Howling Dark: Book Two (Sun Eater)

Second volume in the 'Sun Eater' series of epic far future science fiction novels. This began with 'Empire of Silence.'And this volume is absolutely not a jumping on point, so new readers should start with that one.Those who have read it, read on.This one runs for six hundred and fifty six pages. It has seventy nine chapters. It is absolutely not the end of the story. And there is some strong language, violence, and mild adult moments.Picking up from the end of book one, Hadrian and colleagues are still looking for the planet of Vorgossos. And thus the alien Cielcin, and hopefully a chance to make peace with them. But their destination still remains elusive.Hadrian is prepared to make very hard choices in order to find what he is looking for. And should he succeed, even harder ones will await. As his elder self, who is telling us this story, knows full well...There's nothing to refresh your memory for book one. All the character glossaries and appendices and the like are at the back of the book. So this is one of those ones that will take a little while to get back into.But all the things I liked about book one remain. It is readable. It is doesn't go overboard with world building, and thus is easily accessible. The narrative device of the elder Hadrian telling the story and occasionally interjecting works really well. It's also very inventive when it does do world building. With strange beings and new worlds and the like.Steadily, you get back into quicker than you would expect to. And the supporting cast do start to come to life again as well.The narrative also does keep moving. It is a very big book, but it does move the story along steadily throughout. It does feel very epic, and also part of a greater whole. Thus although it has advanced a bit by the end, there is a long way clearly still to go. And yet it feels ok. Because it feels like it's taking just the right time to tell the story it has to tell. Thus it held me throughout.A solid second volume in this series. I look forward to the next one.

In this, the second book of the Sun Eater Sequence, Hadrian Marlowe’s life begins to spiral out of control. Seeing what happened to him in Empire of Silence, that’s saying something.Here’s the blurb for Howling Dark:*******Hadrian Marlowe is lost.For half a century, he has searched the farther suns for the lost planet of Vorgossos, hoping to discover a way to contact the elusive alien Cielcin. He has pursued false leads for years among the barbarian Normans as captain of a band of mercenaries, but Hadrian remains determined to make peace and bring an end to nearly four hundred years of war.Desperate to find answers, Hadrian must venture beyond the security of the Sollan Empire and among the Extrasolarians who dwell between the stars. There, he will face not only the aliens he has come to offer peace, but contend with creatures that once were human, with traitors in his midst, and with a meeting that will bring him face to face with no less than the oldest enemy of mankind.If he succeeds, he will usher in a peace unlike any in recorded history. If he fails, the galaxy will burn.*******Hadrian Marlowe wakes from cryo-sleep to find himself light-years further away from the Empire’s clutches, and one step closer to discovering the location of elusive Vorgossos. And therein lies the rub. On every occasion he thinks he’s gained vital information, he discovers those clues to be nothing but smokescreens and illusions that do nothing but lead him along divergent paths.However, those trials and tribulations serve another, just as important purpose. They notify ‘strange & terrifying powers’ of Hadrian’s existence. Drawn into a web of dread and shocking potential, Hadrian Marlowe is beset by doubts and indecision. Yet he is matured by his experiences. So much so, that when hard decisions have to be made, he isn’t slow in stepping up.The thing is, stepping up puts him directly in harm’s way. And in this adventure, Hadrian Marlowe is ever beset by the potential for great harm. From the Empire, who view him as an embarrassment to be silenced; from the Cielcin, who, despite his earnest desire for peace, look on all humans as chaff to be reaped; from long-dead legends who have no right to be alive; from diabolical nightmares who have never known the fragility of flesh and blood; and even from his closest friends.Yes, death is Hadrian Marlowe’s closest friend. And it’s astonishing how things work out for him when that specter comes-a-calling, for ‘something’ has Hadrian in its cosmos-spanning eye, and he has a task to accomplish before it’s/they’re done with him.As I mentioned in my review of Empire of Silence, this awesomely epic space opera portrays the scope of Frank Herbert’s, Dune; The scale of Arthur C. Clarkes, 2001: A Space Odyssey; and the poignant message conveyed in Barry B. Longyear’s, Enemy Mine.It’s magnificent stuff, better than his first book, and will keep you engrossed from beginning to end.Bravo, Christopher Ruocchio. Bravo indeed!

I can say even less about this book than the first one.Except for one thing.What a narration! Reading the end, past the time I go to sleep, I imagined the reaction of Marlowe's on Delos, of his grandmother, of Count Motaro ... but he won't ever see them again, and so my hopes are crushed and I am so relieved by that difficult knowledge, relived and so I think of Robert Jordan who has left so much unsaid, untouched.And there is one more thing...

Genuinely impressive, almost flawless and convincing space opera. While a few characters are somewhat two dimensional, the central figure of Hadrian is compelling and fascinating.

The book is amazing and well worth reading as it has great characters and setting combined with cool imaginary and well build worldA great follow up