Empire of Silence
Christopher Ruocchio's debut launches the Sun Eater sequence, a far-future space opera that wears its love for Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun on its sleeve. Hadrian Marlowe writes his memoirs from a prison cell, far in his old age, addressing a future that has not yet decided whether to call him a hero or a war criminal. The first volume traces his early life as the heir of an aristocratic Imperial house, his refusal to enter the inquisitorial Chantry, his shipwreck on a backwater planet, his years in the gladiatorial arenas, and the slow opening of his quarrel with the alien Cielcin that will define the rest of the saga. Ruocchio writes with an antique register, dense world-building, and a long view of an entire life. A foundational gateway to one of contemporary space opera's most ambitious projects.
Where Empire of Silence keeps showing up
Three of our editors' lists feature this novel.
What you might want to know about Empire of Silence
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
In a far-future feudal interstellar empire, the convicted war criminal Hadrian Marlowe writes his own life from a prison world. The first book follows his disinheriting, his exile, and his early years in the colosseum.
Christopher Ruocchio has published seven Sun Eater novels so far: Empire of Silence, Howling Dark, Demon in White, Kingdoms of Death, Ashes of Man, Disquiet Gods, and an additional volume. The series is planned to continue.
Empire of Silence is widely compared to Dune for its sweeping interstellar empire, philosophical scope, and morally complex protagonist. Other comparisons include The Name of the Wind for the first-person retrospective storytelling.
Empire of Silence was written by Christopher Ruocchio, published in 2020 by DAW.
Empire of Silence is 612 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Empire of Silence takes most readers 9 to 13 hours to finish.
Empire of Silence is a standalone novel by Christopher Ruocchio, not part of a series.
Empire of Silence is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
