The Fantasy Review’s review of Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio, book 1 in The Sun Eater series.
Empire of Silence is a fantastic start to Christopher Ruocchio’s epic, space opera series, The Sun Eater. I may think this first entry is a little overhyped, but it shows a lot of promise for an epic tale ahead.
Spoiler-Free Review of Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
Ruocchio wears his influences on his sleeve, with references to Dune, Foundation, and more littering the pages of Empire of Silence. Unlike the Tokien clones of the 70’s, however, this book is its own, unique tale.
We follow Hadrian Marlowe at the beginning of his journey to become the epic, famous person he will be known as in the future. Marlowe himself spins the yarn, writing his memoirs, so to speak.
It’s an intriguing premise, and a structure not unlike The Name of the Wind, or perhaps even Blood Song. What I adore about this framing narrative is that Marlowe will interject in the tale now and again, teasing the future importance of a character we just met, or offering an alternate opinion to his past self.
The story itself is fine. This is where I believe the hype is overdone on this entry to The Sun Eater series. The writing style, and Ruocchio’s craft and command of language are inspiringly great, however the structure of the narrative gets a little lost in places.
You might not find the beats and the arcs you are used to in this novel, but it still reads quickly despite its length. There are 78 chapters and the ending of each will have you forcing yourself to stay awake for just one more.
Empire of Silence is truly only the beginning of something. We get to know the main characters, some of the local universe, etc, setting us up for an epic narrative. However, it seems the secondary purpose of the novel is to get us invested in the mysteries to unfold, and there are many.
It is these mysteries which held my attention throughout. I personally love a story that dives deep into lore, mythology, language, history, etc. Marlowe’s passion for these things creates a link to him for me as a reader, and I feel his enthusiasm and excitement upon new discoveries, as well as his need to know more.I’m excited to see where The Sun Eater takes me next.
