Disquiet Gods by Christopher Ruocchio

At a Glance: Gods Among Men

Disquiet Gods is without a doubt my favorite entry into the Sun Eater series so far, it combines the cosmic horror that made Howling Dark and Kingdoms of Death terrifyingly great, the pacing and political maneuvering of Demon in White and Ashes of Man and puts it together in a epic lead up to the final book.

200 years after Ashes of Man we join a 600 year old Hadrian in his exile on Jadd, where he treats with princes, lives on a beautiful land, and is no longer burdened by the issues facing the rest of the universe. While Valka is truly gone, Hadrian is not fully alone on Jadd, but is quickly dragged back into the fray by the emperor to finish what he started all those years ago.

This book moves at a perfect pace through 5 distinct acts, we jump from Jadd, Sabratha where Hadrian is working with the Empire to kill off a discovered Watcher, back to familiar Forum where we get some of the best politicking in this series, then Llesu where chapter 40 occurs—arguably the most important chapter in the series so far—and then finally back to Vorgossos for an epic ending and setup for Shadows Upon Time.

Planets New and Old: From Now to the End of Time

Christopher Ruocchio has an amazing ability to use the incredible expanse of time in Sun Eater to bring us back to worlds we’ve been to before while making them feel both familiar and completely new. Forum and Vorgossos both come back into focus for major parts in Disquiet Gods, while we finally get to see the incredible worlds of Jadd, and visit far distant planets like Sabratha where there is little population due to it’s distance, and the presence of Watcher ruins, and Llesu which is a planet at the end of time and provides some of the coolest and most profound scenes in the series.

The political structure is further expanded, with the threat of the Cielcin and the Watchers looming, the emperor has brought together all the children of humanity to Forum, where we get to see massive political meetings and arguments between even the most lightly mentioned presences in the univers such as the Tavrosi, Normans, and Extras. This adds even more tension to the story and mission overall creating a perfect stage for showcasing both character growth and jaw dropping plot twists.

While the Cielcin and the Watchers are the over arching threat to humanity and Hadrian, Hadrian has no shortage of enemies still on Forum, and he is forced once again to deal with the Terran Chantry and their overwhelming urge to see that Hadrian is removed from the board as a threat.

Toward the end of the book we spend time aboard an Extra ship the Mistwalker which is a massive egg shaped ship that feels like a city within, then on the printed city of Latarra which is the home world of the Extrasolarian leader and it showcases just how far the Extras have come since the empire last interacted with their kind.

Character Evolution: From Exile to Rebirth

Hadrian Marlowe is one of the most unique, truly morally gray protagonists I’ve ever read, and his being 600 years old coupled with his ability to be reborn adds such an interesting dynamic to his struggles and decision making. What was truly amazing in Disquiet Gods was getting to see Hadrian’s love as a father to a daughter Valka will never meet and how he handles the situations he finds himself in where his daughter could be in danger. As a father to 2 little girls myself, the scenes between him and Cassandra really resonated and hit some deeper emotional notes.

Cassandra Marlowe, Hadrians daughter who is 40 standard years old and was created similar to how Hadrian was by the technology on Jadd using Valka’s DNA in combination with Hadrian’s. Cassandra is a perfect mix of Valka and Hadrian, she doesn’t just let Hadrian run her life, and recently passed the trial to become a Maeskolos of Jadd, the dual wielding bad ass sword fighters we’ve seen throughout the series.

Kharn Sagara makes it’s return into the fold in an interesting way since there is two of them now, but that split has proven why even most of the Extrasolarians think splitting your consciousness is unthinkable. Ruocchio does an incredible job at using Hadrians memories of Kharn from Howling Dark and interactions between both Sagara’s to showcase just which parts of the personality and thinking is retained between each distinct version of the Undying.

Some other notably new characters are Neema—Hadrian’s self-described man servant—who is fiercely loyal to Hadrian, nags Cassandra and Hadrian about tracking dirt through the ship, and adds some brief moments of comedic relief to this dark series. Edouard(A2) is a HAPSIS agent who works with Hadrian in his mission to eliminate the watchers, and I’m pretty sure him and Cassandra are gonna end up together, but thats just a theory. Lastly is Ramanthanu, the Cielcin captain, I don’t want to spoil anything but it is an amazing addition to the cast of characters.

Epic Scope: Setup and Payoff

Disquiet Gods starts quieter than some of the previous works as there is some setup to be laid around the 200 years that have passed since Hadrian escaped The Empire and headed off to Jadd. In those quieter moments we get some introspective into his relationship with Cassandra and Neema, while also finding out about what has been going on in the universe now that the Cielcin bioweapon has been deployed on various worlds. It only takes about 60 or so pages for this one to ramp up and back into the suspense of hunting the Watchers on a new planet, all while we watch Hadrian deal with having his daughter in harms way for the first time.

The twists and turns also come through in droves in Disquiet Gods, there was multiple moments that caught me off guard and left me absolutely shocked and unsure of how Hadrian would maneuver through them. There is plenty of build up and a lot of the underlying cosmic horror that has been the hallmark of the Sun Eater series.

Chapter 40 “THE JUDICATOR” is by far the most profound and influential chapter of the entire series for me so far. I don’t want to give away much of anything, but it answers so many questions about the gods of this world and the potential of what is to come and the decisions Hadrian will make leading up to him finally eating that damn sun we’ve been hearing about since chapter 1 of Empire of Silence.

There are endings reader, and this is one that has clearly set us up for an epic conclusion in Shadows Upon Time.

Between the Sheets: Familial Bonds

Unlike the previous books, our boy Hadrian no longer has his paramour Valka after one of the most unexpected deaths I’ve ever experienced reading a series, which also means this one gets a 🌶️ (1.0) on our spice scale, shocking I know.

What I loved personally in this one as a father was getting to see how Christopher Ruocchio writes about the father and daughter bond between Hadrian and Cassandra and you can clearly see the influence becoming a father himself has had on Ruocchio’s writing in the best way.

Bro Reading Comfort: Nothing to Sweat

While the book has darker themes, and some tense moments, there is nothing that should make you nervous opening this one up on your commute which earns it a 😳 (1.0) on our comfort scale.

The cover art on this one is supremely bad ass showcasing Cassandra with her newly earned dual wield highmatter swords now that she is a Maeskolos of Jadd. The themes can get a little dark and scary in this one, but no one is going to look at you funny sitting on the subway reading this one.

Darkness Factor: Violence and Despair

Disquiet Gods really starts to pull into focus the genocide Hadrian is preparing to commit with the eating of that fateful sun, while also diving into themes of the way pain shapes society, the weight of the Choices Hadrian knows he must make, and the existential dread of the Watchers and the unknown earning this one a 💀💀💀💀 (4.0) on our darkness scale.

This book certainly will bring up some theological and moral conversations due to the nature of the Quiet and the Watchers, as well as the genocide Hadrian will have to commit in order to prevent the destruction of the universe. Personally it is not an issue for me, but I also think it would be disingenuous to not at least acknowledge this.

Book Battlefield: Nothing Quiet Like It

I’ve truly never read anything like Disquiet Gods before, Christopher Ruocchio has taken what looks like a space opera on the surface and has expanded the scope and realm of what I’d consider typical for the genre and completely flipped it to create something that combines so many different and intriguing things together in a way that just works.

While it has the familiar notes from the genre, it manages to blend them seamlessly with horror, thriller, and even an isolated magic system even if it’s only really tied to Hadrian and the gods. This book and series overall has become something I recommend to almost anyone because I think it will land with all different types of readers.

Should You Bother?

Gonna break away from the norm here a little because the answer is simply yes. If you’re reading this, you either love my reviews so much that you read them without reading the books they’re about, which if that is the case y’all are wild and I love you for it, or you’ve read through 5 other books, and at this point that investment is finally starting to wrap up and it would be wild not to continue forward in my humble internet opinion.

For Fans of Howling Dark: You get all the cosmic horror and even a return trip to Vorgossos and the OG protagonist of the Sun Eater series.

For Fans of Demon in White: The politicking that takes place throughout this book once we get to Forum and beyond is incredible.

For Fans of Sun Eater: As I mentioned above, this is a no brainer, and clearly the beginning of the end.

Final BroMantasy Verdict

Disquiet Gods answers so many questions that have been developed as the Sun Eater has taken place while setting the stage for a grand finale in Shadows Upon Time, and Christopher Ruocchio manages to do this all while still adding new elements, planets, and characters without it ever feeling like too much. It’s got a combination of everything I’ve loved in other books all packaged with a bow leading us towards the sun we all can’t wait to see Hadrian eat earning this a 5/5.

Now that I finally understand what the Watchers and the Quiet are, things that have bothered me for a few books now all finally make sense and it’s a testament to Ruocchio’s commitment to Sun Eater as a series that he revealed just enough in the previous books to allow for the huge revelations of Chapter 40.

The addition of Casandra certainly filled that void I felt after Valka’s death in Ashes of Man and adds a new level of emotional depth to Hadrian and the stakes of everything to come in the final book. This book had plenty of action and suspense, the return of some beloved characters, the addition of some great new personalities, and ultimately has laid the stage for Shadows Upon Time and I’ll be diving right into it, I have plenty of theories about how this all ends, but I’m sure Christopher Ruocchio will leave me on my ass like he has time and time again. Always forward.