@@MattsFantasyBookReviews I hear that everywhere as well. Book 2 arrived at my doorstep yesterday. But it will be a time before I have time to actually pick it up. I'm reading to many series at the same time.
I’m on Book 4 right now and it feels like every book is better than the last, and given the quality of each entry it’s hard to fathom. Enjoy the journey Matt!
I loved this book, stayed up way to late each night reading, and I agree, it is the best SF book I've ever read. The prose was incredible without being over done like, for example, Nevernight where it just overwhelmed the entire story and made it unreadable. Empire of Silence reminded me a bit of Dune at first. Even if you don't like sci-fi, this is a good place to start. The reason the narrator, Hadrian, giving away almost the entire ending worked is because this story is 100% about the journey and not the destination. The journey TO the destination is so huge and so incredible, that we don't care where it ends up, we, the reader want to know HOW it ends up there. One of my favorite series of all time. As for it's genre, it's space opera, which is more about story and less about the hard core sci-fi or military sci-fi that are about the weapons and ships and technology.
I love this series, and I’m so glad you enjoyed it as well. The Howling Dark is awesome! Christopher is an autobuy author for me now, and I truly hope many more people discover this series.
Wonderfully said! Ruocchio does indeed deliver beautiful, thoughtful prose that is still eminently digestible and which foregrounds the story above all else. And what an epic story it is! I can't wait to follow your Sun Eater journey, and you really made me itch for a reread!
Smiled ear to ear watching this. Name of the Wind is my favorite book of all time. Once I closed the book the hunt began for an author of similar style. It was impossible nothing could come close. Then I saw this video. I’m sold. I want to read this series because I crave those lyrical and poetic prose!
Christopher’s prose is absolutely beautiful. I love how this book blew all My expectations out of the water. I love Hadrian as a character, Switch is amazing. Valka is …. Interesting lol. Just started Howling Dark and it’s even better so far. Love this series!
Can confirm, this series gets better as it goes. I thought it was good but not great until about 70% of the way through book 2. All of a sudden everything gets far more interesting. I'm on book 3 and it is definitely a masterpiece.
Agree with everything you said. Prose isn’t something I usually think about when reading. The fact that I was struck by how well written these books were, and the amount of highlighting I did really stands out to me. It’s not just well written, supremely digestible prose though, this is a great story. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the rest of the series. Maybe spoiler videos after this one? Sun Eater was definitely my favorite read from last year.
I felt pretty strongly you would enjoy this one. I totally agree with you that this is more fantasy than Sci-Fi and almost feels groundbreaking. Can anyone please recommend anything similar? I think Ruocchio is going to be a TITAN in the genre. I will READ EVERYTHING he puts out from now on.
As far as fantasy/sci-fi that blurs the lines, I would recommend Ken Liu if you haven't read him already, he's stated multiple times that he deliberately does blur those lines. I'm most of the way through his short story collection "The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories," and even if you're not into short fiction, these stories read like novels and not a single one misses.
2 things that comes to mind is Vorkosigan Saga and Hyperion Cantos. I like to search space opera genres whenever I want something like Sun Eater series
Such a great book, I was surprised by how good the writing was because like you said, it takes people decades to get to that level! I'm currently reading Howling Dark and haven't a blast
I just finished this book and I LOVED the framing narrative aspect. The whole time I was reading it, I felt this weight behind it of what he did, and made me think of this weary, almost heartbroken man sitting in his cell and trying to explain his life. I've only read the first book, so my feelings on that may change but I love it so far.
Great series! Christopher seems like a really cool guy and I love a lot of his influences and of course his writing. I didn't love this entry as much as you did, but man... Book two is dope, IMO. I've only made it through book 4, but book 2 still is my favorite (there's a location and character in it that I really enjoyed).
It is definitely a really good book. A weird and bold re-writing or a palimpsest on Herbert's Dune and Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. Ruocchio has absorbed the trophes, the storylines, the backdrops, and made them the weave of his own large tapestry. I mean the galactic Empire, the great houses, the gene manipulation, the religious creeds, the gladiatioral prowess from Herbert, the unreliable narrator, the ancient vobulcary, the time scale, even some nomenclatural nodding to Wolfe. Some may find the incessant loans disturbing, I felt like I was parttaking in a tradition. A good story, a delight.
Just finished rereading book 2 and it further cemented my love for the series. I'm obsessed with his writing style and the books feels like it was made for me. FYI, the series will have 7 books with first draft of book 6 sent for review iirc. The author is a great guy who regularly update his progress in his YT channel.
I'm reading this series right now. I'm on book 4 and its easily one of my favorite series of all time. Up there with First Law and Wheel of Time for me so far. His Prose is one of my favorite parts of the series.
Little point of interest - beyond the audiobooks being great, the attention to detail and care put in to them is much higher than most. He changes the bits where he say things like 'dear reader' to 'dear listener'. Very good audio experience 😁
To me, Red Rising and Leviathan Wake were both a 4 out of 5, and after finishing Empire of Silence rather unimpressed, I just cannot understand how this book can be perceived as equal to those two series starters, let alone surpass them. A 3 out of 5 IMO.
So I made the decision to finally pick up this series based off your review because I have found my views are very close to your opinions; Besides Dungeon Crawler Carl and Stormlight Archive, this is the only book I finished at this length in less than a day. I am hooked.
I also love this series! I have heard the term sci-fantasy thrown around to describe things like this and Star Wars. Has the classic fantasy structure and fantasy sensibilities for character and plot while the setting is in a scientifically futuristic world.
So glad you have found Sun Eater! As Ruocchio himself labels it as Sci-Fantasy so you can call it that. I was amazed at how good of a writer he was for his age as well. Although I think because of the frame narrative people compare him to Rothfuss and I don't see it at all. His sentence structure and use of language is much closer to Robin Hobb in my opinion. I will echo what you have heard, the first book, while amazing, is by far the weakest overall. The leap in quality from book one to book two absolutely blew my mind. I have seen many people have different opinions on which of the next 4 is their favorite but it feels like its less than five out of one hundred that thinks Empire of Silence is the best. Ruocchio is a class act on top of it all. Cannot wait to hear what you think of Howling Dark!!
Nice review, Matt! I might try to buy and read it since I've been looking for some sci-fi to read this month. By the way, I always loved the thumbnails. Keep it up!
The novella The Lesser Devil is also really good and such a compelling story told on a much smaller level. To get so much plot and character development in a novella is unheard of.
I need to get to the next 4 books. Loved book 1. I know this book I would recommend here isn't like this one but I find it to be an amazing pallet cleanser. That is Rendezvous with Rama. Some Sci Fi is big, like Dune and Sun Eater. But then some is less about the characters and loud things happening and more about a quiet and utterly compelling situation. It is short and just hits a scratch for me in the best ways whenever I choose to go through it. But yes, it isn't heavy on story but on the situation. It is my favorite of the overly sciency sci-fi.
Yeah, I picked this up because of book tube. Hope to start in the next week or so. I am hoping it's as good as everybody says, but I have been disappointed by recommendations before.
sounds like the sort of book where the concept is more aligned to : it's the journey, not the destination. May need to give this one a look :3 too few that let the destination be so we can enjoy the road to it
Exciting to hear, Matt. I'll accelerate where this first one is on my TBR list. On the sci-fi front, by chance have you read Dune, Hyperion or Book of the New Sun? Those are real giants for me in the SF realm that I think could appeal to a fantasy reader.
I want to read this series so much (I'm just waiting until the trade paperbacks are published). I've only heard fantastic things about it. Great to hear you enjoyed it too.
Gosh, thats probably gonna take a long time since the author couldn't promise when the trade paperback is gonna be available for the first 3 books. I just up and buy the mass paperback and fervently pray that the trade paperback will be available later on
Really love your reviews and saw this last week and started it yesterday…I’m more a fantasy lover but have read loads of sci fi….enjoying it so far….the prose is excellent….reminds me of the dandelion dynasty series…..which is superb.
Just read the preview of the first 5 chapters of «Empire of Silence», were I caught: Jadd: The Jaddite Faith from several Guy Gavriel Kay novels (GGK’s mix of Christian Trappings and the Sun Cults from Antiquity: Unsurprising given Ruocchio have stated himself as a fan of GGK, with signed books by him) & Jeddah, an Ancient Port City in Modern Day Saudi Arabia Birth Vats for the Nobility: «Brave New World» by Aldous Huxley Hadrian’s home planet of Delos: Greek Island, Holy Site for the worship of Apollo and Artemis and the Athenian-led Delian League which fought Sparta in the Peloponnesian War of the 5th Century BC + The Name of the Mega-Corporation running the parks in «Westworld» Hadrian’s brother Crispin: The St. Crispin’s Day Speech from «Henry V» The Alien Antagonists, the Cielcin: Ciel (French: Sky) + sin (Mr. Ruocchio is Catholic, alright! 😄) Lothrian: Have some similar language structure as the Free City of Lorath from GRRM’s «ASOIAF» + Lotharingia/Lorraine in Modern Day France Hadrian’s family name Marlowe and their Devil Symbol: Christopher Marlowe wrote «Doctor Faustus», about the eponymous scholar who make a pact with the devil Mephistopheles (+ a reversed color scheme of the Manchester United Devil Logo, given the Marlowes’ English Ancestry?) The Mother of Hadrian’s Family Name, Kephalos: Cephalus, whom Socrates have a dialogue with in Plato’s «Republic». Cephalus give as a definition of justice «to give each what is owed to them», which Socrates refutes by saying that returning a borrowed knife to someone who has turned mad and might therefore hurt themselves, is not just…(cue philosophizing on justice and madness!😅)
Read this cause of your recommendation, and unfortunately I didn't enjoy it very much. Having read "the name of the wind" recently, this felt like a poor scifi imitation. I found the plot meandering and not very engaging until the last portion, the main character was vaguely likeable but annoyingly pretentious. Its hard to root for him when his likeable qualities are having normal moral principles for someone in the real world. I felt the prose both didn't effectively paint a picture in my minds eye for me and sometimes went into these long poetic ramblings when there hadnt been anything profound enough to justify it. The romance didn't feel very romantic either. I've heard the following books get better, but mostly from people who really liked the first one already so I'm not sure if I'll continue reading. I'd give it a 4 or 4.5/10. There were things I liked, but I thought I'd just thought I'd add a critical voice since everyone else seems to really enjoy it
I'm scared to start sci-fi again. I finish book 6 of the expanse and I just....ugh. leviathan wakes is IMO top 5 favorite books of all time just to have any where from just okay books from books 2-6. Gonna finish expanse but it's been a struggle.
@@mvprindle well thats a consolation foe me. Just finished book 5 and was delaying to start book 6 since i'm not in the mood to do so. Will pick it up later when i feel like to
I just finished this book today and you know what, Hadrian is more like Fitz in Space. I am hoping Hadrian becomes stronger like Rand from WOT finally did. Thank goodness the plot started to became apparent 2/3rds of the way in. I almost DNF’d it…now I am ready to buckle up for Howling Dark!
2 to ramble described this book as "Name of the wind in space". Ill take 20! Lol i love name of the wind. Only 50 pages into EOS and YEP this is for me. I love how BIG the world feels so early on
I don't read very Many sci-fi books either there's a couple of classics and some of the newer ones this book is kind of been on my radar though because it looks so epic your video just made it move up on my TBR thanks man I really appreciate it LMAO like I really need more books on my TBR😂😂 keep up the great content
Matt in 2023: This is the worst book This is the best book This is the worst book This is the best book Lol it's all good. Glad to see lots of emotions
I have not read Howling Dark yet and I am sure Hadrian is going to grow as the books go on. I found that Hadrian was very similar to Fitz Farseer but in space rather than the six duchies. What do you think?
I know i am the one out here but i gave this one a solid 3, maybe 3.5 if i am being generous. I felt the story was too unfocused and meandering for my tastes. But i felt this way about several popular modern fantasy like John Gwynne and Patrick Rithfuss. I have seen this breed of story called science fantasy, ie the trapping of scifi but with more of a fantasy feel. I haven't seen you talk about Dune which might you might like as its another sf that was a big influence on Roucchio and a similar blend of Scifi with a fantasy feel.
I think red rising and suneater are the two best scifi series I've read, and well see how they end then compare, as they both have 5 books out, and two more coming out. Both being 7 book series, well see how the next books are I still prefer red rising, as of now
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews on my first read I thought that iron gold was my favorite of the four (before dark age came out) I'm doing my reread before lightbringer comes out, and I'm almost done with golden son, I'd forgotten how much happens in that book, and i liked morning star more so I'm very stoked about picking that up in a few days. Dark age is phenomenal, honestly such an amazing installment. I know a lot of people had issues with iron gold, but pierce set the stage for the second trilogy (quartet now) with plot lines that I can't imagine having not been able to see, now that I've seen it
Hey Matt! Thrilled to hear you enjoyed Empire of Silence. Thanks for reading, and for the review--I really hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
I’ve been reading along with Matt on his Discord and we’re all loving it! Thank you for the books!
Thank you so much for the wonderful reading experience!
Ruocchio is too young and talented for anything to be fair. And he's one of my favorite people in the genre. Ive done a handful of events with him.
Yeah, it's ridiculous how talented he is.
So glad you enjoyed this Matt. The books only get better. I can easily say Ruocchio is my favourite living author and favourite sci-fi author.
That's so wonderful to hear, I can't wait to keep going!
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews I hear that everywhere as well. Book 2 arrived at my doorstep yesterday. But it will be a time before I have time to actually pick it up. I'm reading to many series at the same time.
I’m on Book 4 right now and it feels like every book is better than the last, and given the quality of each entry it’s hard to fathom. Enjoy the journey Matt!
So lovely to hear, I can't wait!
I loved this book, stayed up way to late each night reading, and I agree, it is the best SF book I've ever read. The prose was incredible without being over done like, for example, Nevernight where it just overwhelmed the entire story and made it unreadable. Empire of Silence reminded me a bit of Dune at first. Even if you don't like sci-fi, this is a good place to start. The reason the narrator, Hadrian, giving away almost the entire ending worked is because this story is 100% about the journey and not the destination. The journey TO the destination is so huge and so incredible, that we don't care where it ends up, we, the reader want to know HOW it ends up there. One of my favorite series of all time. As for it's genre, it's space opera, which is more about story and less about the hard core sci-fi or military sci-fi that are about the weapons and ships and technology.
I love this series, and I’m so glad you enjoyed it as well. The Howling Dark is awesome! Christopher is an autobuy author for me now, and I truly hope many more people discover this series.
I can't wait to read it!
This one has been on my radar for a while now, great review! It is definitely being bumped higher, keep up the great work!
Thank you - I hope you end up reading this one and enjoying it!
Wonderfully said! Ruocchio does indeed deliver beautiful, thoughtful prose that is still eminently digestible and which foregrounds the story above all else. And what an epic story it is! I can't wait to follow your Sun Eater journey, and you really made me itch for a reread!
Thanks so much for hyping me up on this, you were 1000% right!
Making a lot of sense here. Series rules. Ruocchio is masterful, and a really great dude who deserves all of the success.
Yeah, seeing you talk highly about him definitely contributed to my high hype on this one.
I love the Sun Eater series, and the audiobook is also done very well.
I can't wait to keep reading!
I had not heard of this book before your review, but thanks to you I am definitely adding it to my list!
Wonderful, I hope you enjoy it!
This vid randomly popped up in my recommendations. You sold me on this series and earned a sub!
Thanks so much! :)
Smiled ear to ear watching this. Name of the Wind is my favorite book of all time. Once I closed the book the hunt began for an author of similar style. It was impossible nothing could come close. Then I saw this video. I’m sold. I want to read this series because I crave those lyrical and poetic prose!
Wow, such a glowing review. I guess I know what I'm checking out as soon as I'm done with the Wheel of Time.
Yes, I hope you love it!
About time to see more Empire of Silence love! Truly one of my absolute favorites.
It's so, so good!
Christopher’s prose is absolutely beautiful. I love how this book blew all
My expectations out of the water. I love Hadrian as a character, Switch is amazing. Valka is …. Interesting lol. Just started Howling Dark and it’s even better so far. Love this series!
So glad you've started Sun Eater, it only gets better from now on, hope to see you continue with the rest of the series!
Oh I will DEFINITELY continue, I can't wait to get all caught up!
Can confirm, this series gets better as it goes. I thought it was good but not great until about 70% of the way through book 2. All of a sudden everything gets far more interesting. I'm on book 3 and it is definitely a masterpiece.
So great to hear, I can't wait to get to where you are at!
Agree with everything you said. Prose isn’t something I usually think about when reading. The fact that I was struck by how well written these books were, and the amount of highlighting I did really stands out to me. It’s not just well written, supremely digestible prose though, this is a great story. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the rest of the series. Maybe spoiler videos after this one? Sun Eater was definitely my favorite read from last year.
Yeah I can't wait to keep reading. I'll think about the spoiler video.
Been waiting for you to read these and so excited you loved it!
It's so, so good. I can't wait to keep reading the series!
I felt pretty strongly you would enjoy this one. I totally agree with you that this is more fantasy than Sci-Fi and almost feels groundbreaking. Can anyone please recommend anything similar? I think Ruocchio is going to be a TITAN in the genre. I will READ EVERYTHING he puts out from now on.
As far as fantasy/sci-fi that blurs the lines, I would recommend Ken Liu if you haven't read him already, he's stated multiple times that he deliberately does blur those lines. I'm most of the way through his short story collection "The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories," and even if you're not into short fiction, these stories read like novels and not a single one misses.
Gene Wolfe has to be the best at blurring of the lines between scifi and fantasy. Ruocchio was self admittedly influenced by him.
Different style story but same exact genre would be what I'm reading now The Hyperion Cantos!
2 things that comes to mind is Vorkosigan Saga and Hyperion Cantos. I like to search space opera genres whenever I want something like Sun Eater series
Wish I could recommend something similar but this one is unique for me!
This is only the beginning. The series does get better the farther you go.
So great to keep hearing!
Such a great book, I was surprised by how good the writing was because like you said, it takes people decades to get to that level!
I'm currently reading Howling Dark and haven't a blast
Awesome to hear, I can't wait to get to where you are at!
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews I'm sure you figured out, but I meant to say "having" a blast, not "haven't" 🙄
Oh man I am so happy to see you finally reading this. It's such an amazing, underrated series.
Yeah, more people need to hop on this hype train!
I love when you sell me on books like this. This was on my to read list already but you have pushed it way higher
Mission accomplished! Enjoy!
Glad you got to this book Matt! You are quickly becoming one of my favourite book tubers. Keep it up
Thanks so much Steven, you are too kind!
I just finished this book and I LOVED the framing narrative aspect. The whole time I was reading it, I felt this weight behind it of what he did, and made me think of this weary, almost heartbroken man sitting in his cell and trying to explain his life. I've only read the first book, so my feelings on that may change but I love it so far.
You are on a roll with amazing reads and it’s only March! Is 2023 going to be your personal best reading year yet?!
I sure hope so - it's starting hot!
I've heard a lot of good things about this book from different booktubers. Guess it's time to pick it up. Thank you for this convincing review.
Of course - I hope you love it!
Great series! Christopher seems like a really cool guy and I love a lot of his influences and of course his writing.
I didn't love this entry as much as you did, but man... Book two is dope, IMO. I've only made it through book 4, but book 2 still is my favorite (there's a location and character in it that I really enjoyed).
I SO can't wait to get to book 2!
I love this series so much and the next books are even better!
I love to hear it!
Matt you are on the roll lately! So happy for you!
😁😄
Tomorrow I come crashing back to reality with my next review!
Great another book added to the TBR....thanks Matt ;)!!!
You're welcome!
I really need to start Sun Eater, and this review has made it far more of a priority!
Yeah it's top tier.
It is definitely a really good book. A weird and bold re-writing or a palimpsest on Herbert's Dune and Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. Ruocchio has absorbed the trophes, the storylines, the backdrops, and made them the weave of his own large tapestry. I mean the galactic Empire, the great houses, the gene manipulation, the religious creeds, the gladiatioral prowess from Herbert, the unreliable narrator, the ancient vobulcary, the time scale, even some nomenclatural nodding to Wolfe. Some may find the incessant loans disturbing, I felt like I was parttaking in a tradition. A good story, a delight.
Just finished rereading book 2 and it further cemented my love for the series. I'm obsessed with his writing style and the books feels like it was made for me. FYI, the series will have 7 books with first draft of book 6 sent for review iirc. The author is a great guy who regularly update his progress in his YT channel.
Love to hear it, the more books the merrier!
After watching this review I randomly stopped in Barnes and noble and this book was front and center I figured it was a sign and picked it up! 😂
YES!
I'm reading this series right now. I'm on book 4 and its easily one of my favorite series of all time. Up there with First Law and Wheel of Time for me so far. His Prose is one of my favorite parts of the series.
I absolutely cannot wait to read it!
Okay, you have convinced me, I need to read this book!
Yes, yes you do!
Little point of interest - beyond the audiobooks being great, the attention to detail and care put in to them is much higher than most. He changes the bits where he say things like 'dear reader' to 'dear listener'. Very good audio experience 😁
A modern masterpiece!! Nice review!! I also don’t understand how anything could be better lol. But we’ll see!
Thanks Doan. Onwards to the next 5 star read!
This seriously must be one of my most anticipated book to read this year
I hope you end up loving it Edwin!
@@MattsFantasyBookReviewsJust got it in the mail
Definitely going to check this out. Already added to my huge list of books to read lol
LOL, yeah my TBR is enormous as well!
To me, Red Rising and Leviathan Wake were both a 4 out of 5, and after finishing Empire of Silence rather unimpressed, I just cannot understand how this book can be perceived as equal to those two series starters, let alone surpass them. A 3 out of 5 IMO.
So I made the decision to finally pick up this series based off your review because I have found my views are very close to your opinions; Besides Dungeon Crawler Carl and Stormlight Archive, this is the only book I finished at this length in less than a day. I am hooked.
That's so awesome! And it's the worst one of the series - you are in for a treat. Enjoy!
Seems like you're starting alot of awesome series lately. Many great sequels to look forward to!
Absolutely!
I also love this series! I have heard the term sci-fantasy thrown around to describe things like this and Star Wars. Has the classic fantasy structure and fantasy sensibilities for character and plot while the setting is in a scientifically futuristic world.
Yeah that's a perfect term.
So glad you have found Sun Eater! As Ruocchio himself labels it as Sci-Fantasy so you can call it that. I was amazed at how good of a writer he was for his age as well. Although I think because of the frame narrative people compare him to Rothfuss and I don't see it at all. His sentence structure and use of language is much closer to Robin Hobb in my opinion. I will echo what you have heard, the first book, while amazing, is by far the weakest overall. The leap in quality from book one to book two absolutely blew my mind. I have seen many people have different opinions on which of the next 4 is their favorite but it feels like its less than five out of one hundred that thinks Empire of Silence is the best. Ruocchio is a class act on top of it all. Cannot wait to hear what you think of Howling Dark!!
I absolutely cannot wait to keep reading, thanks for keeping my hype up!
I just finished this book last night! It was SOOOO GOOD!
Yeah, and I hear it's one of the weaker books in the series. We are in for a great experience I think!
Nice review, Matt! I might try to buy and read it since I've been looking for some sci-fi to read this month. By the way, I always loved the thumbnails. Keep it up!
Thanks so much - I've been trying to use some AI on my thumbnails lately to make it look like the cover never ends.
Heard about the series randomly a little while ago and now I'm getting into Disquiet Gods, so good! I love my boy Had
Sun Eater and The Five Warrior Angels are so high on my tbr. Yet somehow i still haven't started either of them yet.
Get to it Tom! :)
The novella The Lesser Devil is also really good and such a compelling story told on a much smaller level. To get so much plot and character development in a novella is unheard of.
Yeah I want to read all the novellas as well in the correct order. Love to hear the praise for it!
Same feel as you abiut sci-fi, well give this one a try. My TBR is growing with discipline I am sure will tackle us many this year.😊
Yes, definitely check this one out!
I always make it to the end of your videos! haha
I can always count on you!
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews 100%
this series just keeps getting better and better enjoy!
Thank you, I can't wait!
My favorite series for sure!
This is one of the best series I’ve ever read.
Maybe the best!
I can't wait to keep reading it!
Finished this a couple of weeks back....this was excellent!
Just finished book one and ,given the quality of the writing, it's insane he's able to put out a book a year.
I need to get to the next 4 books. Loved book 1.
I know this book I would recommend here isn't like this one but I find it to be an amazing pallet cleanser. That is Rendezvous with Rama. Some Sci Fi is big, like Dune and Sun Eater. But then some is less about the characters and loud things happening and more about a quiet and utterly compelling situation. It is short and just hits a scratch for me in the best ways whenever I choose to go through it. But yes, it isn't heavy on story but on the situation. It is my favorite of the overly sciency sci-fi.
Yes definitely check out book 2! And if you want, hop on the discord and we can read at the same time and talk about it.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews might have to go through 1 again. It was a while back and I forget so much. It would be good enough for a reread anyway.
There goes another series into my TBR. I'm never gonna financially recover from all these amazing books. We are spoiled. We are so spoiled!
LOL!
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews lolol
The 1st 2 books in this series has been on my shelf for 2 months now. This just jumped to the top of my TBR. It will also be Mt 1st dive into Scifi
I hope you love it!
Yeah, I picked this up because of book tube. Hope to start in the next week or so. I am hoping it's as good as everybody says, but I have been disappointed by recommendations before.
Ruochhio only gets better. Howling Dark will blow your mind.
Wow I absolutely cannot wait!
I loved this series Matt! Glad you like it! I need to read DG!
Yes you do!
sounds like the sort of book where the concept is more aligned to : it's the journey, not the destination.
May need to give this one a look :3 too few that let the destination be so we can enjoy the road to it
Yeah I think so, but I'll have to check back with you on this when I finish the series. It might very well be aligned to both ideals.
Done, never experienced that much rage from a book and learnt patience
Not a fan?
This was my first introduction into epic sci-fi, and it blew my mind🙌🏼
Yeah, it definitely blew mine as well!
Finally!!! A series that I'm ahead of you on haha 😂. Also, yes I agree it only gets better!
I love to hear it!
Exciting to hear, Matt. I'll accelerate where this first one is on my TBR list. On the sci-fi front, by chance have you read Dune, Hyperion or Book of the New Sun? Those are real giants for me in the SF realm that I think could appeal to a fantasy reader.
I hope you love it!
I want to read this series so much (I'm just waiting until the trade paperbacks are published). I've only heard fantastic things about it. Great to hear you enjoyed it too.
Gosh, thats probably gonna take a long time since the author couldn't promise when the trade paperback is gonna be available for the first 3 books. I just up and buy the mass paperback and fervently pray that the trade paperback will be available later on
@@shinigami2502 Well I think I'm willing to wait. I have a TON of other stuff I need to read and catch up on.
Thanks Josiah, I hope you enjoy it when you come around to it!
Hi 👋 great review video! 🎥😊
Thanks so much Safina!
Really love your reviews and saw this last week and started it yesterday…I’m more a fantasy lover but have read loads of sci fi….enjoying it so far….the prose is excellent….reminds me of the dandelion dynasty series…..which is superb.
Just read the preview of the first 5 chapters of «Empire of Silence», were I caught:
Jadd: The Jaddite Faith from several Guy Gavriel Kay novels (GGK’s mix of Christian Trappings and the Sun Cults from Antiquity: Unsurprising given Ruocchio have stated himself as a fan of GGK, with signed books by him) & Jeddah, an Ancient Port City in Modern Day Saudi Arabia
Birth Vats for the Nobility: «Brave New World» by Aldous Huxley
Hadrian’s home planet of Delos: Greek Island, Holy Site for the worship of Apollo and Artemis and the Athenian-led Delian League which fought Sparta in the Peloponnesian War of the 5th Century BC + The Name of the Mega-Corporation running the parks in «Westworld»
Hadrian’s brother Crispin: The St. Crispin’s Day Speech from «Henry V»
The Alien Antagonists, the Cielcin: Ciel (French: Sky) + sin (Mr. Ruocchio is Catholic, alright! 😄)
Lothrian: Have some similar language structure as the Free City of Lorath from GRRM’s «ASOIAF» + Lotharingia/Lorraine in Modern Day France
Hadrian’s family name Marlowe and their Devil Symbol: Christopher Marlowe wrote «Doctor Faustus», about the eponymous scholar who make a pact with the devil Mephistopheles (+ a reversed color scheme of the Manchester United Devil Logo, given the Marlowes’ English Ancestry?)
The Mother of Hadrian’s Family Name, Kephalos: Cephalus, whom Socrates have a dialogue with in Plato’s «Republic». Cephalus give as a definition of justice «to give each what is owed to them», which Socrates refutes by saying that returning a borrowed knife to someone who has turned mad and might therefore hurt themselves, is not just…(cue philosophizing on justice and madness!😅)
Man I can't wait for your March wrap up... Idk how you'll pick a book of the month this month 🤣
Yeah it'll be hard!
I’m on book 4 and yes, they are all fantastic so far.
So lovely to hear!
Read this cause of your recommendation, and unfortunately I didn't enjoy it very much. Having read "the name of the wind" recently, this felt like a poor scifi imitation.
I found the plot meandering and not very engaging until the last portion, the main character was vaguely likeable but annoyingly pretentious. Its hard to root for him when his likeable qualities are having normal moral principles for someone in the real world.
I felt the prose both didn't effectively paint a picture in my minds eye for me and sometimes went into these long poetic ramblings when there hadnt been anything profound enough to justify it. The romance didn't feel very romantic either.
I've heard the following books get better, but mostly from people who really liked the first one already so I'm not sure if I'll continue reading. I'd give it a 4 or 4.5/10. There were things I liked, but I thought I'd just thought I'd add a critical voice since everyone else seems to really enjoy it
You should do a bookshelf tour!
I actually did one! Search my channel name and "bookshelf" and it will pop up.
I'm scared to start sci-fi again. I finish book 6 of the expanse and I just....ugh. leviathan wakes is IMO top 5 favorite books of all time just to have any where from just okay books from books 2-6. Gonna finish expanse but it's been a struggle.
If it makes you feel any better, I DNFd The Expanse!
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews I bought the whole series xD I'm in it for the...well...I'm in it for something xD
The final 3 Expanse books are far, far better than the middle 3. The series is like a sandwich with mediocre meat and incredibly high quality bread.
@@mvprindle well thats a consolation foe me. Just finished book 5 and was delaying to start book 6 since i'm not in the mood to do so. Will pick it up later when i feel like to
And yeah christopher is an amazingly talented author
The genre you're looking for is sci-fsntasy
Thanks, that term totally makes sense!
Never heard of this before. About to spend an Audible credit and find out
Yes! I hear the audiobook is great as well.
I just finished this book today and you know what, Hadrian is more like Fitz in Space. I am hoping
Hadrian becomes stronger like Rand from WOT finally did. Thank goodness the plot started to became apparent 2/3rds of the way in. I almost DNF’d it…now I am ready to buckle up for Howling Dark!
Amazing novel and series. On book 4 now
everytime he says a book is the best he’s ever read I go and get it immediately, & now I have sooo many books to read 😂
I'm sorry! Also you're welcome! :)
Sci-Fantasy is the word i believe you're looking for!
That's the one, thanks!
Does anybody know if this book is going to be translated to italian? Because i'm interested but i just can't read books in english.
Wish I knew, but I'll try to find out.
Science fantasy is the term you were looking for.
Ah, yeah that makes a lot of sense. Thanks!
When I read Ruocchio I’m reminded how mediocre of a writer I am and how boring many other books are. Glad you enjoyed it
It's absolutely bonkers how good he is!
2 to ramble described this book as "Name of the wind in space". Ill take 20! Lol i love name of the wind. Only 50 pages into EOS and YEP this is for me. I love how BIG the world feels so early on
I don't read very Many sci-fi books either there's a couple of classics and some of the newer ones this book is kind of been on my radar though because it looks so epic your video just made it move up on my TBR thanks man I really appreciate it LMAO like I really need more books on my TBR😂😂 keep up the great content
LOL, yeah give this one a shot - it absolutely rocks.
I never really like scifi, but.... I will try this, damn your review really intrigued me 😂😂😂
I hope you love it. I don't really like scifi either but here we are!
Matt in 2023:
This is the worst book
This is the best book
This is the worst book
This is the best book
Lol it's all good. Glad to see lots of emotions
Yeah it's been such a roller coaster. And tomorrow I have another 1 star, lol!
I have not read Howling Dark yet and I am sure Hadrian is going to grow as the books go on. I found that Hadrian was very similar to Fitz Farseer but in space rather than the six duchies. What do you think?
I know i am the one out here but i gave this one a solid 3, maybe 3.5 if i am being generous. I felt the story was too unfocused and meandering for my tastes. But i felt this way about several popular modern fantasy like John Gwynne and Patrick Rithfuss.
I have seen this breed of story called science fantasy, ie the trapping of scifi but with more of a fantasy feel.
I haven't seen you talk about Dune which might you might like as its another sf that was a big influence on Roucchio and a similar blend of Scifi with a fantasy feel.
I read Dune a long time ago and enjoyed it, but I may do a re-read soon and read some of the sequels afterwards.
Just got this series can't wait to get into it
I think red rising and suneater are the two best scifi series I've read, and well see how they end then compare, as they both have 5 books out, and two more coming out. Both being 7 book series, well see how the next books are
I still prefer red rising, as of now
Yeah I still need to read the most recent Red Rising book. I didn't love the 2nd to last one so it kind of hurt my enthusiasm for the series.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews on my first read I thought that iron gold was my favorite of the four (before dark age came out)
I'm doing my reread before lightbringer comes out, and I'm almost done with golden son, I'd forgotten how much happens in that book, and i liked morning star more so I'm very stoked about picking that up in a few days.
Dark age is phenomenal, honestly such an amazing installment. I know a lot of people had issues with iron gold, but pierce set the stage for the second trilogy (quartet now) with plot lines that I can't imagine having not been able to see, now that I've seen it
Started listening to this book on your recommendation but tbh it kinda slows down after a while.but I am intrigued
I really enjoyed this book unfortunately I haven't been able to read the other books in the series because the library doesn't have them yet
Have you tried requesting your library purchase them? That works for me a lot of the time.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews no I haven't that's a good idea thanks
I’m stuck on 40% through this. The writing is excellent, but I’ve found it a bit slow. Does it pick up?
It does go a little slow after the first act. But I hear future books ramp up the pace.