Howling Dark

When asked to describe the Sun Eater series the best description I can come up with is epic Space Opera in the style of Rothfuss. The prose here is gorgeous, in a kind of reflective journal style similar to that used in Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles. At the same time we have the galaxy spanning conflict between the alien Cielcin and humanity, giving the epic space opera elements.

With the Cielcin, Ruocchio has created an enemy that is both relatable and extremely alien at the same time. The central plot in this novel is an attempt by our main protagonist and chronicler, Hadrian Marlowe, to broker a peace between the species. The world that Hadrian lives in has seen a large part of humanity reject technology, especially AI and human enhancement based technologies, but other people exist on the fringe of human society which has openly embraced this. In order to make contact with the Cielcin Harlowe has to find one of these cyber enhanced societies, and that is what the first part of the story deals with. The second half follows the fall out of the negotiations.

There are few space operas that are more epic in scale than this. Ruocchio's world deserves to be known better than it is - this is just such a huge scale. It is beautifully realised and beautifully told. I am looking forward to continuing this story!