Name: Empire of Silence
ISBN: 9781473224278

Christopher Ruocchio

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 navigate 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.

Empire of Silence

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 fight a war he did not start, for an Empire he does not love, against an enemy he will never understand.

Published when the author was twenty-two, the novel is an account from twenty thousand years in the future of the juvenile days of someday galactic hero Hadrian Marlowe, named for the  emperor and playwright, respectively. Though seeds of compelling world-building motivate the narrative, its defining quality is youth, both of the protagonist and the author. It lacks the later maturation of skill and age which are present in the series' other books.

Mark R

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 navigate 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.

opens with 200 pages of irrelevant (narrators own words, paraphrased) backstory w/ boring dialogue, borderline plagiarism of other popular sf/f authors, daily stoicism quotes type advice from a "mentor" character, and the drama/tension that propels the main character out of this section of the novel truly makes no sense at all

with the praise this series has gotten I would have forgiven all of that if it was only like 20 pages or so. 

Caelan

dnf'd 1/3rd of the way through

opens with 200 pages of irrelevant (narrators own words, paraphrased) backstory w/ boring dialogue, borderline plagiarism of other popular sf/f authors, daily stoicism quotes type advice from a "mentor" character, and the drama/tension that propels the main character out of this section of the novel truly makes no sense at all

with the praise this series has gotten I would have forgiven all of that if it was only like 20 pages or so. 



Savannah Winchell

Cool concept, terrible execution 
This only works as a cross between Name of the Wind and Red Rising if Patrick Rothfus lost the ability to write and Pierce Brown couldn’t plot and characterize for shit. 
I’ve come to the conclusion that the author has the philosophical understanding of a freshmen midway through fall semester and likes the sound of his own (inner?) voice too much to edit out the necessary 70,000 words.

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. 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. On the wrong planet, at the right time, for the best reasons, Hadrian Marlowe starts down a path that can only end in fire. He flees his father and a future as a torturer only to be left stranded on a strange, backwater world. Forced to fight as a gladiator and navigate the intrigues of a foreign planetary court, Hadrian must fight a war he did not start, for an Empire he does not love, against an enemy he will never understand.

3.5 stars  A Name of the Wind paced space opera with heavy Dune influence. And melodramatic it is. It’s great stuff for those who love space opera with an emphasis on opera. Also worth noting I keep coming back to finish this series because of the main aliens. (Gotten up to book 3 a while ago and now rereading in order to catch up on the new ones I have yet to read.)

Brianna

Alost

Deborah Kerr

I’m not 100% sure why people rant & rave about this one.

The writing is good and the plot interesting—but nothing the writer does can outweighs the absolute slog that is the first 400pages of this book. 

The ending was PHENOMENAL and we finally got some traction but good Lord, if I had to listen to Hadrian brood without anything of substance happening for another 100pages I was going to lose it.

I am tentatively hopeful for the next installment.

Nickie Mohler

I received a copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I decided to read this book because I haven't read very much sci-fi and I wanted to change that. I'm glad I did, this is a good book.

Hadrian Marlowe is next in line to be the head of House Marlowe. He is the older brother after all. Hadrian trains in all areas so that he will be prepared to lead when it is his time. When he finds out that his father has other plans for him, Hadrian flees. 
Hadrian had high hopes for his new life. He had everything planned out. One betrayal changed it all. He will see what it's like to fight for survival with no money, no job, and no title. 
All he wanted was to explore space and visit other worlds. 

This is the story of Hadrian Marlowe and how he became known as the Sun Eater.

This book started out really great, but got pretty boring in the middle. I felt like it was longer than it needed to be. The ending left me wanting more. Even though it lagged in parts, I will probably read the next one just to see what happens.

Anyaconda

This was okay, but didn't win me over in the end and Yes! there are lots of similarities between Empire of Silence and Dune and The Name of The Wind. 
Not all of those similarities are bad, but sometimes it was too close to my liking ("Fear is the mind killer"/"Fear is poison" etc.) and this pulled me out of the story.

At this point I'm not sure if I'll be moving on to the next in the series.

Jordan Chan 

Benjamin

Nick Rothweiler

Martin Heuer

Kiley

Spaceghost 

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. 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. On the wrong planet, at the right time, for the best reasons, Hadrian Marlowe starts down a path that can only end in fire. He flees his father and a future as a torturer only to be left stranded on a strange, backwater world. Forced to fight as a gladiator and navigate the intrigues of a foreign planetary court, Hadrian must fight a war he did not start, for an Empire he does not love, against an enemy he will never understand.

Empire of Silence

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