The Lesser Devil is a novella in the Sun Eater series set during the events of the first novel, Empire of Silence. It follows Crispin, Hadrian's brother, some thirty-four years after Hadrian disappears. I don't think it's strictly necessary to have read that novel first, but it definitely provides important context.

On the whole, I think I enjoyed this novella a bit more than the longer novel. It's a tighter, more focused story with no wasted pages, and while Crispin isn't a terribly compelling character it was interesting to see how he had evolved since we left him in the first novel, and to see his thoughts on Hadrian from his eyes rather than Hadian's. The plot is pretty simple, but fun. Crispin and his sister Sabine (a new character, given to the Marlowes as compensation for Hadrian's disappearance) are on their way to visit their dying grandmother when their ship is shot down over a Catholic enclave. They later find out the culprit is the sole remaining member of a house thought to have been destroyed by the Marlowes hundreds of years prior.

I like sieges, and this one is pretty good. The dynamic between Crispin and his people and the Catholics was interesting (though I do think it's a bit strange that the faith is virtually unchanged after 20,000 years), and the bit of worldbuilding learning more about how religion works in the universe was nice. The technology stuff kind of confuses me though. In the Empire, the use of much technology is forbidden to everyone, even the high nobles, as they don't trust computers or cybernetics or implants o anything like that. But they use starships and plasma shields and have wristwatch "terminals". It feels a bit inconsistent and I hope it's explored further in future entries.

This was a quick, fun read, definitely recommend if you read Empire of Silence and want something a little snappier.