REVIEW for Empire of Silence - Brilliantly Written Beginning!

I have FINALLY made my way into The Sun Eater Saga and I am dying to get to the next book!

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John at Talking Story
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[brentasmith]

I love seeing people find and fall in love with this series. The books just get better.

[stephen]

Don’t often comment, but your content is fantastic and your passion for the material is infectious.

I’ll certainly be adding this to my TBR, keep up the great work!

[tgibridays]

Great review, John. You're definitely a smarter cat than I. I get the feeling the more read/knowledgeable you are the more you'll get out of these books. Like I don't know anything about Siddhartha.

The next two novels are two of my favorites. They're truly special in my opinion.

[nmal]

Enjoyed every bit of this review ❤️ I’m so glad it’s finally getting the attention it deserves. It’ll just keep getting better and better so you’re in for a treat my friend! Favorite series of all time right here. Your review got me excited to start my reread of this masterpiece. Love the new backdrop btw!

[TonyTheJabroni]

Hey, John, I just found your channel from your talk with Mike and couldn't subscribe fast enough. Love your energy, passion, and presentation. This review was absolutely phenomenal in its depth and editing. I'm about halfway through Empire of Silence and love it so far. It definitely deserves the praise it is finally getting.

[MacScarfield]

Here are all the references I caught in «Empire of Silence» (apologies for being late, already well into «Howling Dark»!😅):
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: The Alphas from «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 might be 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!😅)

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! 😄
The Sepulchre: A Cavern Tomb, as in the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem

[esmayrosalyne]

Such a good and nuanced review, this was actually super helpful in knowing what to expect when I will finally dip my toes in myself. So far I've only seen pure gush reviews, so I appreciate hearing you discuss some things that worked a little less for you (while still showing how incredibly impressed you are with the book overall) 😄
Also, thanks for sharing that passage... absolutely knocked my socks off!!
Can't wait to start this series next year. I hope the sequels live up to your expectations. From all I've heard, there are MAJOR timejumps between the books, but it seems like Ruocchio pulled them off so I am cautiously optimistic! Great review 🤩

[someokiedude]

I haven't read this book, though I have a friend of mine who didn't really care for it, but he said that he enjoyed the ending enough to read the second one, much to my bafflement. But I must say I am impressed with your knowledge of myth and lore, I also enjoyed hearing you talk about your theater experience. This is one of those series that I've been hesitant one, but I enjoyed your review a lot. Keep it up!

[hobbitholebooks]

Fantastic review! I cannot wait for my diamond edition to arrive next year. I'm fascinated by your discussion of philosophy and your history with theatre, would love to hear more!

[AbnerHolsinger]

An amazing book, but it is more of a foundation or prequel to the arc of the full series; the full series is a rollercoaster ride with moments of slow contemplation followed by sudden accelerations, whipsaw twists, epic highs and devastating lows for Hadrian and his companions. Hadrian is a great flawed character, he tries to do right but is often compelled by both his emotions and the chains of his relation to the various powers that swirl around him.

[sharihoutman]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I knew you would. I gave it a 4.5 so we were close. The novella you're about to begin is from Hadrian's brother's POV and the pace is much faster. I'll be starting the 2nd novel as soon as I finish the Expanse (probably next month). So, I'll get to see if your predictions are correct.

[carlosbranca]

I'm interested in CR novels but am a little scared of the size of the series, i like my reading very diverse and committing to seven huge books is difficult for me. I just bought the first 4 Books of the New Sun which are Ruochio's favorite and primary influence i think. That's my december reading. Great video.

[Izzyzilreads]

I adore this book, the prose, worldbuilding and Hardrian as a character are excellent

[Avzigoyhbasilsikos]

Love this
Next book might feel slower but the writing and impact is way better with one of the best ending segments in sci-fi/fanatsy

[MCBGamer]

This book was so insanely good it is one of two books I am hunting for a hardcover on now.

[BooksWithBenghisKahn]

Great review, and you’re in for the journey of a lifetime with the sequels.

[BookishChas]

Happy day after thanksgiving John! This was an amazing review, and I can’t wait to start this series.

[BrianBell]

glad we are on the same track with this series! I'm starting Howling Dark next week :) I think same with Christopher Navo. Also you are a smart cat. All the other smart cats at CAT MENSA agree.

[X-FActR]

How did i miss the release of this review? I'd been waiting for you to get to it. So happy you loved.... You're in for a treat.

[readbykyle]

Excellent review! I just reread this one and I still find it a little disjointed and plodding with pacing, but the character, dialogue, worldbuilding, themes....all excellent. The rest of the series is absolutely incredible!