortunately, I was not a big fan of the story “Prince of man” just felt out of place and a different tone than what I am used to when it comes to Sun Eater. So far I would say volume three is my favorite, but all four volumes of tales of the sun eater are highly recommended to read. Now I’m off to read dregs of the empire novella.
July 29, 2025
4/5 More tasty morsels from the Sun Eater Universe
Not too much to say here, folks, it's been a few months since I caught up with Ruocchio's Sun Eater Saga, and with new the new shirt story collection out, I couldn't wait to get back into it.
Every story in this collection is a good one, and I was especially excited to read Guns of Pharos. I had already read Fangs of Oannos online, which is half the if entire collections runtime, but I reread because the visuals from Oannos go stupid hard, haha.
I can't wait to see how Hadrian's story wraps up in just a few short months!
Not too much to say here, folks, it's been a few months since I caught up with Ruocchio's Sun Eater Saga, and with new the new shirt story collection out, I couldn't wait to get back into it.
Every story in this collection is a good one, and I was especially excited to read Guns of Pharos. I had already read Fangs of Oannos online, which is half the if entire collections runtime, but I reread because the visuals from Oannos go stupid hard, haha.
I can't wait to see how Hadrian's story wraps up in just a few short months!
November 12, 2025
The best collection yet.
Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 4 is, simply put, the best so far. This volume is quality over quantity, as it's more like a few novelettes than short stories. Royal Game and The Fangs of Oannos were re-reads for me, and better the second time.
This was my first read of The Guns of Pharos, The Prince of Man, and The Ascomist.
The former two were great, the latter confused the hell out of me as one might expect.
A must read for fans of Sun Eater.
Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 4 is, simply put, the best so far. This volume is quality over quantity, as it's more like a few novelettes than short stories. Royal Game and The Fangs of Oannos were re-reads for me, and better the second time.
This was my first read of The Guns of Pharos, The Prince of Man, and The Ascomist.
The former two were great, the latter confused the hell out of me as one might expect.
A must read for fans of Sun Eater.
July 21, 2025
A nice and tidy collection of short stories. Some felt a little average but there were two standouts out of the five for me. I also have read two previously: one from
The Diamond Edition and one that was published online in its entirety. Nice little appetizer until book seven later this year!
The Diamond Edition and one that was published online in its entirety. Nice little appetizer until book seven later this year!
August 30, 2025
Praise for Ruocchio. This man will never cease to amaze me! Hadrian is such an iconic character!
October 12, 2025
3.75★
A solid collection of short stories, though compared to the previous entry, this volume lacks a truly standout story. Volume 3 had 2 that were extremely strong amongst others that were all great, however this 4th Volume, whilst good, doesn't hit the same high.
I think by far the best entry is The Guns of Pharos and The Fangs of Oannos. Both show off Ruocchio's trademark prose and are great additions to the Sun Eater canon.
A solid collection of short stories, though compared to the previous entry, this volume lacks a truly standout story. Volume 3 had 2 that were extremely strong amongst others that were all great, however this 4th Volume, whilst good, doesn't hit the same high.
I think by far the best entry is The Guns of Pharos and The Fangs of Oannos. Both show off Ruocchio's trademark prose and are great additions to the Sun Eater canon.
October 30, 2025
Some really good stories in this, but some others I didn't enjoy as much
December 10, 2025
Uh, nothing to write home about. I only quite liked 1 of the stories here.
November 15, 2025
The two longer stories are both good but that’s about it
November 28, 2025
The Guns of Pharos 5/5
The Prince of Man 2/5
The Royal Game 4/5
The Fangs of Oannos 5/5
The Acosmist 3/5
The Prince of Man 2/5
The Royal Game 4/5
The Fangs of Oannos 5/5
The Acosmist 3/5
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