4,5/5 Sun Eater continues to impress. There’s not much critique I can give this book except that the first third of it felt like it could have been shorter. I get that Ruocchio needed to give the reader an introduction and an overview of what’s been going on with everything in the last few decades. It just felt like the first time in Sun Eater where a section of the story was a means to an end, which honestly is a praise on its own. This first third aside, Howling Dark is phenomenal. The worldbuilding escalates and Ruocchio dives into themes (and settings) that are dark, hopeless and sometimes as old as the universe itself. Of course, Hadrian’s character development is top-notch and sometimes all over the place in the best way possible. While Empire of Silence showed much of Hadrian’s idealism, wishful thinking and naivete, it feels like Howling Dark, is war’s answer to it all and the first step on Hadrian’s path that leads to a galaxy drenched in blood.