Kingdoms of Death by Christopher Ruocchio

“There is pain always, and ugliness, but the light and beauty of the world shine always above and beyond the powers of darkness to destroy.”

Kingdoms of Death by Christopher Ruocchio

Okay so this book nearly took me out. The Sun Eater series has cemented itself among one of my favorite series so far this year and one of my favorite science fiction series of all time. But this was a difficult book to get through (but not in a bad way).

This book follows Hadrian once more as he sets on an impossible task for the Emperor. Hadrian is a massive threat and ally to the Empire. He holds so much power for a single man, making him many enemies even as he serves humanity in every way possible, trying to end the war with the Cielcin.

But for the first time, Hadrian is betrayed and he is captured by the Cielcin- his single greatest enemy. He has killed several important figurehead in battle. He has thwarted them at every turn, and as a reader, we almost believe he will never be taken by them.

But then he is. And it is horrible.

This book is one of little hope. We see the very worst come to Hadrian and the Red Company. We see the truth of how horrible the Cielcin are when they’ve managed to capture humans or other races. We see the horrors and torture of what is one of the darkest books I have ever read. This one definitely reads like a science fiction horror novel to me, but it was so well-written and thought out. The reader still learns so much about this world and its characters, but this book is definitely a shifting point in the series.

While I am super excited to see what comes next, I have paused temporarily to recover my emotional state because oof, this book was rough but brilliant. And yet, I must see the series to the end.

I can’t recommend this series enough, I am certain science fiction fans will adore it.