A review of Empire of Silence; uniquely derivative

Empire of Silence is often compared to Name of the Wind and Dune, both of which are revered works in the sci-fi and fantasy landscape. I disagree.

This is better.

Now I must admit, I wasn't the biggest fan of both Name of the Wind and Dune; I found Name of the Wind to be painfully mediocre, and I did not finish Dune. My experience with science fiction has been rough up to this point. The technical jargon and scientific theories on which sci-fi stories are built around often made me feel like I needed to be a science nerd to fully comprehend literature in this realm. And because of this, I've always avoided science fiction. It took me quite a bit of convincing to start the Sun Eater series, and wow, am I grateful for that. 

This series works for both sci-fi and fantasy fans, having enough scientific and extraterrestrial intrigue to honor its sci-fi roots, while also not leaning too heavily toward the science parts. There is something in the series for any avid SFF reader: vivid prose, complex themes, intricate plots, interesting characters, you name it. The likelihood of going wrong with Sun Eater is low, as it isn't a series that leans heavily into certain aspects of storytelling while compromising other important aspects; I find it hard to find prominent flaws within Christopher Ruocchio's writing as he's generally good at writing every aspect necessary for narratives to work.

 premise of Sun Eater is Hadrian Marlowe recounting his tale of everything that led up to him destroying a sun, turning an entire alien race extinct, and ending 4 billion human lives. The story is set in a future approximately 20000 years ahead of our current time when the Sollan Empire (basically modern day Roman Empire) has conquered a large swath of the galaxy. 

And with that in mind, Hadrian's characterization in this book was very interesting. Very often, I found myself wondering how this protagonist in Empire of Silence is the same person who had the guts to destroy an entire sun, as the traits Hadrian displayed in this book were very much the exact opposite of what you would expect to see in a dude like Darth Vader. It added a lot of suspense to the plot and story, I was just looking for signs and the inevitable lows that have shaped him into the man outlined at the beginning of the story. Ruocchio made the right move in structuring the series in the way that he has; doing it in that way subtly evokes more tension and fear during every scene. 

The world that Ruocchio has built here is futuristic and fantastical, while still remaining grounded enough to be believable. This is the aspect of Empire of Silence where the Dune comparisons are most warranted, as many of the worldbuilding choices are very clearly influenced by it (shields against ranged weapons that end up encouraging melee combat, machine uprising. no worms though). However Ruocchio's own creativity still shines through, and the choices that were inspired by Dune are not major story points that warp the narrative around them. So yes, the world is inspired by Dune, but it also has more than enough going for it on its own to not be entirely derivative.

One aspect of the worldbuilding that I really enjoyed was the Chantry. The Chantry is a powerful religious organization that worships the depleted Earth, committed to eliminating the risk of another Mericanii machine uprising occurring. They are devoted to these aims, striving to implement their achievement in various ways; notably, with the Inquisition, which often brings its suspects to brutal questioning. The Chantry, to me at least, is a commentary on religion today, as the only information most believers receive are provided by the religion itself. We don't really know what's being cut out or what's being hidden because we don't have the information. In a way, it casts doubt on religious transcripts and the truth behind them, while shining lights on the hidden truths. 

The prose was smooth, lyrical, and evocative. Descriptions are given the right amount of attention and detail, and philosophical epithets.  Wow. Amazing. I NEED MORE. Ruocchio uses his prose as a way to explore and ponder upon multiple themes, such as choice, consequence, and the prisons it creates. We see Hadrian making his own choices plenty here, but we also see how the consequences completely crush and damage him and his psyche. Also feels like this book is telling humanity to calm down, we ain't that important and powerful while also acknowledging our place in the universe.

Despite all the praise I have for this book, Empire of Silence does have its flaws. With how this was set up at the beginning, Ruocchio had to introduce us readers to the characters, story beats, and world context necessary to make the story that is to come make sense. We needed to understand where Hadrian Marlowe came from, experience his childhood, and see how his lowest moments early in his life affected and changed him to be the Hadrian we see at the beginning. 

But because of this, I found that the beginning and middle parts were a bit too stretched out, and if the inciting event that occurred about the halfway point had not occurred, my interest would have been dashed. Some scenes throughout this stretch felt forced, and the attempt at eliciting an emotion did not work for me because I didn't see how it connected to the grand narrative and because there wasn't enough time given to the set pieces in the scene for me to really care about the outcomes. While it isn't a major criticism for me, it did hurt my experience and attachment slightly. It would have been a bigger problem had the inciting event not occurred; I devoured the book in one sitting right after that. Another small criticism is that side characters felt a bit flat to me too aside from one particular character, (I'll let you meet them yourself) but it wasn't a big enough deal for me to give it an entire paragraph.

Empire of Silence is a story that is strongly inspired by its revered predecessors in the genre, but manages to find it's own stride, creating a unique story, separating itself from comparisons and standing on it's own legs. This was a great introduction to the Sun Eater series, and I'll definitely need to strap up for what Ruocchio plans to bring.