Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio.
This is book #2 in the Sun Eater series, and it feels like it's picking up steam. It's finding its rhythm, and I feel like the author is figuring out what kind of tone he wants to set with the series. Where Empire of Silence followed a boy, longing to explore the universe "with eyes unclouded", Howling Dark begins to explore the consequences of his decisions. The book weighs Hadrian's idealistic convictions against the cost of realizing those ideals.
"Always forward. Always down. And never left nor right."
Hadrian is allowed to justify his own decisions, for the greater good, while other characters with differing perspectives are looked down upon for using the same justifications. It's an interesting character study, but it's frustrating that he doesn't recognize the fallacy in his thinking, even with the benefit of hindsight. How often do we do the same?
There's some heavy plot-armor here, but it's in keeping with the overarching cosmic mysteries of the series so I feel that it's acceptable. It does mean that some of the stakes are lost, or dampened, but Ruocchio has managed a steady balance in the series so far. This is not an "everybody dies" series. At least not yet...
This book dabbles in some light cosmic horror, body horror, and war crimes. It begins to instill a sense of dread, and foreboding through its unique narrative structure, where Hadrian is recounting his own history for the listener from his flawed memory.
Where Empire of Silence reminded me of Dune, Howling Dark reminds me of Neuromancer and Cyberpunk 2077. (I.C.E AI firewall/antivirus mention!) There's also a dreaded creature that reminded me of the "jellyfish" from Between Two Fires.
Love that the book ends with a callback to earlier in the series. To paraphrase: "I don't blame you if you don't like where this is headed. You have the benefit of hindsight. You know where this ends."
Rating: 4/5