The Dregs of Empire Audiobook By Christopher Ruocchio cover art

The Dregs of Empire

Sun Eater

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The Dregs of Empire

By: Christopher Ruocchio
Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
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Return to the world of the Sun Eater in this spin-off adventure set after the events of book five!

For thousands of years, the icy planet of Belusha has served the galactic Sollan Empire as its most notorious prison planet. It is here the very worst men in the Empire are locked away: murderers, traitors, deserters—each condemned to toil on the oil rigs and scrapyards of the planet in bitter cold, preyed upon both by the men of the Martian Guard set to watch over them, and by the Outborn reavers whose fathers escaped the work camps to scratch a living from the icy wilderness.

It is a hard world. A desperate world.

And it is here that Lorian Aristedes finds himself: alone; friendless; betrayed even by his own failing mutant flesh. It is here that Lorian Aristedes has been sentenced to work himself to death for the crime of abetting his master’s escape from imperial justice.

For any other man, it would be the end of his story … but for Lorian Aristedes—once the left hand of the Halfmortal, Hadrian Marlowe himself—it is only the beginning.

©2023 Ruocchio Ventures (P)2023 Recorded Books Adventure Science Fiction Space Opera Suspenseful
Captivating Storytelling • Atmospheric Worldbuilding • Poetical Prose • Character Development • Unexpected Twists
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This was a wonderful addition to the Sun Eater tale. On to the next in the series.

This was a wonderful addition

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This was a captivating story! We got to feel what life on that prison planet was like - the nitty gritty daily hardships made especially hard for little man Lorian.

We watched as those hardships turned Lorian from someone worth rooting for to someone despicable (maybe others will disagree with my distaste for him). Initially Lorian fought for those who could not fight for themselves to someone who would take out anyone in his path.

I do need to admit that I didn’t like Lorian before reading this book. In fact, in book #5 I thoroughly expected that he only rejoined Hadrian so he could make his life a misery for “letting” all 90,000 crew members of the Tamerlain die. I thought Lorian might kill Valka or turn Hadrian over to enemies to get some revenge.

For being so little and physically frail Lorian’s presence was bigger than everyone else’s. He had a number of opportunities to try and make a life for himself - could’ve developed friendships with other prisoners (especially with his first crew mates) or could’ve chosen to have a home with the outworlders. He was hellbent on trying to find a way off Belusha and wreaked havoc in his path. I worry for Hadrian should they meet again.

I savored every bit of this tale that Ruocchio wrote. It’s delicious to get so emotionally charged when listening to a book.

Loved following Lorian’s tale as he was sent to the prison world of Belusha.

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I can never get enough of the Sun Eater books, and this one, like all the rest, does not disappoint! Action, drama, emotions..all of the things - this story has it. 11/10, highly recommend!

Another excellent story from Christopher Ruocchio!

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I really loved this short novella I. One of the best series ever. The Writing just gets better and better

An amazing addition

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Digest the whole series before you listen to this or you'll have waaay too many questions. The author maintains or exceeds the same high standards of every one of his previous books. Literary genius. Oh, and the reader rocks too.

Exceptional

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Great story. The best side novel i have listened to so far. Bla bla bla. The 15 word limit is dumb.

Solid story

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Roukin is so great as the narrator for Ruocchio, and it was a delight to spend time in a side character’s very interesting POV here. This was a harrowing and dark tale, elegantly told.

Fantastic Sun Eater tale

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Again, wonderful world building, character development and human nature investigated. Another hit! I will definitely recommend to all!

What a story

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This is where Roucchio shines - in the character development and personal story of Lorian Aristedes. I was so involved with this story, I forgot that it was a novella and was taken by surprise when it ended after nine hours. Like ‘Lesser Devil’, I was so thrilled by the point of view of a character other than Hadrian (who I LOVE), I was expecting 25-30 hours!
Still, this was the best nine hours of listening that I’ve experienced in months. So, thank you Christopher!

The perfect match of story and narration.

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one of my all time favorite series ever. the author writes so beautifully. im Addicted to his writing. not many writers compare to this writer. listening only a minute reminds me of his writing which I love. another great entry in this series.

great

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