Empire of Silence

By: Christopher Ruocchio

Narrated by: Samuel Roukin

Length: 26 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

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 into 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.

©2018 Christopher Ruocchio (P)2018 Recorded Books

Intelligent Sci-fi

Ruocchio's impressive debut novel is richly rendered, sociopolitically complex, and immersive. An intelligent work of science fiction, Empire of Silence will also appeal to fantasy fans and some history fans thanks to its inclusion of fantasy conventions and historical technology and references, such as castles, swordplay, and Greco-Roman cultural influences. In Empire of Silence, Ruocchio built a psychologically layered hero (anti-hero?) by means of a skillfully woven plot that drew me into the colorful worlds of Hadrian's far-future Milky Way galaxy and left me desperate for the next book in the series.

Heavy investment

I see some reviewers are saying the story is very slow. Yes, it is, and I fully understand why a reader might bail on it. The MC has a lot of introspection, with internal debates on ethics and philosophy. That slows down even scenes which ought to be intense.

But I couldn't look away, just like you can't look away from car crash. The author devotes a lot of effort towards world-building and the world is horrible indeed. The Empire that surrounds our MC is the love child of the Spanish Inquisition, 1984, and pre-Revolution France. Our MC is a soft-hearted young man in a hard universe and he is helpless, lost, confused, and weak. His efforts to control his fate are mostly ineffectual and it's frustrating to watch; but it's also hard to imagine how he could have done better, given the forces stacked against him. Although it takes what seems like forever, he gradually becomes less helpless, but still far from hero material.

A major aspect of the story is that the author instills immense amounts of foreshadowing on almost every page, to the point where it's a bit wearisome. We know that our MC eventually precipitates great events, both good and bad, and it's hard to avoid being curious as to how he becomes that sort of person. That will probably keep me listening.

Slow start, picks up the pace

Although the book starts slowly it picks up speed by the second half and really draws you into an established world. I'd recommend this to fans of Red Rising, Dune, and Old Man's War.

From Slow Start to Can't Stop

Are you a fan of Sanderson's Worlds of Radiance or Rothfuss Kingkiller Chronicles? Because if you are, Empire of Silence will probably be right up your ally. But it's not just The Name of the Wind in space, though it does share a number of themes with that book. Chris Ruocchio does an excellent job slowly bringing his universe to life through tantalizing snippets of world-building and foreshadowing. I'm extremely excited for the next book to come out, though it seems we'll have to wait until mid 2019 for that to come.

Word of warning, though. Others have mentioned it, but the book is slow to start, and a bit confusing. You get dropped right into a world of unfamiliar terms without any helpful guidance on what they mean. Ruocchio excels at giving context, but he doesn't spoon feed you. Give the book at least a couple hours to come into its own and you'll be glad you did.

A Slow start at best....then the story tapers off

Having read some of the higher ratings I took a chance on this book. The narrator is very good, but the story is mired in meandering wordsmith that delivers no real drama but just drones on and on. There were several instances were the story could have built interesting story lines only to fall back on the protagonist's internal reflections that were so predictable they border on ad nauseam. That this has almost a 4.5 rating makes me wonder who is writing and rating these stories. If you are looking for and outstanding read, try the Red sister or Mist Born series....they have all of the characteristics of a good read. Hope somebody reads this. Cheers....

A political fantasy without much action

The book is pretty well written and is immersive if you're into political fantasy.

For me this book just didn't keep my attention past the first few hours because nothing really happened with the protagonist. He came off as a weakling who was a bystander to all the bad things happening around him. I'm not expecting an overpowered hero who saves the day, but at least the kind of guy who thinks before taking action and occasionally tries to do something good. Instead, he abandons his "friends" in a gladiatorial arena, is nonchalant about them dying because they're slaves, and helps torture aliens he captured with false promises. The entire time he's moping with this "woe is me" attitude. It just isn't meant for me, but to someone else I'm sure this would be a great read.

So good!

I greedily await the next books in this series. Please keep them coming. Thank you for spending the time to create this quality of work.

Epic Space Opera... Instant classic

A lot of what i've read in reviews compares this book, fairly or unfairly, to Dune. A small homage, sure, but I may have not made that connection to Dune if others had not pointed it out. I mean it's a HUGE book, a HUGE world/Universe, but this book is its own and in my opinion, an instant classic. That's the real comparison between the 2, Classic... That said, for me, the original Dune is slow and drawn out... I know that makes me unpopular. I enjoyed it and recommend people read it but wont read it a second time. I would read/listen to Empire of Silence a second time. The slow points of the book are needed and not just filler, the pacing is current and keeps you engaged wanting to know more about the Sun Eater universe and it's characters.

The world/universe building and character building is FANTASTIC! You really care about Hadrian in spite of knowing from the book blurb the atrocities to come. This book is emotional and touches lightly but with intent on politics (new and old). It's frustrating at times, even to the point of making you angry. You cheer and route and during my commute more than once I fist pumped in the air with joy. It draws you in, brings you up and down and side to side with it.

Final thoughts:
1) I tried to do this review in a way that it doesn't give spoilers so sorry for the broad strokes!
2) This is my first time listening to the narrator Samuel Roukin and really enjoyed his narration. It always takes a bit to get used to a knew voice, but shortly after starting you settle in and just enjoy the ride. He does an excellent job and i'll definitely listen to him again.
3) It's a great book, cant wait for book 2... and If you read this and haven't listened to or read book 1... then you are seriously missing out... get it in the queue or get it in the cart and enjoy!

Empire of Silence kicked my ass. And I want more.

I've not enjoyed a good space opera since A Memory Called Empire (yes, that includes the Locked Tomb books!), but Holy Mother Earth, Empire of Silence renewed my faith in them. While grand and sweeping and as fleshed out as the best space operas, it focuses just as much on the mundane-of the people and places who fall between the cracks-and not only on the lofty and gilded. We know who and what Hadrian is going right into the story, but the need to know how he became the Sun Eater drives you on, and you feel his triumphs and upsets as viscerally as he does, and Samuel Roukin does a singular job portraying the weight the narrating Hadrian has to carry as he recounts his story. I am fully invested in this series now, and will tackle book 2 with the same fervor as I did with its predecessor. Watch your back, Dune. The Sun Eater is coming for you.

Great writing and performance

If you need a “quick” story with lots of action this is probably not the book for you. But if you enjoy character development and excellent intrigue and writing it is fantastic. I’m a huge fantasy/sci fi fan and recommend this highly. The narrator was excellent.