Disquiet Gods by Christopher Ruocchio

12 Nov, 2025

Today I finished Disquiet Gods, the sixth book in Christopher Ruocchio's epic science fantasy Sun Eater series.

I've got a 30-book reading goal for this year, and as we get down to the wire I'm behind by a few books. This was the 25th I've read. Thankfully it was a page-turner; perhaps the quickest read I've had in this series (Demon in White, the third installment, would be the other).

Disquiet Gods was a great bounce back from Ashes of Man, which I slotted near the bottom of my rankings for this series. It's definitely a top-two book of the saga for me. The plot and worldbuilding in particular were excellent in this one.

Ruocchio's ability to fully immerse you into his unique and massive world from page one is a ton of fun. The progression of the "magic system," the additional lore of the how the world has come to be and the many varied worlds you get to experience make this such a fun read throughout. I'm hooked, and the final sequence sets up what I imagine is going to be an incredibly satisfying conclusion in book seven.

The weaknesses of the book for me are the same as usual with Ruocchio, but they aren't fatal flaws:

1. The secondary character progression surrounding our protagonist, Hadrian Marlowe, remains inconsistent. I was pretty surprised with how little character work we got with Cassandra, for example, considering her relationship to Hadrian.
2. Once you get used to Ruocchio's prose style there are a few writer ticks he relentlessly uses over and over again that become a bit annoying.¹

I've somehow managed to read this entire series throughout the year just in time for the final installment, Shadows Upon Time, which releases on Nov. 18.

Can't wait.

Overall: 65

• Prose: 55
• Character: 55
• Plot: 70
• Worldbuilding: 80

Series Ranking

1. Demon in White — 70
2. Disquiet Gods — 65
3. Howling Dark — 60
4. Kingdoms of Death — 60
5. Ashes of Man — 55
6. Empire of Silence — 55

I use the 20-80 scale to rate things. For books I have four different categories, plus an overall grade. The overall grade is typically an average of the four main categories, though I reserve the right to round up or down based on other factors, like how thought-provoking or resonant a book might have been for me.

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