Ashes of Man is the latest in the saga chronicling the life of Hadrian Marlowe, Knight of the Solarian Empire, fast talker and swift actor, the man who wanted to speak to an alien race, and then discovered they were full of monsters, the man who found and fought some of the ancient horrors of Earth's future-past, general, sage, and quite possibly unable to die. Marlowe contains multitudes. The story is written in his voice, giving us his viewpoint and his version of events, and Marlowe is determined that he's not a hero. How he gets from where he is at the start of Ashes of Man to his nebulous, book-writing fate, is rather more unclear. But the clash between who he thinks he is, and the way the galaxy sees him is an interesting one. At the same time, we know that he has a future, at least - and by the same token, we know this is a march toward tragedy and joy in, possibly, equal measure.
Narratively, this is beautifully crafted. Hadrian is back, rebuilding his life after a term as a POW in the hands of an enemy that is monstrous almost to a fault, creatures who regard humanity as a food source, and are prepared to have a discussion on politics ans the ethics of slavery before hanging you up by your thumbs and devouring your mates. He's not broken, Hadrian, but he's not the same either, someone coming back to terms with himself and with society. He's somewhat untethered, no longer as certain either of his own guiding lights, or of his own self-understanding. It's an interesting look for a man who has led armies, and has now stepped out of the shaodw of death and into a world that seems almost to have forgotten him while he's been away. It's a story that reaches toward reawakening, rediscovery, and change. Not all of that change is good, of course. But if The Howling Darkwas a treatise in part on the fall of man and self actualisation, this is about the rise of that man from his knees, and his determination to be better, and to fight.
Notably, this feels like a much different book to the one before it, as a more mature Hadrian, scarred in both physical and metaphorical senses by his treatment as a prisoner, resurfaces into the world. There's high politics at play, with factions of the Empire of Man playing off one another and circling for advantage. The Cielcin are still out there too, ravaging worlds and devouring or enslaving the populous. And the Extras, those of humanity who have changed themselves boudy and soul, they're hanging on as well, always looking for means to serve their own inscrutable but typically unpleasant goals. If you're here for politics, good news! And if you're here for thoughts on what makes people who they are, or for examinations of the relationships that keep us grounded, the friendships and loves and sorrows that make us who we are, well, there's a lot of that here too. But this is also a book which packs in a heck of a lot of adrenaline, with the kind of action that can make your heart pound - from orbital bombardment and the graceful quiet dance of death among the stars, to the messy, bloody melee that happens down below, there's something fore everyone.
And that's what this is, really, a top-notch science fiction adventure story. It's smart, it's occasionally surprisingly funny. It's heartfelt and emotional and genuine. It's bloody and deadly and unafraid. It has action, adventure and really wild things, and it has quiet human moments that remind you who you are and what you have and what you've lost. It also has swords and sorcery and techno-magery and politics and chaos, all in one wonderfully blended package.
This is, in sum, another winner from Ruocchio; go pick it up.
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