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Empire of Silence

The universe-spanning science fiction epic

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Empire of Silence

By: Christopher Ruocchio
Narrated by: John Lee
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About this listen

Hadrian Marlowe, privileged first son of a Duke, was destined for greatness, and he has become a legend. The Sun-Slayer. The Breaker of Sieges. The Crusher of Civilisations. His is a story which defined the course of worlds.

This novel is not that story - not the only laid out in the history books, charting the 300 years of his life. Rather this is Hadrian's story, told in his own worlds. Of being passed over by his father for rule in favour of his younger brother and sent to a military academy against his wishes. Of being kidnapped in transit to that planet and sold into slavery on a planet at the edge of our war against the Cielcen...and of how he used their eventual attack to claw his way back into the dangers and opportunities of politics.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2018 Christopher Ruocchio (P)2018 Orion Publishing Group Dystopian Military Science Fiction Space Opera Fiction Cyberpunk Adventure
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This is a fantastic opener to a series I can tell is going to be an epic. It’s slow, but stick with it. The audio took time to get used to; the narrator was wonderful but unfortunately the volume was very low and oddly variable, so it made it hard to listen to. However it’s not an insurmountable problem.

Excellent

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Nearly devoured this in a single sitting
Can't wait to see what happens next woof woof

Empire of Silence Mac approved

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I stumbled across this book while looking for some new space opera and this certainly ticks the boxes.
The story is engaging, with plenty of emotion, plots and intrigue.
The narrator does a superb job reminiscing about Hadrian's life, does a good job with the various voices and emotions throughout the story.
If your looking for fast paced all out action, then this won't be for you, but if you love world and character building taken to a very detailed level then this will be perfect.

A solid start

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The book borrows heavily from other notable space fantasy staples, most notably Dune - but with the narrative style of The Name of the Wind. While still listenable, I found this to match up to neither. Well written prose, but the plotting is too slow and the overly descriptive narrative, combined with John Lees particular style, made this a frustrating listen, especially towards the end. Too much talk and not enough action, combined with a first person narrative from an MC who is simply not that endearing.

I came away with 'Anthony Ryan' vibes, and not in a good way. That said, there was enough here to try the second book and hope things improve.

Well written prose but lacking any real 'meat'.

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Yes get this book and listen to it.
a great performance an amazing story and this is just the beginning. I'm glad I started this year with this book.

this was amazingly good book

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