There’s a certain nervous expectation when going back to my favorite things. Do you know what I mean? Especially with books (and movies). I’ve found so much of how much I like something depends on my mood and mindset at the time. When I dive back in, there’s always a chance I was somehow out of my mind on that first interaction. Maybe this time I won’t feel the same. I could love it more. I could dislike it *gasp*

That’s why it’s even more exciting when something is just as fabulous the second and third time around. Here’s when you really know you have a favorite among favorites (a FAF? Can we make that a thing?). #FAF

The Sun Eater series is one of those that never disappoints. It’s the best of Dune and Name of the Wind, both books I read over and over. That I own them in physical form rather than ebooks proves my love. While I do love physical books, procuring space for them is a battle.

As with the first four (five?) times reading Empire of Silence, I was instantly taken in by the style. Again. I got actual goosebumps as I settled in to read. My first experience with Christopher Ruocchio was through an audiobook, and reading it brought to light details I missed in the distraction of carrying out tasks while I listened. My first ‘read’ had me tagging my favorite passages and quotes, of which there are many. I don’t usually do this, though I love collecting quotes through my Kindle’s highlighter. Here’s the bad thing about not having the e-version (though upon writing this, I’ve added them to my wishlist). I don’t have a system to capture favorite lines with physical books. I have only stopped to tab or text out my favorites with The Sun Eater.

A little more about Empire of Silence (I’m getting off point but I love this book)

When I think about Hadrian, away from reading, just as I feel about Kvothe (Name of the Wind), I envision an over-dramatic, arrogant personality skills come naturally. Then, I reflect on everything that happens to them and reconsider. “With great power comes great responsibility,” but also a fierce probability of heinous things happening in their lives and to them. Being ostracized by the people you love and, more horrendously, facing the consequences of your grand gestures and decisions are a couple of happenstances that come to mind. Both characters share a similar fate. Here is why both series keeps me coming back. This equality of dark and light. Of the good with the bad. Of planning a path to find it crumbling beneath them, only to see that this alternate journey was how it had to go to bring them where they could most help.

On this newest re-read of Empire of Silence, I wonder if Hadrian’s course would have always brought him to his final point. If he hadn’t run, if he’d followed the plan set by his father, would he still have found this operatic end? I think so, but only in an obsessive, over-analyzing mindset because I must remind myself it’s not REAL. There is little point in considering what-ifs and might-haves in our real lives, how futile to consider them in fiction? Still, I find it a fun thought experiment. And isn’t part of what makes these books so great the fact that we can have these discussions about them? Here is why they’re FAFs. And unlike many series, The Sun Eater gets better with each installment and most definitely with each re-read.

Happy Reading 🙂

CMM