Book Review: Demon in White (The Sun Eater, #3) by Christopher Ruocchio
This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review on Demon in White.
Cover art illustrated by Kieran Yanner
Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Sun Eater (Book #3 of 7)
Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera, Science Fantasy
Word Count: 295,000 words
Pages: 784 pages (Hardcover edition)
Published: 28th July 2020 by DAW Books (US) & Gollancz (UK)
An absolute masterpiece. Demon in White is a genuinely epic space opera fantasy at its paramount shape.
“Silence… The great empire of silence: higher than all stars, deeper than the kingdom of death! It alone is great; all else is small.”
Brilliance.
After the rising brilliance of Empire of Silence and Howling Dark, it should be impossible for Ruocchio to ensure this, but Demon in White successfully surpassed the previous two books in the series in overall quality. This is honestly my favorite installment in the series so far. It may even become my favorite in the entire series, but that remains to be seen. I have read many books in the past seven years since I began reviewing books on Goodreads. And when I read a book, it is often easy for me to choose one or two favorite sequences out of it. That’s normal. But sometimes, my instinct can tell me loudly that I am in the presence of something special. There are various determining factors to this, and one of the marks of reading something extraordinary is when I am left incapable of deciding which part of the book is my utmost favorite. Demon in White, the third and the biggest book in The Sun Eater series so far by Christopher Ruocchio, has achieved this rare phenomenon with finesse. Despite its close-to-300,000 word count long size, the book earned its every page count. And in return, I am at a loss again on how I should review this sci-fi masterpiece. But I will try my best to do it justice. It is no wonder so many readers—all of you—told me I would love the heck out Demon in White, and once again, all of you were spot-on with your recommendation. With the first three main novels in The Sun Eater being included in my list of favorite books, Ruocchio scored a hattrick, and he has become one of my auto-buy authors.
“Sic semper tyrannis… You cannot lead as a tyrant. The people under you will not let you. To lead is a kind of service, a duty you owe to those who follow. Noblesse oblige. I need you to understand this because—to skip to number three—you are not a squire. You are a prince of the Aventine House and a high lord of the Imperium. If I teach you nothing else, it is that you should treat the people under you like family, and that if you’re very, very lucky they may do the same. It is the obligation of those of us born to power or who earn it to wield that power with virtue, because power is no virtue unto itself.
For almost a hundred years since the events of Howling Dark, Hadrian Marlowe and his comrades engage in war against the Cielcin, a vicious alien race bent on humanity’s destruction. And there is a rumor of a new emerging king amongst the Cielcin. This one is not like the others. It does not raid border world territories, preferring precise, strategic attacks on the human Empire. To make matters worse, a cult of personality has formed around Hadrian, spurred on by his legends we readers witnessed in Howling Dark. Men call him Halfmortal. Hadrian’s rise to prominence proves dangerous to himself and his company. And caught in the middle, Hadrian must contend with enemies before him—and behind. Above it all, there is the mystery of the Quiet. To learn more about the Quiet has always been Hadrian’s goal, but the key to Colchis, the only place in the universe where Hadrian might find the answers he seeks about the Quiet, lies in the hands of the Emperor of the Sollan Empire himself…
“And if you burn long enough and bright as I have done, you come back to that simple truth of childhood: the world of the scientists, of engineers and mathematicians, does not exist. We live in stories, in the demon-haunted world of myth. We are heroes and dragons. Evil and divine.”
I did read Queen Amid Ashes novella and Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 1 first before reading Demon in White, and I recommend you to do the same if you have read the series up to Howling Dark. Even though they are not required reading. I do not consider most of the stories in Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 1, the first collection of short stories in The Sun Eater, as necessary to be read before reading Demon in White. But with such a huge time jump between books, it is worth reading at least Queen Amid Ashes novella and The Demons of Arae short story in the collection to see a few-among-many missions Hadrian and his company undertook in the time-jump between books. On its own, The Demons of Arae is an alright short story. It felt like a missing chapter of Hadrian’s chronicle in The Sun Eater series. But I am glad I have read it. Reading The Demons of Arae first gave a quick and deeper context into the new form of the Cielcin. And readers can reap the benefit immediately in the first part of Demon in White.
“As a child, we believe the world enchanted because age has not killed the magic we are born with. As we grow, the simple spells of new sights and far-off places no longer work on us, and we grow cynical and cold.”
As much as I loved Empire of Silence and Howling Dark cover to cover, I did mention there were small sections in those books where extra patience was slightly required. In Empire of Silence, it was the beginning of Hadrian’s time in Borosevo. In Howling Dark, it was the first 100 pages where Ruocchio brings the reader up to speed on what has happened to Hadrian in the two decades time gap between books. Demon in White did not encounter any of these issues. For me, every page was thoroughly compelling. And this is a pleasant surprise because Demon in White actually begins with one of the biggest time jumps I have ever read in a sequel of the same series. Almost 100 years. And yet, it led to the strongest and most exciting beginning quarter in the series so far.
“There are two sorts of people in the world… Those who accept reality as it is, and those who force reality to be what they will.”
How could it not be? Demon in White starts with Hadrian’s first arrival in Gododdin. Yes, Gododdin. The location of the galaxy-changing event The Sun Eater will commit in the future Hadrian constantly noted since the first pages of Empire of Silence. The endgame of The Sun Eater series. Additionally, two new characters, Lorian Aristedes (his surname is most likely a homage to Paul Atreides from Dune) and Udax (from the newly introduced race named Irchtani), have earned my emotional investment quickly and gradually more with each page turned. Lorian Aristedes, specifically, reminded me a lot of Sand dan Glokta and Tyrion Lannister. Some of my most well-written characters of all time. And then, 150 pages into Demon in White, readers are plunged into a 70-page-long intense and exhilarating action sequence against Iubalu, one of the Cielcin’s vayadan, titled Battle of the Beast. From this confrontation, I knew crystal clear Demon in White would receive at least a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating from me.
I was wrong about this.
“Rank only formalizes relationships between people, Alexander. It does not create them. One has rank because one deserves it, and if one does not deserve it, he will lose his rank. Or his life. A man would do well to become worthy of his honors, else he will be deposed as a tyrant.”
It is difficult to comprehend how Ruocchio supplied the narrative in this book with such efficiency and effectiveness. With each book read in The Sun Eater series, I repeatedly feel more impressed by Ruocchio’s ascending talent as a storyteller and writer. His versatility in the art of storytelling is simply astounding. Compared to the previous two books in the series, and this is saying a lot, Demon in White successfully included even more pivotal events. There were no “Parts” allocation in Demon in White, but the unmarked five parts of the book felt like reading an entire amazing duology or trilogy packed into one tome. Ruocchio’s aptitude for navigating multiple geographies of storytelling continues to inspire me. For the first time ever in the series, the narrative in The Sun Eater is embedded with high-stakes murder mystery and thrilling political conflicts as well. The incredibly breathtaking duel scene in Demon in White was, in my opinion, one of the most cinematic and vivid duel scenes I have ever read. And it was at this glorious stage I felt confident Demon in White would become a 5 out of 5 stars read for me.
Again, I was wrong about this.
“Intus, homunculus, plebeian, patrician, palatine. Doesn’t matter. Our ancestors became palatine because they did great things. They smashed the Mericanii and saved mankind. But we are not them, and must do our own great things, eh? The others deserve their chance, as well. They did not ask to be born as they are, and so you and I will not punish them for it. To be a good knight, a good leader, a good man for that matter, you must judge a person by his or her actions. By their character.
I kept raving about Hadrian Marlowe and his feats. He is a lightning rod for catastrophe, and his unstoppable legendary deeds have turned him into one of my favorite characters of all time in speculative fiction. But it would be a grave mistake to assume Demon in White is exclusively about Hadrian and the detailed record of his chronicles. Since Empire of Silence, we have been graced by the presence of many memorable supporting characters. The Marlowe family, Tor Gibson, Valka Onderra, Bassander Lin, Pallino, Switch, Corvo, Lorian Aristedes, Udax, and many more that I refrain from mentioning to avoid spoilers. And Hadrian’s character development, actions, and influence on all of these characters and vice versa is an irreplaceable strength of The Sun Eater series.
“How rare and precious are such moments measured against the length and horror of life! Such moments as make the rest of it worth enduring.”
And Demon is White is not only about the war, betrayals, violence, and devastating conflicts. It is not all doom and gloom. If that were the solitary content, Demon in White would not become the masterpiece I perceive it to be. It is precisely due to the well-placed contrast and balanced variety in the tale that Demon in White transformed into an immensely tremendous book. The sense of camaraderie, hope in the ugliness of the world, and the repose and calm moments felt emotional, unforgettable, and bittersweet. The camaraderie and how time not only heal but also ruin depicted in Demon in White is the finest in the series so far. A reunion with an important character, the echoes of laughter and happiness, all tugged at my heartstrings. As my journey to read more and more science fiction and fantasy books resumes, feelings of sadness and longing ignited through a narrative are comparatively more infrequent now. And this is why I am more appreciative of a book or series that can conjure this kind of emotion in me.
“You need spare no mercy for me. I have had my repayment in the laughter and song of my friends and in that little space in time we carved for ourselves, stolen from an uncaring universe. Keep your condemnations to yourself, and trouble not their ghosts.”
The same notion is applicable to plotting predictability as well. Do not get me wrong here. More than unpredictability, execution matters more to me. This is why the same tropes and a similar brand of story can be retold countlessly to incite great effects in readers. It all depends on the way it is written. But still, to encounter and consume a series that allows me to constantly feel completely immersed while failing to guess where the story will go is a fortune. The Sun Eater series, especially Howling Dark and Demon in White, accomplished this. Each book in the series never felt like fillers or overwritten. Each volume brought something new in all aspects, and they never cease to expand the scope of the galaxy-spanning world-building further and further.
“The Golden Age ended because men forgot philosophy in their pursuit of knowledge. They traded a love of wisdom for progress, and it destroyed them… The ancient Christians were right to name pride the greatest of man’s sins.”
I wish for more epic science fantasy series as magnificent and intricate as the galaxy Ruocchio crafted in The Sun Eater. The extremely rich world-building and stunning revelations in Demon in White were poured into the texts organically by building after the hints and groundwork established in Empire of Silence and Howling Dark. We are talking about history that spans more than ten thousand years. We are greeted with deeper insights into the God Emperor, his descendants, the Aventine dynasty, the Golden Age, the Mericanii, the Cielcin, and the mystery of the Quite extensively in Demon in White. It was mindblowing. Ruocchio’s usage of visions and dimensions was nothing short of outstanding. Just when I thought I knew where the storyline was going, what I constantly received was outside and superior to what I expected. I felt like a dormant anvil hammered with wonders made of adamant bones. It is serendipitous to open each book in The Sun Eater thinking something relatively predictable would occur, and then I realize I am merely an empty book about to have my expectations rewritten with a golden quill. What I envisioned could not match the results, and I am undoubtedly delighted with it.
“We fear silence. I said once that darkness is chaos itself, that in darkness any and all things might arise unseen like the cat from Pandora’s evil box. Silence is like that, but more profound. There was darkness before the dawn of time, and silence, too, but silence was the deeper thing, the canvas against which all thought is measured. You have heard stories of men driven mad in quiet rooms by the rushing of their own blood. It is not true. It is not the sound that does it, it is themselves. In silence, they are confronted with their own natures—and with nature itself—and cannot look it in the face. As darkness brings forth the creatures of the night, so silence brings forth the things within our hearts . . . if we will but listen to it.”
This review is long enough and yet incomplete unless I recant my brief statement regarding Ruocchio’s action sequences in The Lesser Devil. In my review of The Lesser Devil, I mentioned that Ruocchio’s prose might be more suitable for philosophical, lyrical, melodrama, and melancholic narration. And these are indeed still prominent and superbly written in Demon in White. Ruocchio’s philosophical and thought-provoking thematic narrative is terrific, and they encompassed most of The Sun Eater series, after all. However, the climax sequence of Howling Dark, the Battle of the Beast, the deathly political intrigues, the cinematic duel, and the bloody damn epic Battle of Berenike I witnessed in Demon in White have demonstrated with total certainty that Ruocchio is a fantastic battle sequence writer as well.
“Every place is the center of the universe. Everything matters. Every one of our actions, every decision, every sacrifice. Nothing is without meaning, because nothing is without consequence.”
Hadrian has come a long way since his coming-of-age tale in Empire of Silence. He is far from perfect, but I felt proud seeing Hadrian in a commanding position leading a massive army against even larger battalions of obsidian death and pale colossus. As we speak, I still can’t fathom the pandemonium I read in the ending sequence of Demon in White. The fantastical element is eloquently infused into the space opera genre, and the scale of the 150-page climax sequence was ridiculously epic in scope. The tension building and the horror can be felt, the torrent of fire can be seen, the hellish scream of the victims can be heard, and the impact of the meteoric detonation is so terrifying. Hadrian and humanity’s titanic clash for supremacy and dominion versus Syriani Dorayaica—the Scourge of Earth—and Bahudde—one of its Vayadan—was a feast for my mind-visualization. Will the Devil of Meidua or the Prince of Princes triumph as the conqueror? The answer to that question, I believe, is one you should read and find out for yourself.
“You don’t know me at all… I told you what I was after. I told you my dream: understanding, and a peaceful galaxy to seek it in. And to save everyone on this planet if I can. I do not want the Empire. I did not want any of this. We do not get to choose our circumstances or our trials. We can only choose how to respond to them.”
Concluding Demon in White in such a badass composition brimming with multiple iconic scenes has cemented The Sun Eater as a victorious science fantasy series every fan of the genre should read. I have said what I needed to say. And believe me, my words cannot capture the maximum imagery of friendship, wisdom, torment, love, and majesty depicted in Demon in White. There are endings, reader. And even though we have the gift of foresight, I failed to predict my rating for Demon in White. 4.5 stars is a score too low. 5 out of 5 stars is insufficient. Demon in White merits a 6 out of 5-star rating, and I would give it that if I could. Ruocchio deserves a crown for broadening the horizon of possibility in the genre. And I am not even finished with the series yet. The top-tiered best kind of fantasy and sci-fi books can leave you with many permanently seared crucial scenes and sequences. Scenes to be discussed, analyzed, and remembered for many years. Some widely praised legendary series like The Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, Dune, The Stormlight Archive, and more are bursting with these kinds of segments. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin is a great example. This book has emulated this type of marvel expertly. Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio is an exceptional sci-fi masterpiece to be eternally reread and retold. To wrap this review up, I will conclude by announcing Demon in White is easily one of the top three best sci-fi books I’ve ever read. It is one of the pinnacles, and if you want to assume this is the best sci-fi book I read this year, my answer to that is this:
You’re not wrong.
“Grief is deep water, they say… But not all tears are grief… I sometimes think we do more harm than good, teaching what we teach. Reason. Reason is such a small part of being human. We scholiasts climb our towers, look at the sky, and forget the world. So often we don’t see the truth because we won’t look low enough. Chasing reason, chasing facts . . . we forget to be human. To be human is the greater thing, dear boy.”
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