Empire of Silence

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.

Read what everyone is saying about Empire of Silence:

'A good read . . . a space opera with a feudal, in many ways medieval society where religion holds sway and heretics are extravagantly tortured . . . most of the technology is like magic . . . I've not read sci-fi of this type for some time' Mark Lawrence, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Prince of Thorns

'The Name of the Wind but in space . . . an excellent SF story' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'Everything from the dialogue, the action, to the worldbuilding is simply excellent and I loved damn near every page of this book' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'A fantastic interstellar fantasy tale . . . Just terrific and leaves you waiting desperately for the next instalment in this new series' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'Great protagonist, great supporting cast, incredibly creative worldbuilding, in a world that feels truly huge' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'Superb. It really is a mix of Dune & Name of the Wind. Brilliant insightful writing too. One of the most refreshing space operas to come along in years. Loved. It' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'This book took me for one hell of a ride, that's for sure . . . It kept me reading for hours and hours at a time' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

“An intricate and well-thought-out plot, a propulsive narrative, and a smooth-as-silk prose... an excellent SF story and a book to look out for.”

Empire of Silence is epic science fiction at its most genuinely epic. Ruocchio has made something fascinating here, and I can't wait to see what he does next

Empire of Silence is a rich tapestry of future history and worldbuilding, a galactic-sized story of a hero, a tyrant, but portrayed as a man

A craftsman of rare ability, Christopher Ruocchio lures you into a future filled with danger, action, irony, vaulting prose, and a few, precious dollops of hope

Fun in lots of ways, packed with technology which works like magic - Mark Lawrence

Christopher Ruocchio is a debut novelist writing in the tradition of Dune and The Book of the New Sun. He is an editorial assistant working for a US publishing house, and lives in North Carolina, USA.

You can learn more at cruoochio.wordpress.com or by following @CPRuocchio on twitter.

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. Read what everyone is saying about Empire of Silence : ' A good read . . . a space opera with a feudal, in many ways medieval society where religion holds sway and heretics are extravagantly tortured . . . most of the technology is like magic . . . I've not read sci-fi of this type for some time ' Mark Lawrence, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Prince of Thorns 'The Name of the Wind but in space . . . an excellent SF story' Goodreads reviewer, ' Everything from the dialogue, the action, to the worldbuilding is simply excellent and I loved damn near every page of this book' Goodreads reviewer, ' A fantastic interstellar fantasy tale . . . Just terrific and leaves you waiting desperately for the next instalment in this new series' Goodreads reviewer, ' Great protagonist, great supporting cast, incredibly creative worldbuilding, in a world that feels truly huge' Goodreads reviewer, 'Superb. It really is a mix of Dune & Name of the Wind . Brilliant insightful writing too. One of the most refreshing space operas to come along in years . Loved. It' Goodreads reviewer, 'This book took me for one hell of a ride, that's for sure . . . It kept me reading for hours and hours at a time' Goodreads reviewer, #11;

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.