A review by josiah17
Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"Man's inhumanity. What could be more human?"

To be honest, I really wasn't enthralled by the first half of this book. I found myself less excited about the worldbuilding and Ruocchio's exploration of the Exalted and Extrasolarians. Nor was I as excited about the prospect of Hadrian's character arc as I had been after Empire of Silence. A big part of that being the massive timeskip between the two books which I had not know about, and apparently there's one for almost every book. Considering I'm not generally a fan of timeskips whatsoever, this quickly defeated a lot of my enthusiasm. Plus I think the timeskip was simply quite jarring too, enhancing my decrease in enthusiasm.

However, roughly the last half of this book...is incredible. Everything took off for me after Hadrian is given visions from this strange creature from a bygone era. I was enraptured, fully locked in. I loved just about everything that transpired from that point on. 

In particular, I'm continuously impressed by Ruocchio's worldbuilding—despite being initially uncaptivated—and what he's created in the Cielcin and the Quiet. He may be at his strongest as a writer when delving into the nuances of this alien race and their behaviors, language, social structure. The Cielcin are so complex; both so human in many ways and utterly terrifying in others. And the Quiet provides a ln excellent mystical fantasy quality to this space opera series. There's still so much I want to know about them. 

"We are beasts of burden, Hadrian , we men. We struggle, and by that struggle are filled, and so define ourselves. That is the way."

I must also mention than in hindsight, I do appreciate the beginning of the book more. I believe I found the tone really surprising and unexpected. But I appreciate what Ruocchio did in introducing these wider parts of the galaxy in such an unsettling and almost revolting manner. This book is really sci-fi horror in a lot of ways. And I especially have a greater appreciation for Kharn Sagara who's a great and incredibly intriguing character. 

"The poets say that one's fears grow less with trial, that we become men without fear of tried enough. I have not found it to be so. Rather, on each occasion we are tested, we become stronger than our fears. It is all we can do. Must do. Lest we perish for our failings."

This book is not perfect though. I still have my qualms with the first half. The pacing really wasn't very fluid. Nor do I believe the side characters—in what's supposed to be Hadrian's closest crew—are very strong right now besides Valka (who I love!!!) and possibly Bassander Lin. Pallino's got potential too. But in the end I did thoroughly enjoy this book. And I can't wait to see where things go from here. Just when I began to think I was becoming much less excited and eager to read this series and experience the complicated tale of Hadrian Marlowe the Halfmortal, Ruocchio pulled me right back in.

"The price of life is death. With what will you pay, Halfmortal?"
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