I Finally Read Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio... (The Sun Eater Book 1) 

Thank you for the kind welcome, Chris! Most importantly, thank YOU for the great story. So excited to find out what's next. Soon! :)

YES!!!

Precisely. Look, I love The Name of the Wind. But just because Name of the Wind popularized framed narratives, doesn't mean he invented it. He, too, borrowed a LOT of elements from Earthsea, to mention one. I can't believe the accusations and some snippets delayed me from reading it.

@@PetrikLeo Sun Eater reminds me a lot more of Gene Wolfe than Name of the Wind, especially in tone. The parts I've read of Name of the Wind seem fairly jolly.

Thanks, Nicholas! A wonderful blending of sci-fi and epic fantasy indeed. :)

Thank you! I have a feeling this is going to become one of my favorite series, too! :)

Yeah, I keep hearing the next two books are superior to Empire of Silence. That's amazing when I already love the first book this much. Looking forward to reading Howling Dark soon! :)

Happy to join the ship! I look forward to reading Howling Dark and Demon in White before the year ends! :)

Heck yeah! I look forward to seeing how it will rank on my list!

Sun Eater surpassed Red Rising as my favourite goes.

Wow I'm waiting g on book 7 for red rising so seeing these comments just sold me on starting this series as red rising has my heart

Thank you, my friend! Very pumped to start reading Howling Dark this month! :)

Thank you so much! You make me incredibly excited to read Demon in White in November. But first, Howling Dark this month! :)

Same. It’s a perfect book. Second best ever for me.

Took me a while to start this, but happy to finally do so. Will read the sequel and have a review up here, too! :)

Thank you so much! I'll try to have a review for each book posted on my channel! :)

Definitely should pick it up if you love space opera! :)

@@PetrikLeoDone ! So many rabbit holes ! Might as well call me Bugs Bunny at this point 😂

The Lies of Locke Lamora is awesome. Happy reading to you, too! I hope you will love Empire of Silence as much as I did when you get to it! :)

You're in for a treat! Wish I can be anyone who hasn't read this series just so I can read it all over again for the first time!

I agree! 😄

It's worth starting it. At the very least, next year, because the series will end at the end of 2024! :)

Alright, good to know! I'll move it up in my priorities so I don't miss the discussions around the ending.

I have read only Empire of Silence and I can already see the big potential this will become one of my favorite series of all time. I look forward to reading more. Also, just saying, I love your youtube channel! So cool of you to stop by my channel! :)

@@PetrikLeo Thank you for the kind words. I always enjoy your reviews.

Thank you so much! I definitely will continue with the series soon. I hope you will, too! :)

It's amazing. I am so pumped to read Howling Dark. Empire of Silnece was so damn incredible already, imo. :)

Thank you! I'm excited to continue! :)

Thank you! I will be reading Lesser Devil early next week. And I will keep your advice into account on Howling Dark. With Ruocchio's prose, though, I doubt I'll ever feel bored. :)

Thank you so much! I'm pleased with everyone's kind welcome and recommendation. Robin Hobb's writing style/version of Red Rising sounds about right, really. Fitz told his story in a diary, too. I will certainly read Lesser Devil and Howling Dark this month! :)

Arghh, I hope the other books will appear in your library soon! :)

Request them! Mine only had the first two books and I requested they get the others one every month or so until I was able to catch up. Sometimes it won't fit in their budget, but I've found that most libraries are interested in hearing what their patrons want.

Thank you so much, Esmay! I had such a blast reading this book. Definitely will read the rest of the series soon! :)

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it! :)

I love this one so much, Karin. I think you will have a great time with it, too! :)

Thank you so much, Dino! Such a great debut. I will read Howling Dark soon! 😆

Thank you, Liam! Looking forward to the next one!

Hahah I know right! And damn, those are three most often recommended series to try Sun Eater! :D

I have heard a lot of great things about Hamilton's books. I have to add his books to my TBR pile! :)

Hear hear! Glad to hear the audiobook is great, too!

Would you recommend Sun Eater to someone who finds Dune boring?

@@guruthosamarthruin4459 Oh, absolutely. The one thing that really reminds me of Dune in this particular book is the litany he uses about controlling his fear, I forget the exact quote. But other than that, I think this is a brilliant, well crafted story that stands on its own two feet.

I think other than the fear litanies, I couldn't find anything else here that reminded me of Dune. 😂 Definitely looking forward to the sequels!

@@PetrikLeo I think the nuclear armistice and power dynamics, the way his house is kind of a mix of Harkenon and Atreides, his fall of grace, his betrayal by his family, and the fact that the way the galaxy operates (control of technology, religious orders to weave bloodlines) plus the feel of the novel are the reasons people compare it to dune.

It was soooo good! :)

@@PetrikLeo wait till you finish Demon in white, Ruocchio is a master of his craft.

May the adventure be amazing for both of us!

That makes me even more excited to continue. I'll make sure to read Howling Dark this month! The goal is to read up to Ashes of Man before the release of Disquiet Gods. Also, yes. I totally agree with you. I did not feel Empire of Silence every plagiarized anything from Name of the Wind or Dune. Some people just want their favorites to stay as the only books (according to them) using some story elements borrowed from somewhere else.

Who knows, it might happen someday. There is the diamond edition already, though. But it's sold out.

Thank you so much! Definitely do it. I loved this and yet feel I'm only at the beginning of something special! :)

Thank you! You have to read this, Kirsten. It's incredible. And everyone said the next books are even better! :)

Thank you! It was soooo good! :)

You will love this, Josh! I'm sure!

Hahaha, I loved it! Definitely read them as soon as you can! :)

I plan to do that! But wait, I thought Tales of Sun Eater volume 1 is after Demon in White. Did I get that wrong? :D

@@PetrikLeo Yeah, the order is as follows according to Christopher Ruocchio himself: Empire of Silence; The Lesser Devil; Howling Dark; Queen Amid Ashes; Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 1; Demon in White; Tales of the Sun Eater, Vol. 2; Kingdoms of Death; and Ashes of Man.

@@Bluenamii i'm writing this down! Thank you. I plan to get to Demon in White before the end of the year! 😁

Thank you so much! I'm pretty excited about reading them all! :)

Thank you! I think I have heard the series being compared to Book of the New Sun, too, in its inspirations. I haven't read Book of the New Sun, though!

The later books yes, but Ruocchio hadn't actually read any Wolfe until after he had written EOS and maybe Howling Dark as well. He's talked about it before on his channel.

After multiple delays, I finally read it! 😂😂 It seems like everyone agree Howling Dark or Demon in White are superior. So excited to read them soon!

I think that Howling Dark have my favorite ending ever. You're not prepared for it (and I'm happy for you for this!) Without spoilers: have you enjoy the character of Cat?

@@matteodallavalle7762 absolutely! Loved Cat. Her friendship with Hadrian amidst the dark times was precious. 😊

@@PetrikLeoI think the same! Can't wait for your opinion about Howling Dark. Have a nice read... by one of your Italian fan 😁

Definitely not a 1:1 copy. And I guess I haven't read enough of Dune (only read the first book) to catch that Paul Atreides is responsible for billions of deaths like Hadrian. Haha, I saw that Lorian novella! It's a big novella!

Thank you, Zen!!

@@PetrikLeo Welcome!!

Well, consider me super excited to read the next two ASAP! :)

Definitely put it on your radar! The series is ending in about a year from now! 😄

Not yet! The Book of the New Sun is still on my TBR pile. I have wanted to read it for years now, but still couldn't find the right time and mood to commit to it! :)

Haha wouldn't say it's a crime, I LOVE Red Rising, too. But this one definitely deserves WAY MORE readership! :)

@@PetrikLeo Red rising is good, apart from the first book. But it is not nearly as well written as the sun eater.

Haha! It's been a while. I'm glad I managed to read it. Now I will catch up to the series in the next few months! 😁

@@PetrikLeo Enjoy!

Thank you so much! I'm so excited to continue with the series this month. The first book is already this good. Can't imagine how great the next one will be. 😁

It's probable I will gush my way through the series. 😂😂

Woohoo! I can hear your excitement from you. I'll try to get my review of Howling Dark up this month or early next month! :)

Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm just happy I have a new series to obsess over haha. I have finished Howling Dark and it's somehow even better than Empire of Silence! I will have a review for it up this week! :)

Nice. Haha, I didn't know about the accuracy of GGK's influence because I am not a fan of his books, but you're spot on that Ruocchio is Catholic. Definitely continue reading the book. It's awesome!

@@PetrikLeo Ruocchio mentioned being a fan of GGK in his interview, especially of his Byzantine Empire-inspired duology «The Sarantine Mosaic» (Book 1 «Sailing to Sarantium», was my favorite read of 2022, but to be fair, the majority seems to prefer book 2 «Lord of Emperors»). Which GGK books have you tried? Roucchio also mentioned the mythical figure Cid Arthur being a mix of Siddhartha and King Arthur, in his interview with «Talking Story»!

@@PetrikLeo Carcassoni: The Southern French City of Carcassonne, famous Cathar Stronghold during the 13th Century Albigensian Crusade (+The City of Carcosa from the Lovecraft Mythos) Eusebia: Feminine variant of Eusebius (Eusebius of Caesarea, who is credited for converting Roman Emperor Constantine the Great to Christianity) EOS: Now «Xenobite» is literally just Greek for something to akin to «Foreign Lifeform», but I can not help but think that it have also become future slang for «scary alien», born from a fusion of the Cenobites from the «Hellraiser» Franchise & the Xenomorphs from the «Alien» Franchise! 😆 The Colosseum of Meidua, the Dome of Bright Carvings, reference the Bright Carvers from «Gormenghast» & Bright Weavings (GGK’s webpage), and the unfair Gladiatorial Batte Reenactments are similar to both historical examples as well as the ones in «Gladiator». The hoodlum on a motorcycle (using petrol!) attacking Hadrian with a lead pipe is straight out of the anime/manga «Akira»! 😄 Montante: Another name for a Zweihander sword Vilicus: Latin for «supervisor» House Orin: Orin is the name of the Main Character in the 80s animated Sci-Fantasy Movie «Starchasers», a character in David Foster Wallace’s «Infinite Jest», and Aquaman’s treacherous half-brother, and their conflict with Hadrian’s Father is not unlike the destruction of House Reyne by Tywin Lannister from George RR Martins «A Somg of Ice & Fire» (made famous by the song «The Rains of Castamere»). The Isle of Karch: Karch is a Nation in GGK’s «Jad-verse» Royse Field: Rolls-Royce? The Star of Gododdin, comes from «Y Gododdin», a Medieval Welsh Poem about the Heroes of the «Old North» Brythonic Kingdom of Gododdin, lost to the Anglo Saxon Conquest of England Lictors: The Public Bodyguard of Roman Elected Officals Logothetes: Greek «Bureaucrat» The Festival of Boedromion: Ancient Athenian Summer Festival in honor of Apollo aiding Athens in wars Anagnost, novices in the Chantry: «Anagnosis» is Greek for «Re-knowledge», so something akin to «re-educated» The Space Opera Poster of «Tiada, Princess of Thrax»: Verdi’s «Aida», the Thracian Slave Rebellion Leader Spartacus and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars/«Princess of Mars» The Spaceship Eurynasir: Eury is Greek «wide», and nasir is Arabic for «(male) helper» Saltus reminded me of the Epsilions of «Brave New World» mixed with some «Blade Runner» and Hadrian’s revulsion towards the «Natural Born» Gilliam is akin to the revulsion most in the «World Stats» has against John the Savage in «Brave New World» The Planet of Emesh: The Sumerian God of vegetation and summer, but also Emesa (an Ancient Syrian City famous for it’s Sun God venerated by Emperor Aurelian and the Priest-King family which married into the Roman Severian Imperial Dynasty, producing infamous Emperors such as Elagabalus and Caracalla), the Emishi of Japan («Barbarians»/native population displaced by/assimilated into the Japanese: Prince Ashitaka in the animated Fatasy Movie «Princess Mononoke» is one!) and Emese (Mythical Scythian Ancestral Mother of the Hungarian Royal Line) Planet with Two moons, similar to many of GGK’s worlds! Lucas Skye: Luke Skywalker! 😄 Umandh: h-uman(i)d? U(n)man? Sulis: Celtic Diety worshiped at the Roman Thermic Baths at Bath, England The Cousland Drakes PMC: Cousland is a Noble Family in the Fantasy Video Game «Dragon Age»! 😄 The Arch-Builders of Ozymandias: The Famous Poem «Ozymandias» by Percy Shelly, «Look at my works, ye mighty, and despair!»😄 The Continent of Anshar: A Primordial Mesopotamian God, «The Whole Sky», King of the Gods before replaced by his son Marduk Aldia Di Otranto, the High Prince of Jadd: «The Castle of Otranto» by Horace Walpole, the first Gothic Novel! Alcaz du Badr: Arabic for «The Alcazar («Castle») of the Full Moon» Sign of the Sun Disk: GGK’s «Jad-verse»! 😄 Danu: Scythian for «river» (found in the name of several European Rivers, such as the Danube and Don Rivers), Reconstructed Indo-European Water Goddess from the Hindu Primeval Water Goddess and the Reconstructed Mother Goddess of the Tuatha De Danann of Irish Myth Pallino: Italian for «Bullet»/«Little Ball» Luin: The Luin of Celtchar, a legendary spear/lance in Irish Myth, «Blue» in Tolkien’s Sindarin (as in the Blue Wizards, «Ithryn Luin») Mandyas: Greek «Mantle», kape used by Orthodox Monastics and Crusader Knights Olorin: Gandalf’s Quenya Name! 😄 Sepulchre: A Cavern Tomb, as in the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem

Yeah, I finished Demon in White and I'm mindblown by how good it was!

It is truly astounding. Glad you love Sun Eater, too. Ashes of Man is a great one. I will start reading Disquiet Gods soon!!

I totally agree with you about the spoilers! They hooked me to continue and pay attention to certain aspects more! 😄

Totally understandable. I seems to have such a soft spot for this kind of flashback narration! :)

I'm also not a huge fan of the protag and the more I learn about him the less I like him- and the more grating his story/tone is. I almost want him to fail. Which again.. makes it compelling. Which leads me to being fan of the book/series.

I have a LOT to catch up! 🤣

@@PetrikLeo But it only gets better :) As for the comparison with Dune. Among other things I can see it in a way how history of the world is based on Earth but current plot so far the in the future that in both ways the true origin is kinda mystical in nature, etc

That's the plan. I'm reading Lesser Devil next week. And then Howling Dark soon after that! :)

Haha you're welcome! I certainly hope you will love this as much as we did. I think it is on par with Red Rising Saga in a different way. Both of them are my favorite sci-fi series of all time! :)

Yeah! Uthred's style of narration in Saxon Tales is not far off, even if the prose is completely different. Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings or maybe Richard Swan's Justice of Kings is a great comparison in terms of narration style, too. In these two series, we are reading the diary of the main narrator, and the narration sometimes talks about what has happened in the future. The same as Hadrian's!

Awesome! That's what I did, too, before starting this series!

Thank you! One at a time!! 😆 Sun Eater is my priority at the moment!

Thank you so much! You have to let me know your thoughts on this book once you read it. I think it's awesome! 😃

Thank you! I will share my thoughts on Howling Dark after I read it this month! 😁

He wasn't wise, for sure! If you do continue, fingers crossed you'll end up liking it! :)

Thank you! I'll try to leave a review once I'm done with each main novel! :)

Must be destiny! 😄

Happy to be here! The excitement to start Howling Dark is so strong!

Please start asap! I’m so excited to hear your thoughts❤

Nice. Thanks for the recommendation!

That's what I did. I read all of Red Rising Saga first. I don't want to juggle two big sci fi series. 😅

@@PetrikLeo exactly. Same thing keeping me from starting the Expanse

Take your time. Reading at the right mood is awesome. 😄

I don't think Hadrian is ever meant to be a heroic protagonist. But I'm still early into the series. Also, this just means I have to check out Deathstalker series. Never heard of that one before! :)

@@PetrikLeo You may be right about Hadrian, Petrik. I do hope someday/ or year you will be able to partake in the Deathstalker series. Epic space opera entertainment. But for now please do enjoy the Empire of SIlence series. Didn't mean to derail you, sir.✌

EARTH AND EMPIRE

I'm FINALLY here!! :)

Looking forward to reading them! 😄

I understand that. This is why I mentioned the story and pacing essentially restart once Hadrian arrived in Borosevo meeting new characters and navigating new intrigues. But as far as prose goes, I never have any issue with it and I think it's absolutely beautiful. Hobb and GGK actually came to mind when I was reading his prose, and to think this was done when the author was in his early 20's is mindblowing to me.

Interesting! I didn't think of that, but I can definitely see how it would be interesting! :)

Thank you, Paromita!

Yeah! Indonesia, Chinese Mandarin, and English are the three languages I speak. I know a little about Japanese but I wouldn't consider myself fluent at it. :)

Yesss 😄

I knowww. That's crazy. I loved this one very much already! 😅

Looking forward to reading the sequels!

Sounds like a great plan! 😊

The first book? Totally, imo. I highly enjoyed Red Rising, but EoS is a better book.

Definitely add it to your TBR. The series is coming an end too next year. I know right? I find it more interesting to see how the author intergrate the inspirations into their work. 😁

@@PetrikLeo The first book is actually free on Audible right now (maybe part of the plus catalog??) so I'll be starting it sooner than I thought!

I don't think it's bogged down in world-building! If you like GRRM and First Law and Red Rising, you should be good to go, imo!

@@PetrikLeo awesome thanks!

Ring ring ring ring!

Thanks! Happy reading to you too!

Never give up hope! 😂

Yeah, a week ago. 😂😂

@@PetrikLeo no, I mean like waaaaaaay back before now, like years ago. It's mandela effect, I guess

@@elstriker2020 hahaha nope! This is the first time I'm reading it. 😁 Will be reading Lesser Devil next week!

Space opera IS a part of science fiction. I'll call it both especially because the author says it too

Nothing wrong with that! It's your experience. I know plenty of readers who disliked EoS too. 😁