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, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'Set in a sweeping sci-fi political landscape that rivals anything constructed by Herbert . . . This is great, great stuff. 5-stars' Justin Call, author of Master of Sorrows


Genre: Science Fiction

"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." - Kevin J Anderson

"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." - David Brin

"Empire of Silence packs in action and erudition in equal measure. This is a gripping first installment in a space opera that delivers both high-adrenaline thrills and hard-earned wisdom about the human spirit." - D J Butler

"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." - James S A Corey

"Empire of Silence has the sweep and political complexity of Dune (though no sandworms). It builds to a blazing climax, followed by a satisfying conclusion. I recommend the book." - David Drake

"Christopher Ruocchio's Empire of Silence is epic-scale space opera in the tradition of Iain M.Banks and Frank Herbert's Dune, without being a clone of either of them. His is a welcome new voice in science fiction." - Eric Flint

"A richly imagined epic, briskly and vividly told." - R M Meluch