Empire of Silence: The Sun Eater: Book One
"[E]pic science fiction at its most genuinely epic." —James S.A. Corey, New York Times-bestselling author of The Expanse novels
"This wow book is a must for fans of Pierce Brown and Patrick Rothfuss." —Library Journal (starred)
Hadrian Marlowe, a man revered as a hero and despised as a murderer, chronicles his tale in the galaxy-spanning debut of the Sun Eater series, merging the best of space opera and epic fantasy.
It was not his war.
The galaxy remembers him as a hero: the man who burned every last alien Cielcin from the sky. They remember him as a monster: the devil who destroyed a sun, casually annihilating four billion human lives—even the Emperor himself—against Imperial orders.
But Hadrian was not a hero. He was not a monster. He was not even a soldier.
On the wrong planet, at the right time, for the best reasons, Hadrian Marlowe starts down a path that can only end in fire. He flees his father and a future as a torturer only to be left stranded on a strange, backwater world.
Forced to fight as a gladiator and navigate the intrigues of a foreign planetary court, Hadrian must fight a war he did not start, for an Empire he does not love, against an enemy he will never understand.
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Community Reviews
Ruocchio’s world-building is an absolute masterclass, blending the scale of a space opera with the rich, atmospheric texture of the epic fantasy I usually love. The "Quiet" ruins and the Cielcin threat create a backdrop that feels genuinely ancient and terrifying.
However, the pacing is a bit of a hurdle; there are sections in the middle that felt repetitive, retracing ground that had already been well-established. I also felt the transition of Hadrian "becoming royalty again" happened a bit too conveniently, losing some of the grit established in the earlier chapters. It’s a stunning debut that sits just shy of a masterpiece, but I’m fully invested in where this journey goes next.
Good book if a little long and repetitive, it throws you right into the deep end with names and places you are unfamiliar and doesn't give the reader room to learn before sending even more their way. It did seem that the author repeated chapters with the same information instead should have streamlined the book by cutting at least 100 pages and it would still be the same book. The world is interesting if not fully explored and there are plot hooks, I do wish to explore in the future. The prose is better than most other fantasy books but gets ahead of itself. The characters have intrigue but I'm not fully invest with them or the main character which I should be after 700 pages of being with only him. Will read the second book as I do hear the books get better.
6.7/10
6.7/10
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