Book Review: The Lesser Devil (The Sun Eater, #1.5) by Christopher Ruocchio
The Lesser Devil by Christopher Ruocchio
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: The Sun Eater (Book #1.5 of 7)
Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera, Science Fantasy
Pages: 205 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 14th April 2020 (Self-Published)
The Lesser Devil is an action-packed spin-off novel that offers readers the chance for a more extensive dive into the mind of Crispin Marlowe.
I have made it crystal clear since I finished Empire of Silence, the first book in The Sun Eater series, a few weeks ago that I am determined to read every book in Christopher Ruocchio’s epic space opera series. And when I spoke that statement confidently, I didn’t mean just reading the main novels, but reading the spin-off novels, novellas, and collections of short stories, too. The Lesser Devil has often been marked as a novella by many readers, and although I understand why, I do not think it is accurate. At almost 60k words, it is more precise to categorize The Lesser Devil as a short novel instead of a novella. I will proceed with this review by marking The Lesser Devil as a novel.
“The river of Time flows in but one direction, and does not turn back.”
Chronologically, The Lesser Devil takes place in the middle of Empire of Silence. The story in this novel revolves around Crispin Marlowe, Hadrian’s younger brother. Crispin Marlowe grew up in his brother’s shadow, but Hadrian is gone, and his grandmother—the Duchess of Delos—is dying.
Answering her summons, Crispin takes off on what should be a routine flight to the ducal palace from the castle at Devil’s Rest. But he is flying into a trap. There are whispers of treachery among the duchess’s many daughters, rumors of hidden knives in the planet’s court . . . if he can even make it there.
With no one coming to save him and only his sister, Sabine, and a few injured guardsmen to protect him, House Marlowe’s least famous son must make his heroic stand, and contend not only the foes arrayed against his house, but with the cultists who dwell in the mountains above his family’s ancestral home.
Picture: The Lesser Devil and Other Stories by Kieran Yanner
The Lesser Devil is the first spin-off novel in The Sun Eater series, and even though it is possible to read and start your journey with this series here, I still highly recommend you to read Empire of Silence first. The best thing about reading The Lesser Devil is, as I said, to get a deeper insight into the inner thoughts and emotions of Crispin’s. And to reap the maximum result, it is required to read Ruocchio’s debut novel first, in my opinion. Crispin has always been portrayed as a brute addicted to violence and power by Hadrian in Empire of Silence. By reading Empire of Silence first, we readers can feel the contrast and depth of Crispin’s feelings more, and we will succeed at understanding the value of his brotherhood with Hadrian further despite everything that has happened between them. There is more to Crispin. So much more.
“He could hear Hadrian’s voice in his mind, There stand we all, little brother. Crispin smiled. He had always been the lesser devil. Always in Hadrian’s shadow, or his father’s. It had taken years, decades, to realize that it was this that had made him angry as a boy. This that had made him… whatever he’d been.”
I found it interesting how Crispin keeps comparing himself to Hadrian in everything he does. If you have read Empire of Silence, you will know Hadrian has done the same thing. Hadrian kept thinking he was under the shadow of Crispin, who was more favored by Alastair Marlowe, their father. But Crispin kept thinking he lived under the shadow of Hadrian, his older and more intellectual older brother. It is a realistic depiction of how simple and complex brotherhood can be, and as someone with three brothers, I can certainly understand their conflicts in some way. However, in this case, Alastair Marlowe is hugely to blame for many things. Whether the sins of the father should be paid by his descendants is one of the key themes—together with religion and culture—discussed in The Lesser Devil. And, I must say, although Crispin and his feelings regarding Hadrian undoubtedly take the spotlight in this novel, it was great to see more of Kyra in The Lesser Devil.
“I always felt like he was better than me… Our tutors liked him better. He learned faster, fought better, spoke better than I ever did. And he was older, so I was certain he was going to inherit the place.”
Another big reason why I recommend readers to read Empire of Silence first is because The Lesser Devil is not an accurate representation of the main novels. It is a compelling novella; there’s no doubt about that. But was this as amazing as Empire of Silence? Not really. It is a short novel, not as impactful, and I feel it was longer than it should be. I did not expect The Lesser Devil to be this incredibly action-packed. There is nothing wrong with having a lot of detailed action scenes, but the pacing in this novel did suffer in several sections because of it. To put it simply, The Lesser Devil has more battle scenes compared to the entirety of Empire of Silence. Let that sink in. Empire of Silence is four times bigger than The Lesser Devil, and it has fewer battle scenes compared to it.
“And they should be stopped… It isn’t the stopping them I object to. It isn’t even the fighting. It is the attitude towards the fighting. There is a difference. If you answer violence with violence, you will inherit violence without end. Whoever slays the killer quickly discovers that killers are avenged sevenfold.”
By the way, that “avenged sevenfold” in the passage above must be an ode to one of my favorite music bands of the same name: Avenged Sevenfold. I hope that’s true, but let’s not get sidetracked. Time to finish this review. I would have preferred The Lesser Devil to feature more dialogues, introspective, and intimate moments while showcasing the beauty and elegance of Ruocchio’s prose like Empire of Silence did. Unlike Empire of Silence, The Lesser Devil is written in third-person POV narration. And as expected, The Lesser Devil was well-written. First-person or third-person POV narration, Ruocchio displayed the high quality of his prose brilliantly. And hey, I know one thing for sure. I cannot deny that reading The Lesser Devil made me miss Hadrian’s first-person narration vastly more.
“Cultures are always built on the bones of the cultures that come before.”
With that in mind, I guarantee you it will not be long before I read Howling Dark, the second main novel in the series. For now, I am unclear whether this novel will become a significant installment in the series or not. But I did have a blast reading The Lesser Devil. Learning more about the Marlowe family and the universe of this epic-scope space opera series, even by a little, is a good thing for me. Regardless of its importance in the main series, which I will find out by reading the series further soon, I believe any fans of Empire of Silence and The Sun Eater should read The Lesser Devil. Howling Dark… Here I come.
“You know, I always wanted to be like him. When I was a boy. He was always better than me. A better student, a better fighter, a better everything. He could be an ass… But I loved him—love him, I suppose. I don’t think he’s dead. But it did always seem like I was in his shadow, you know?”
“I do,” Laurent said, “but shadows shrink in time.”
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