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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, War, Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Vomit
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An amazing start for the beloved Suneater series.
I understand why some people would have problems with this book, the pace is slow and the grand elements of a space opera are still getting set up, but I believe Empire of Silence is an amazing introduction to Hadrian Marlowe and the universe he lives in.
From page 1, Ruocchio's style hits just right, beautiful and evocative, really transporting you to the amazingly deep universe he constructed and even more to the mind of Hadrian.
Can't wait to read Howling Dark.
I understand why some people would have problems with this book, the pace is slow and the grand elements of a space opera are still getting set up, but I believe Empire of Silence is an amazing introduction to Hadrian Marlowe and the universe he lives in.
From page 1, Ruocchio's style hits just right, beautiful and evocative, really transporting you to the amazingly deep universe he constructed and even more to the mind of Hadrian.
Can't wait to read Howling Dark.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First fantasy series I’ve picked up. Did not disappoint. The world-building and story is incredible. Unlike anything I’ve ever read. I couldn’t put the book down.
Once you think the story starts to settle in there’s just unexpected turn after another that ties the story together perfectly. There are many characters worlds and new language that you may find overwhelming but it makes it that much more interesting in my opinion. I can’t wait to pick up the second book.
Once you think the story starts to settle in there’s just unexpected turn after another that ties the story together perfectly. There are many characters worlds and new language that you may find overwhelming but it makes it that much more interesting in my opinion. I can’t wait to pick up the second book.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reread August 2023, clearly beware spoilers:
4.5 Same rating, differing thoughts. With what I claim to be a complete working knowledge of the main entries in this series, I returned to EoS with mixed feelings. Other entries are just objectively better: Ruocchio's writing, the story itself, the characters, the settings. Everything in this series gets turned up riiiiiiight after this book ends. So what did this first installment offer on reread? As always on a second time through, you really notice breadcrumbs for things at the tail end of the series weaved in as early as the first chapter. You can see how much heavy lifting and setup the later books demanded of this one. This world is just awesome. High matter swords rule. Cielcin are terrifying, Olorin is awesome. That EoS fulfilled those needs and is still a pretty entertaining story in it's own right is damn impressive. It's still startling this is a debut from a man younger than myself.
What was glaring and tough on reread was just how tough the middle portions of this book were to get through. And with further context, they feel like a cute little sidequest from the mage's guild in an Elder Scrolls game. Every character besides Hadrian felt like an outline. Even mainstays like Valka and Gibson, who get fleshed out more, felt like tertiary prop characters in a book without secondary ones.
All up this is still the bottom of Sun Eater for me, but that's relative. I adored being back in the Sollan Empire and am anxiously awaiting my reunion with my baby, Howling Dark. Earth and Emperor
4.5 Same rating, differing thoughts. With what I claim to be a complete working knowledge of the main entries in this series, I returned to EoS with mixed feelings. Other entries are just objectively better: Ruocchio's writing, the story itself, the characters, the settings. Everything in this series gets turned up riiiiiiight after this book ends. So what did this first installment offer on reread? As always on a second time through, you really notice breadcrumbs for things at the tail end of the series weaved in as early as the first chapter. You can see how much heavy lifting and setup the later books demanded of this one. This world is just awesome. High matter swords rule. Cielcin are terrifying, Olorin is awesome. That EoS fulfilled those needs and is still a pretty entertaining story in it's own right is damn impressive. It's still startling this is a debut from a man younger than myself.
What was glaring and tough on reread was just how tough the middle portions of this book were to get through. And with further context, they feel like a cute little sidequest from the mage's guild in an Elder Scrolls game. Every character besides Hadrian felt like an outline. Even mainstays like Valka and Gibson, who get fleshed out more, felt like tertiary prop characters in a book without secondary ones.
All up this is still the bottom of Sun Eater for me, but that's relative. I adored being back in the Sollan Empire and am anxiously awaiting my reunion with my baby, Howling Dark. Earth and Emperor
First 3/4 of the book is pretty brutal in its pacing, I actually DNF’ed it at 20% the first time I tried to read it, partially because I found the quantity of minor world building elements taken straight from Dune to be extremely distracting, but also because I was just very bored and needed a break from books about fancy little princelings. But I was told by devoted fans that the first book is mainly just crucial setting for the rest of the series, so I restarted, and now I’m invested. The prose is also beautiful in a way that can be rare for such high concept sci-fi. The author is deeply committed to moody vibes in a way that I can fully respect. I’ll update if the fans were wrong and it’s all just boring, but I’m already 30% into book #2 and it’s already pretty great (and moody)