Empire of Silence

I am not a sci-fi reader, I've enjoyed some in the genre but I just never gravitate towards them. However, this series has been pitched so many times as “sci-fi for the fantasy reader” and has been loved by people whose opinion on fantasy books I 100% trust so I had to give it a go and it did not let me down.

There was a lot to like here - Hadrian is aloof and a bit whiney but I couldn't help but like him. I also enjoyed the side characters he met on Emesh, especially Valka and Switch.

It's a lot of setup but the ending was very well done and I'm so intrigued to see where it goes next.

I listened to this one on audio and absolutely loved the narration by John Lee, he nailed the slight arrogance of Hadrian and the accents of the other characters. I'm disappointed to see he only did the first book in the UK but I'm sure I'll enjoy the other narrators too.