Kim Miller
The final book of the Suneater series. Hadrian gathers as many allies as he can muster. He know the Cielcin are gathering for a major assault on the Empire. His goal is to draw them off to a far away planet and set off the astrophage weapon that has been spoken of in previous books. Things to not go to plan - because of course they don't.
Ruocchio shows himself, once again, to be a master of political intrigue and barely suppressed conflict. Allies though they are, fierce rivalries and old hatreds are always close beneath the surface and sometimes they break through. We already know he blows up a sun as he's spoken of it since book #1, and at last he does it. But not before the most serious threats to his life nearly bring him undone.
And after it is done, what then. Does a person who has annihilated so many, humans and aliens, just fly away home? Does he even have a home to go to? The series ends, that is all I need to say.
I have enjoyed the whole series and all previous books have been five star reads for me, but this one gets a lesser score. The first ten to fifteen percent of the book drags on and on. It has all the charisma of a weekly staff meeting and brings down the experience and enjoyment of Ruocchio's prose. There is a point at which, just by turning a page, the story heats up and we know that we are back in the battle.
The final book of the Suneater series. Hadrian gathers as many allies as he can muster. He know the Cielcin are gathering for a major assault on the Empire. His goal is to draw them off to a far away planet and set off the astrophage weapon that has been spoken of in previous books. Things to not go to plan - because of course they don't.
Ruocchio shows himself, once again, to be a master of political intrigue and barely suppressed conflict. Allies though they are, fierce rivalries and old hatreds are always close beneath the surface and sometimes they break through. We already know he blows up a sun as he's spoken of it since book #1, and at last he does it. But not before the most serious threats to his life nearly bring him undone.
And after it is done, what then. Does a person who has annihilated so many, humans and aliens, just fly away home? Does he even have a home to go to? The series ends, that is all I need to say.
I have enjoyed the whole series and all previous books have been five star reads for me, but this one gets a lesser score. The first ten to fifteen percent of the book drags on and on. It has all the charisma of a weekly staff meeting and brings down the experience and enjoyment of Ruocchio's prose. There is a point at which, just by turning a page, the story heats up and we know that we are back in the battle.