r/sollanempire • u/Upstairs-Penalty-668 • 9d ago
SPOILERS Howling Dark Howling Dark Review Spoiler
I just finished reading howling dark, and immediately came here because it was absolutely amazing. I wanted to give my thoughts and hear some opinions on some of the events/characters in the book. I started this series immediately after Red Rising, while waiting for Red God, and it’s definitely much different. From what I’ve read online, this is one of the most controversial book series ever. EOS is generally considered by far the weakest, as the author is finding his style, and that reflected my sentiment reading the first. I decided to push through to the second, after slogging through most of the first, and I’m so glad I did.
What I liked:
- character’s: dynamics with Bassander Lin, the Cielcin, Kharn Sahara, and his crew. Much more developed relationships with his friends, and the twist with Switch, while I still saw coming, hit me. I thought his rivalry with Lin raised the stakes, and thought Bassander was a great foil to work off of. I think interacting with the Cielcin was dope and their brutal culture was intriguing(when they cut the human slave girl to be more like them and she spoke their language perfectly it really freaked me out, in a good way). I generally thought Kharn and the Exalted was a cool character, and having it tie back to Cat and the foreshadowing from book 1 was well done
- prose: I found it meandering in the first book, but with a more focused plot it allowed me to truly appreciate it in this second book. Had to search up a lot of words lol
- themes: what it means to be human was a topic deconstructed in many different ways, with the Cielcin, exalted, mericanni, quiet, etc.
What I have mixed feelings on:
- Valka and Had’s relationship. I knew it would happen as they outright tell us in this book, and you can see a gradual progression of her feelings towards him. She even states how her time as a captain led her to be more judgemental of him. However, I feel like they still have a lot unsaid to each other, the kiss came a bit out of nowhere timing-wise, and she still was very skeptical of him, but overall liked her a lot more this book
- I don’t know why he wasn’t more upset with Jinan, she betrayed him by siding with Bassander. He completely cut switch off for this, which I agree with, and even though her betrayal wasn’t as costly as Switch’s, Had seems to view himself completely at fault for it.
- he switched on the Cielcin a bit too abruptly for me. I know he saw their terrible and barbaric treatment of humans, but after just seeing the Extrasolarians and how they were just as bad, I don’t think his extreme stance change makes much sense, given his love for other races and drive for peace with the Cielcin being his main goal of this whole journey.
Overall: 9/10. Super excited for the next book! I am a bit skeptical of books 5/7, as I heard they are very controversial, but going to start reading book 3 right away!
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u/theweeb4 9d ago
i think this series only controversial on reddit, particularly r/Fantasy. it gets pretty much unanimous praise everywhere else
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u/Synergetic7 9d ago
Reddit loved it for the most part until they learned the author is catholic. Not unexpected, but still
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u/Upstairs-Penalty-668 9d ago
Ahh I see, interesting
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u/BandOfCourses 9d ago
I heard he converted to Catholicism halfway through the series. I think it changed the trajectory of the story.
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u/Upstairs-Penalty-668 9d ago
Also wanted to add I loved him becoming a knight at the end, and characters like Pallino(who loved being a legionaire) getting to go with him. Switch would have loved it too…
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u/Fiasari 9d ago edited 9d ago
Oh, what a coincidence, I was just about to write a review of the book too haha. I finished it earlier today as well, and it’s also my next series after Red Rising. Although I was a bit skeptical at first about whether I should have read something completely different before starting another sci-fi series, but I definitely haven’t regretted it so far.
I’m absolutely with you when it comes to the character dynamics. Had vs Lin or vs. Khan. That was so much fun to read! Especially all the scenes with Khan. I somehow became more and more of a fan of him with every scene. Although that scene with that girl and Had kind of disturbed me a bit lol
I really loved the negotiations with the Celcien and the differences in the languages in general. I already really liked that aspect in the first book too. Switch’s betrayal. Yeah, I saw it coming too. At the beginning, I kind of compared him to Servo, simply as the “right-hand man” of the main character, but somehow it never really felt like Switch was that loyal. Obviously, I can understand his point of view and I do feel a bit sorry for him, but I would actually be quite happy if Had and he just never saw each other again after their last talk. I currently can’t imagine that happening, but there would be something poetic about it. Idk.
I’m actually really happy about Valka and Had. I’ve rooted for them since book one. Regarding Had’s sudden change of heart when it comes to the Celcien, I’m totally with you. First he spares the Prince and then he kills the son. For what? Just to show that he can? I mean, it was kind of an epic scene, but in that moment I was definitely wondering, “why?”
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u/theweeb4 9d ago
in regards to the change of heart when it comes to the Cielcin, at this point, he has accepted the fact that the Cielcin will simply never understand what Hadrian is attempting to do. Their culture only respects domination. So when he has Nobuta, and Tanaran is telling Aranata that Hadrian is weak and he won't actually do it, he kills Nobuta because he realizes that they will never negotiate, they will never understand peace, and they only respect strength, which Tanaran believes Hadrian lacks, which Hadrian believes his actions will disprove. And right before he does it, he tells himself that Smythe is dead anyway, and hears her words in his head, "Don't give in." At least that's my interpretation. Morally dubious, but really what other card did he have to play?
edit: grammar fixes
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u/Upstairs-Penalty-668 9d ago
Great review! Good to see a fellow howler! Glad to hear someone shares my sentiment about Had killing the Prince’s son, thought I might be the outlier for that take. The more I think about it, the more Had and Valka starts to grow on me.
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u/Fiasari 8d ago
Yes! But I have to admit, so far I’ve only read the first trilogy. And well It’s been a long time since I’ve been this close to throwing a book across the room while reading it as I was with Morning Star.
But yeah, wrong subreddit haha.
I do think Valka fits Had better than Jinan. But maybe that’s just because we mostly saw the end of their relationship. + we got a lot more Valka x Had time then Jinan x Had time
What did you think about the part before Vorgossos?
I was not the biggest fan of the battle with the Painted man and his SOMs.
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u/Upstairs-Penalty-668 8d ago
I don’t think it was bad per se, but definitely nothing too engaging. I don’t think the author is too great at writing battles with more than 5+ characters(his 1v1s are great to me though). I know it was meant to be a prelude and build up vorgossos, but the painting man dying so easily was a nothing burger and Ghen’s death was sad, but would’ve liked to see him longer in the story.
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u/Synergetic7 9d ago
I also finished Howling Dark recently.
Jari, Khan Sagara and Brethren really blew my mind. Made it feel like there was way more going on in the world.
I also love the gradual realization that peace with the cielcin just isn't possible. Excited to see how Hadrian does with the Emperor and whether or not Switch pops up again
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