Empire of Silence
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.
On the wrong planet, at the right time, for the best reasons, Hadrian Marlowe started down a path that could only end in fire. 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.
Fleeing his father and a future as a torturer, Hadrian finds himself stranded on a strange, backwater world. Forced to fight as a gladiator and navigate the intrigues of a foreign planetary court, he will find himself fighting a war he did not start, for an Empire he does not love, against an enemy he will never understand.
It was not his war.
On the wrong planet, at the right time, for the best reasons, Hadrian Marlowe started down a path that could only end in fire. 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.
Fleeing his father and a future as a torturer, Hadrian finds himself stranded on a strange, backwater world. Forced to fight as a gladiator and navigate the intrigues of a foreign planetary court, he will find himself fighting a war he did not start, for an Empire he does not love, against an enemy he will never understand.
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Reviews
An intricate and well-thought-out plot, a propulsive narrative, and a smooth-as-silk prose... an excellent SF story and a book to look out for.
One of the most enjoyable SF debuts I've read in a long while. Think Dune mixed with Gene Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer series, but for a contemporary readership... celebrates all of the joy and the sheer enthusiasm of old-fashioned Space Opera.
This is, in short, a stunning debut. This is an incredible novel that I took my time to truly enjoy. I feel very lucky to have taken the first step on the journey with this character and his universe.
Space opera fans will savor the rich details of Ruocchio's far-future debut.
It's sci-fi that feels as epic as an epic fantasy does. It feels as epic as Dune.
I really enjoyed Empire Of Silence... it's great fun, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from Hadrian Marlowe's adventures.
If you can't decide whether to go for science fiction or fantasy with your first summer read, might we recommend Empire of Silence.
Like The Fellowship of the Ring, this book is more about the journey than the destination.
Blends epic fantasy and scifi.
Empire of Silence is epic science fiction at it's most genuinely epic. Ruocchio has made something fascinating here, and I can't wat to see what he does next
Empire of Silence is a rich tapestry of future history and worldbuilding, a galactic-sized story of a hero, a tyrant, but portrayed as a man
Christopher Ruocchio's Empire of Silence is epic-scale space opera in the tradition of Iain M. Banks and Frank Herbert's Dune, without being a clone of either of them. His is a welcome new voice in science fiction
Empire of Silence has the sweep and political intensity of Dune (though no sandworms). It builds to a blazing climax, followed by a satisfying conclusion. I recommend the book
You will lose yourself in these books and stay happily lost again and again
