Howling Dark: Book Two (Sun Eater)

Christopher Ruocchio is a very intelligent author who reveals the ending of his epic tale at the very start of the story. He then manages to make it one of the most unpredictable and thrilling of journeys for the reader. We know where Hadrian Marlowe ends up, and what he did. But as we read the books, we slowly discover the how and the why.Another aspect of this series that I’ve loved so far is that unlike most fantasy series (this is science fantasy, after all, hence the comparison), where the stories seem to be one large epic saga broken down into 3-5 books, if not more, the first two books of the Sun Eater series are actually very different from each other. Yes, they continue the adventures of Hadrian, but the stories themselves are very unlike each other. If you loved Empire of Silence, don’t worry, you’ll love Howling Dark too, but for completely different reasons.Finally, must mention the world-building itself. Epic, awe inspiring, and in certain chapters and settings in both of the books, jaw dropping as well. Once again, must give credit to the author for creating a world as epic as it can get. Also, must mention the effort the author put into creating the locations, people, aliens, linking it with our own cultures, religion, philosophy, history, etc, to make everything seem so real.Very highly recommended!

rating. I think it was both more and less of what I expect expected it would be based on the last book. The world building ramps up (it feels so wast and real and terrifying), the chararcters and conflict become more complex and interesting. There were some heartbreaking scenes and Hadrian is a very interesting character to follow. The few issues I had were that I struggled to fully immerse myself in the story at times, not sure why, and that the narrative being told by Hadrian himself in the far future robs me of the chance to experience and figure some things out for myself. For example, he makes a decision, which I feel is the right decision and fully support him in, and then not three sentances later future Hadrian tells us 'yeah that was a mistake'. By the end of the book I can see why, but I would have loved to have had more time to discover that for myself as I think it was made clear by the events and interractions depicted. It's little things, but it would be more impactful if the author held off on these introspections for even a few chapters as I constantly found myself stumbling over feeling one way and immediatelly being told, not shown, I was wrong.Otherwise, a great book. If Amazon allowed it, I would rate it slightly higher than the first and give it a 4.25 and with the way this ended Im hoping the next will only improve.

Fantastic book, great payoff. Really enjoyed seeing the internal struggle of the main character. The plot is great and the world building is amazing. Would highly recommend.

I started reading this series after seeing great reviews on tik tok, the first book was a great start , but this book the howling dark is amazing, the writing and characters are brilliant, read the book in 2 days,

I found the first book enthralling even though the location dominated the overall picture. The author drilled down into the depths of Hadrians id propelling is motivations and explaining his choice of actions. The second book had the feel of editorial input. I still massively enjoyed it though. Just the the way ship speeds were mentioned which didn’t chime with the feel of the text. A small quibble and I’m a fan of some technical aspects too. I’m looking forward to book three.

Amazing book. I live the characters and how the world is so built

Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio is the second book in the Sun Eater series. This sequel continues our main protagonist Hadrian Marlowe’s journey across the galaxy, which was established in the first book, Empire of Silence, and takes it to extraordinary heights.Our story begins with a time jump as 48 years have passed since the events of the first book. During this time Hadrian has been scouring the galaxy with his comrades in search of the alien race, Cielcin, who are the cause of the devastating annihilation of many worlds. His sole mission is to find the planet Vorgossos, where the aliens are rumoured to inhabit, and he is to make a peace treaty with them. So far he has been unsuccessful; that is until he becomes aware of a man who may finally give him an indication of where this fabled planet might be found. In Howling Dark, the stakes are raised, and failure could cost millions of lives.Let me start off by saying a little about what I loved from the first book, Empire of Silence. It was an ambitious debut to say the least. The book included some fantastic well fleshed out world building; with various creatures and aliens represented, Ruocchio also incorporated a fantastic literary first person narration with Hadrian’s character, which showed him to be naive and flawed, but also very endearing. I found that in Howling Dark, the profound prose continued, the narrative style was still lyrical, it flowed seamlessly, and was often melodramatic, but this suited Hadrian’s character perfectly. I know that some readers may find the writing style too ‘flowery’, but keep in mind that Hadrian is an aristocrat, therefore this style does serve a purpose.I truly loved Hadrian’s voice, although at times he is represented as stubborn and immature, his narration is reflecting on events from his life from an older perspective; his voice is often melancholic as he gives the reader a full account on his mistakes, and all the regrets he now has. In Howling Dark, lets just say, Hadrian has a lot of regrets.~‘Here I was, past the end of the world. Chasing a place out of legends on the word of a creature out of nightmare. I’d become like the mad pirates of Old Earth, drunk on stories of the golden city and the waters of life. Like those pirates, I’d lost much of what I had in pursuit of my goal...’~Now, let me discuss the world building. This book was much darker than it’s predecessor, which I entirely welcomed. The worlds which were explored in the book were that bit more sinister, and quite frankly much more bizarre. Once again, Ruocchio incorporated a lot of various alien creatures, some of which were downright monstrous. To name but a few, we had; Cielcin, which were just as threatening as ever, Exhalted, who came in many forms, SOM’s which were basically slaves, even sexbots, and the often very creepy Homunculus’. The way Howling Dark defined all these different species as having their own culture, own language, religion, and their own set of characteristics, enriched the story tenfold.Overall, although I found Howling Dark much slower than the first book, this is still a worthy sequel that by the end elevates the entire story. If you like your sci-fi broad in scope, if you’re a fan of lyrical prose, and you want to see some freaky alien monsters, then read this series.