Empire of Silence

One thing this book certainly isn't is silent! The first book in what looks to be an epic sci-fi space opera. I have been seeing this book likened to Patrick Rothfuss ‘The Name of The Wind' and I can definitely see that vibe here, in both the story telling style and structure, and it is hard not to make comparisons between the two. It uses the ‘older main character as narrator' style, chronicling his life to date. The ‘Sun Eater' part of the chronicle is definitely not dealt with in this first book (much like there has yet to be any king killing in Rothfuss' books).

For such a sprawling scope, the novel stays relatively small scale and personal. The action is confined to just 2 planets in a vast galaxy. You get introduced to a myriad of different cultures and plenty of other worlds are referenced, so there is a lot of world building involved here.This is not a short book, and some of the world building is a bit slow at times, but the pay off is worth while with a vast and extremely detailed universe. The quasi-religious anti-technology Luddites that seem to control the empire in which the book is set have a faint echoes of some of the more extreme religious sects of today, but it seems an agenda strangely at odds with the star-faring society. It creates an almost medieval/ancient culture with gladiatorial combat to the death and near serfdom for most of the population. The distinct class stratification is brutal and a strong focus in the story.

Ultimately this is an engaging story, both broad and narrow in its viewpoint. A sprawling space opera that focuses in on the intimate details. A study in contrasts and a very promising start to a book series

The Sun Eater (what an awesome name for a series) is about Hadrian Marlowe. The savior, the devil. Man who is solely responsible for genocide of alien race with which humankind wages intergalactic war. This is his story.

I don't think I can make this book justice by writing a review. It's far from the best thing I've ever read but the potential that this book represents for the whole series is enormous. It's amazing first book. Not only in the series but as debut novel of the author, too. And at such young age it makes me feel ashamed of my non-existing writing career. :D

These books are written in memoir style with Hadrian retelling his story as it allegedly really happened, without the government and chantry propaganda. I say allegedly because I know Ruocchio is Gene Wolfe fan and this series was inspired among others (Dune, LOTR) by Book of the New Sun. And anyone who read BotNS knows that you can't trust the narrator no matter what he tells you. I don't think this series will reach such deception but who am I to tell? I'm just at the beginning.

There is very little criticism I can aim at Empire of Silence. It's weakest link is definitely the lack of focus. There is no big villain, no big goal Hadrian needs to reach in this book. It's memoirs of his early years and while intriguing, it lacked the typical novel narrative of big bad or big goal that needed to be overcome by the end. Don't misunderstand, there is something towards the end, but it's not entirely expected. And most of the book is just Hadrian wondering through life, running away from his family and awful responsibility that was put on him against his will by his father.

EoS is also a slow burner. First 200 pages were a struggle even if I was interested in the world and Hadrian as a character. I wished for some action and I don't mean Colosso fights. Then Valka entered the scene and everything's got better. Approximately in the middle of the book I got absorbed in the story.

It is rare that I have interest in romance. Well... “romance” at least for now. Since the first moment we know Valka is someone very dear to Hadrian. He likes to spoil the story by giving hints about characters that enter it for the first time, especially if they are important enough. Even though she started to annoy me with her “I'm better than you” attitude I can't deny that her pixie femme fatale presence intrigued me the whole time. Just like it did Hadrian.

Ruocchio sets up a very dystopic oppressive universe in this book where no one (within Sollan Empire) is free. Especially not the nobility. Cameras are everywhere and the Big Brother is the Church. I listened to an interview with Christopher where he said he wanted the Empire to be a counter pole of Banks's The Culture series. Where that one is anarchistic this one is totalitarian even despite its size. Going to space isn't cheap nor simple which makes the means easy to control by central authority. There are other cultures in this universe where men are more free but we don't get to see those in this book.

The world building is stellar, to be honest. I got exactly what I was hoping for from this book. Most of the time when you see there's 30+ pages of footnotes and explanations of how the world works you know you're in for a treat.

Hadrian himself is as flawed as any real human. Sometimes he does more-than-stupid things to move the plot forward but I have a suspicion there is a reason for that. And it was hinted at towards the end of the book when he received a prophetic vision. Still, it would be a bummer if it all got blamed on “fate”.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone. It's great for fantasy fans who want to dip their feet in some sci-fi because the story structure is more fantasy even if the setting is sci-fi. It doesn't experiment with narrative tools like so many great sci-fi novels do. Instead it's very similar to epic fantasy narrative. But most of all I recommend this to fans of Dune. While you can't really point at many things that are “stolen” from Dune, its essence is very much present here. Just like in Star Wars, for example.