Sun Eater: Ashes of Man (spoiler free review) by Christopher Ruocchio

[@SunEaterBooks]

Hey Matt, Man, I am really touched you liked AOM this much. It was a struggle with the books getting split the way they were, and I'm relieved and delighted that it worked so well for you.

[@MattsFantasyBookReviews]

You nailed the pacing of them so well, that it's hard for me to even imagine them as one book. Bravo! Can't wait to read more.

[@BeardofDarkness]

How cool that Christopher is so personal.

[@BooksWithBenghisKahn]

It’s so awesome to see people gushing so passionately about these masterpieces. I’m right with you on not caring about the book split in the least, and each one felt great on its own. Ruocchio tore my heart out at the end of this one-brutal, but amazing

[@Thimulus]

Why isn't Christopher Ruocchio getting major genre award nominations?

[@nordamoddev1038]

Dont know if you have tried the audiobooks? But the Samual Rudkin (sorry if i spelt that worng) narration is amazing! And he REALLY puts in the effort with it, the pronunciations are advised by CR apparently & hes does some great thing i dont normally see like changing the word readers yo listerns. Its a really great listening experience! (I know you like audiobooks so it maybe a good route when you want to reread)

[@MikeArold]

I read the books in Rudkins voice. He does such a great job!

[@kungen250]

I love just thinking of the spans of time in the books. For example, in one of the books, a character is completely alone, just waiting, for an amount of time which is greater than the time I myself have been alive. Really just insane to think about what the characters go through.

[@lorenzoguastalli9982]

If you loved AoM, Disquiet Gods is going to blow your mind into a supermassive black hole of delight.

[@Fishbone0826]

MATT STOP ADDING TO MY TBR

[@praetorxyn]

I would recommend reading Dregs of Empire and the short stories Royal Game and Daughter of Swords before reading Disquiet Gods.

[@MattsFantasyBookReviews]

Yeah I definitely will!

[@Vinteractive]

Don’t forget The Fangs of Oannos

[@CombativeRoboGuy]

Ashes of Man was right below Kingdoms of Death because the fourth book just made me cry when I really needed it and it was the first piece of media to do that for me. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the, in my opinion even better, book six.

[@MattsFantasyBookReviews]

I know I look super subdued in this video. Didn't sleep much the night before and was extremely tired by the time I got around to finishing this book the next night.

[@venomgaming2077]

Ya man u look exhausted. Pls take care of yourself.

[@kcar9935]

He looks baked lol

[@noteuser15]

This is my favorite series of all time. I’m excited for you to read Disquiet Gods. My favorite is book three, but DG is up there. I might say it’s my second favorite. Howling Dark and KOD were also so good. I thought AOM wasn’t as good as the others, but they’re all just so good lol

[@Chance.Dillon]

I think ashes was my favorite, even split from KoD. Both together would have been unreal

[@dreero_]

This is easily my favourite series or among my top 3 at least and I’m so glad you love it as well for all the same reasons

[@B00kMaidenMandy]

OK, I'm convinced! I kept putting it off because I don't love space opras in general), but I just ordered and can't wait to dive in!

[@Mightyjordy]

This one was my second favorite behind Demon in White, but I actually found the series pretty difficult to get into with the first two books being pretty rough reads (though the last third of book 2 was where my love of the series started). I think the reason it’s not catching on as much is because of how derivative book 1 feels. A lot of the things that make the book unique I think don’t even come into play until book 2 and really don’t stand out until book 3.

[@offworlder4694]

That isn't the reason it hasn't caught on. Even book 1 is very highly rated (and it has significantly more ratings than the later books). The series is catching on now. The Daniel Greene/Petrik bump isn't even a year old at this point. Ruocchio is right at the beginning of his career. Ruocchio had almost zero publicity for the first 5 books, and if the fact his publisher let him go is any indication, they either weren't supporting him at all, and some of things he's said seem to imply they were actively hostile to him later on. He was basically an indie writer that happened to have his books out from a trad press, which means he's been playing this game with both hands behind his back, because he couldn't even control whether or not his books were available. DAW had EOS out of print for like half of last year, man. The fact it's catching on now is down to Booktube, and down to Ruocchio busting his ass the last 6 years.

[@Mightyjordy]

@@offworlder4694 I didn’t mean any disrespect to the author and sounds like he was going through something rough with the publisher. This is purely anecdotal, but I personally know 2 friends who put the series down after book 1 stating the reasons i put above. i almost did as well but picked up book 2 a few months later while i was looking for more scifi and liked it far more. To me the things that I love about the series arent really present until late book 2 and on from there

[@nmal8702]

Book 5 is my favorite! Enjoyed your review and fresh reaction. Reminded me of how amazing this series is!

[@MaxFidler]

I couldn’t agree more. It’s hard to top Demon in White but this series is spectacular and it’s also a top 5 series of all time for me too.

[@bryce4228]

I really need to start reading this series. Your reviews make it sound awesome.

[@csd8204]

When you like something, you really like it.

[@geoffjohnston6066]

Yassss. I also loved Book 5 so much.

[@assassin415]

my man went hard on the edibles but in all seriousness the top 5 now is probably malazan, first law, dandelion,sun eater, faithful and the fallen in no certain order

[@MattsFantasyBookReviews]

Swap out Faithful and the Fallen for Realm of the Elderlings :)

[@jessezigg]

I *just* finished The Demon in White 😱 OMG! The BEST sci-fi book EVER!!

[@BeardofDarkness]

Matt, you look BEAT in this one. You sir, are on one hell of a schedule, so I understand the tiredness.

[@akellerhouse83]

I've only read Empire of Silence and The Lesser Devil so far. I'm really excited to keep reading. I have a long way to go.

[@krislimpus]

Wow above stormlight? Can’t wait to get to this series!!

[@MackTheDogg]

Every book better than the last!

[@Tarantella.Serpentine]

Grief waits for no man.

[@TWbenIN]

Thanks for getting me into this series! nearly through the latest book (disquiet gods) imo best one yet.

[@terabyter9000]

I've Empire of Silence and The Lesser Devil so far. Both were great. Starting Howling Dark as soon as I'm done with Well of Ascension and Hero of Ages.

[@akashas6012]

This review was about the series vs the individual book. Some books in this series are hit or miss. So I was wondering about your take on this particular book in the series. In which I did not get.

[@PrimateNine]

I've pretty much aligned with the vast majority of your reviews except for Empire of Silence. I felt the writing was pompous and attempted to be flowery and complex when simple and direct would have served the scene better. For me, Ruocchio didn't quite have the skill at choosing when and where to place his flowery meandering philosophy. That said, I'm going to give this series another try because I trust Matt and it's entirely possible I was in the wrong mood. This review has me excited to jump back in because Ruocchio is clearly an intelligent and talented man.

[@MattsFantasyBookReviews]

The books really do get better and better. The first book feels almost nothing like the later ones.

[@Jonpat]

I was not a fan of Empire of Silence but finally picked up Howling Dark after a 2 year hiatus. Since then I’ve become a huge fan.

[@seandalton44]

​@@JonpatI was the same. Now it's my favorite series