Empire of Silence
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆ ☆
Empire of Silence (The Sun Eater, Book 1) by Christopher Ruocchio
Slow, but good… but slow. Really slow.
I’ve used this phrase before, but it fits perfectly here: a long walk for a short drink of water. Empire of Silence isn’t excessively long, but it feels longer than it needs to be, especially when you look back and realize how little ground the story actually covers. Honestly, the same plot could’ve been told in about two-thirds the length.
Its biggest flaw is pacing. On paper, it has everything you could want: engaging characters, unique worlds, political intrigue, conspiracies, murder, gladiator fights, and even one of my new favorite quotes:
"It is a mistake to believe we must know a thing to be influenced by it. It is a mistake to believe the thing must even be real."
But all of it is so drawn out that much of the impact is lost. Do I really need a deep dive into an entire planet’s hierarchy when most of it never comes into play? Probably not. And that’s really the heart of it, I don’t think this is a bad book at all, but the pacing drags everything down. Keep the plot, the characters, the set pieces, the relationships, just trim the fat and this would be incredible.
In many ways, this book reminded me of Red Rising ❤️, especially in its dialect and writing style. But like Red Rising, Empire of Silence feels more like an extended prologue: an introduction to the world and its players, setting the stage for bigger things to come. I don’t know how many books are planned for this series, but I can only hope the sequels move faster and bring more substance to match the promise.
