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The Sun Eater
The Lesser Devil and Other Stories
Explore the Sun Eater Universe in this special, limited edition collection!
A legendary hero. His all too human brother. A soldier tossed into battle against an inhuman foe. All these things and more are here!
Collected for the first time ever in print, experience these eight shorter tales from the Sun Eater universe, including The Lesser Devil, a novel that thrusts Crispin Marlowe, a young nobleman, into a desperate battle for survival against an enemy hell-bent on destroying his family.
In the others, a bounty hunter must fight to recover the most precious cargo of all, a priestess must sit in judgement over a witch for crimes against her own humanity, and a duelist must fight not only to save his own life, but to spare that of his enemy.
And above it all, the legendary Hadrian Marlowe sets out on three separate adventures of his own!
Contains:
- The Lesser Devil
- The Demons of Arae
- Victim of Changes
- Not Made For Us
- The Night Captain
- The Duelist
- The Parliament of Owls
- The Pits of Emesh
A legendary hero. His all too human brother. A soldier tossed into battle against an inhuman foe. All these things and more are here!
Collected for the first time ever in print, experience these eight shorter tales from the Sun Eater universe, including The Lesser Devil, a novel that thrusts Crispin Marlowe, a young nobleman, into a desperate battle for survival against an enemy hell-bent on destroying his family.
In the others, a bounty hunter must fight to recover the most precious cargo of all, a priestess must sit in judgement over a witch for crimes against her own humanity, and a duelist must fight not only to save his own life, but to spare that of his enemy.
And above it all, the legendary Hadrian Marlowe sets out on three separate adventures of his own!
Contains:
- The Lesser Devil
- The Demons of Arae
- Victim of Changes
- Not Made For Us
- The Night Captain
- The Duelist
- The Parliament of Owls
- The Pits of Emesh
- GenresScience Fiction
459 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2021
8 people are currently reading
1178 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Ruocchio
50 books4,876 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 23, 2023
Ngl, there's a tiny part of me that wants to bump this DOWN to 4 stars instead of 5 like I originally rated TLD and Tales Volume 1 the first goes around...
...but I'm also like 98% sure that that feeling is a result of how exhausted I am from proofreading this thing. By far the messiest of the material throughout the series (the original copy editor/s did frankly a terrible job), so my brain is freaking tired after this, especially when grouped with QAA AND TDoE&OS, both from the past 2 months as well, AND AND Howling Dark a little earlier this Autumn, AND AND AND my being the original copy editor for Tales 3 this summer.
Needless to say, I'm tired, so while I still greatly enjoyed the material, I'm sufferings a tad bit of burnout right now, and so am pushing off Tales 2 until January, leading up to the release of Disquiet Gods's e-ARC sale, which I'm super excited for.
For now, I'm taking a short break from these Sun Eater re-reads to freshen myself up a bit lol.
If you want to know my thoughts on The Lesser Devil and/or Tales Volume 1 directly, I do have reviews for both of them on here somewhere, in their individual editions, and a combined review of THIS collection on YouTube somewhere too.
Anyway, I'm tired. Good night XD
...but I'm also like 98% sure that that feeling is a result of how exhausted I am from proofreading this thing. By far the messiest of the material throughout the series (the original copy editor/s did frankly a terrible job), so my brain is freaking tired after this, especially when grouped with QAA AND TDoE&OS, both from the past 2 months as well, AND AND Howling Dark a little earlier this Autumn, AND AND AND my being the original copy editor for Tales 3 this summer.
Needless to say, I'm tired, so while I still greatly enjoyed the material, I'm sufferings a tad bit of burnout right now, and so am pushing off Tales 2 until January, leading up to the release of Disquiet Gods's e-ARC sale, which I'm super excited for.
For now, I'm taking a short break from these Sun Eater re-reads to freshen myself up a bit lol.
If you want to know my thoughts on The Lesser Devil and/or Tales Volume 1 directly, I do have reviews for both of them on here somewhere, in their individual editions, and a combined review of THIS collection on YouTube somewhere too.
Anyway, I'm tired. Good night XD
February 16, 2022
This looks to be the first review on GR but it is probably unlikely for many reviews to appear for what is a limited number of copies (500 numbered, 50 lettered) of this collection. The Lesser Devil has been previously released as a standalone novella and the other short stories have also been available elsewhere.
This review and rating is very much an appreciation of the quality and presentation of the physical book as it is of the written word contained within. It is becoming a given that the cover art on Ruocchio books is eye catching and striking and this one is no exception. The binding and paper quality is of the highest order and the book feels as heavy as one with three times the page count.
But what about the content? Yes, these are side stories and not essential reading for the main Sun Eater series but that is no reason to pass them by. Christopher Ruocchio is literally universe building, rather than world building and short stories such as these are helping to add a rich tapestry of lore and locations to complement the main series. In addition to this, we get to see perspectives other than from the accounts of Hadrian and this raises fascinating questions about the reliability of his narration. The Lesser Devil novella gives us insight of the point of view from Crispin and this allows the reader to form new appreciation and understanding of this character.
As always, I can't possibly say enough good things about this author and the Sun Eater series - Ruocchio is seriously underrated at the moment and will hopefully hit the big time soon. We are currently getting a Sci-Fantasy author whose prose is on a par with the likes of Hobb or Rothfuss, but is churning out big books at a rate comparable Sanderson.
Eagerly awaiting the next TWO volumes to be released this year, firstly 'Kingdoms of Death' in March and then 'Ashes of Man' in December 2022.
This review and rating is very much an appreciation of the quality and presentation of the physical book as it is of the written word contained within. It is becoming a given that the cover art on Ruocchio books is eye catching and striking and this one is no exception. The binding and paper quality is of the highest order and the book feels as heavy as one with three times the page count.
But what about the content? Yes, these are side stories and not essential reading for the main Sun Eater series but that is no reason to pass them by. Christopher Ruocchio is literally universe building, rather than world building and short stories such as these are helping to add a rich tapestry of lore and locations to complement the main series. In addition to this, we get to see perspectives other than from the accounts of Hadrian and this raises fascinating questions about the reliability of his narration. The Lesser Devil novella gives us insight of the point of view from Crispin and this allows the reader to form new appreciation and understanding of this character.
As always, I can't possibly say enough good things about this author and the Sun Eater series - Ruocchio is seriously underrated at the moment and will hopefully hit the big time soon. We are currently getting a Sci-Fantasy author whose prose is on a par with the likes of Hobb or Rothfuss, but is churning out big books at a rate comparable Sanderson.
Eagerly awaiting the next TWO volumes to be released this year, firstly 'Kingdoms of Death' in March and then 'Ashes of Man' in December 2022.
November 9, 2025
3 and a half ⭐️
The writing is so excellent, specially in the lesser devil.
Crispin gets more from Empire of silence and I really liked his point of view.
The writing is so excellent, specially in the lesser devil.
Crispin gets more from Empire of silence and I really liked his point of view.
October 16, 2025
Pits of Emesh - 2.5/5
Overall I'd say I really enjoyed most of the stories! It was interesting seeing some other characters viewpoints in the universe. On to Demon in White
Overall I'd say I really enjoyed most of the stories! It was interesting seeing some other characters viewpoints in the universe. On to Demon in White
November 13, 2023
A fun little collection of stories. Not 100% necessary for your read of the main Sun Eater series although it does flesh out some of the references to the past in the main books. For example, in Demon in White, there are multiple references to what happened on the planet of Arae in the time gap between the end of Howling Dark and the beginning of DiW. Having said that, the short story within is very brief and feels very similar to other battles with the Cielcin described in the main books. Here is a brief rundown of my rankings for each story:
The Lesser Devil: 5 stars. A very fun novella that tells the story of Crispin and Sabine when their ship gets shot down on a short routine journey. This story presents a very different Crispin that the one we see from Hadrain's POV in the main books. Lots of action in this one. Not essential, but worth the read just to learn a bit more about Crispin.
The Demons of Arae: 3 stars. At only about 30 pages, we don't really get a lot of time to get super invested in the story. As mentioned above, I don't really feel like it brings anything new to the table that isn't done better in the main books. Essential only in the sense that you'll fill in a little gap in events that are mentioned in DiW but only told here. Also, this is the first encounter with the Cielcin machine hybrids.
Victim of Changes: 3 stars. Another short story, this time about a Chantry judge during the "trial" of a woman who is being sentenced for becoming mostly machine. Her human daughter is present. Possibly an attempt at "seeing both sides" and the dangers of "othering". It was ok.
Not Made For Us: 4 stars. A little story that introduces a future background character in the main series, Carax. After signing up for the Legions and being on ice for a long time, Carax is about to see his first action. They don't know anything about the mission other than it's a boarding mission. Turns out they are boarding a Cielcin ship. Non-essential other than featuring somebody who later becomes a member of Hadrian's crew.
The Night Captain: 5 stars. During long journeys between assignments, the majority of a ship's crew is put on ice and a skeleton crew is put in charge during the journey to ensure everything goes smoothly. During one such journey, the Tamerlane is boarded by pirates while refueling. The pirates are seeking hostages to ransom back to the empire. The pirates get a lot more than they bargained for when they made the choice to try and hijack Hadrian's ship. Non-essential, but fun.
The Duelists 2 stars: At only 12 pages long, this is the shortest story in the collection. The only really interesting thing in this one is seeing highmatter swords in action. Non-essential.
The Parliament of Owls: 4 stars. Does not feature any known characters but is a fun little story about a bounty hunter for Wong-Hopper Consortium whose job is the recovery of stolen proprietary goods. The goods are tracked to a local "big fish" black market seller and the duo arrives just as the sale is going down between the dealer and an Extrasolarian. Non-essential, but fun.
The Pits of Emesh: 3 stars. Another story from Hadrian's days as a myrmidon. I think the main bones of this story may have been used in Empire of Silence when Hadrian sneaks into the menagerie to talk to the Cielcin(?). Very similar situation here. Also, I think there's a continuity issue in this as well as Cat is still around in this story as Hadrian's bedmate although in the main series, I'm pretty sure she died well before he becomes a myrmidon. Anyways, nothing here that really adds to Hadrian's time in the fighting pits that wasn't done better in EoS. Essential only if you want to read absolutely everything that features Hadrian.
Overall, a fun collection of stories, none of which are a must-read as part of the broader story but does flesh out some of the events alluded to elsewhere. I would definitely recommend TLD, though, as the novella is the highlight of this collection.
The Lesser Devil: 5 stars. A very fun novella that tells the story of Crispin and Sabine when their ship gets shot down on a short routine journey. This story presents a very different Crispin that the one we see from Hadrain's POV in the main books. Lots of action in this one. Not essential, but worth the read just to learn a bit more about Crispin.
The Demons of Arae: 3 stars. At only about 30 pages, we don't really get a lot of time to get super invested in the story. As mentioned above, I don't really feel like it brings anything new to the table that isn't done better in the main books. Essential only in the sense that you'll fill in a little gap in events that are mentioned in DiW but only told here. Also, this is the first encounter with the Cielcin machine hybrids.
Victim of Changes: 3 stars. Another short story, this time about a Chantry judge during the "trial" of a woman who is being sentenced for becoming mostly machine. Her human daughter is present. Possibly an attempt at "seeing both sides" and the dangers of "othering". It was ok.
Not Made For Us: 4 stars. A little story that introduces a future background character in the main series, Carax. After signing up for the Legions and being on ice for a long time, Carax is about to see his first action. They don't know anything about the mission other than it's a boarding mission. Turns out they are boarding a Cielcin ship. Non-essential other than featuring somebody who later becomes a member of Hadrian's crew.
The Night Captain: 5 stars. During long journeys between assignments, the majority of a ship's crew is put on ice and a skeleton crew is put in charge during the journey to ensure everything goes smoothly. During one such journey, the Tamerlane is boarded by pirates while refueling. The pirates are seeking hostages to ransom back to the empire. The pirates get a lot more than they bargained for when they made the choice to try and hijack Hadrian's ship. Non-essential, but fun.
The Duelists 2 stars: At only 12 pages long, this is the shortest story in the collection. The only really interesting thing in this one is seeing highmatter swords in action. Non-essential.
The Parliament of Owls: 4 stars. Does not feature any known characters but is a fun little story about a bounty hunter for Wong-Hopper Consortium whose job is the recovery of stolen proprietary goods. The goods are tracked to a local "big fish" black market seller and the duo arrives just as the sale is going down between the dealer and an Extrasolarian. Non-essential, but fun.
The Pits of Emesh: 3 stars. Another story from Hadrian's days as a myrmidon. I think the main bones of this story may have been used in Empire of Silence when Hadrian sneaks into the menagerie to talk to the Cielcin(?). Very similar situation here. Also, I think there's a continuity issue in this as well as Cat is still around in this story as Hadrian's bedmate although in the main series, I'm pretty sure she died well before he becomes a myrmidon. Anyways, nothing here that really adds to Hadrian's time in the fighting pits that wasn't done better in EoS. Essential only if you want to read absolutely everything that features Hadrian.
Overall, a fun collection of stories, none of which are a must-read as part of the broader story but does flesh out some of the events alluded to elsewhere. I would definitely recommend TLD, though, as the novella is the highlight of this collection.
November 24, 2024
This is my second read in my quest to read all of the Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio. It is a novella and a collection of other stories. I love that we find out more about Hadrian’s brother Crispin and my favorite short story in the collection is The Pits of Emesh, telling a little more of the year that Hadrian was in the gladiator pits. Having been to the Coliseum in Rome, my imagination ran rampant in this telling. Next up in December is the full length novel Howling Dark.
July 17, 2024
4* for the audiobook/podcast episode of "The Duelist" narrated by Jean-Paul Garnier and Gabriel Hart.
July 3, 2024
5/10
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews