This novella drops you into a side story of the Empire of Silence universe, following Hadrian’s little brother, Crispin, who somehow manages to be both deeply competent and wildly unlikeable at the same time 😅

The writing’s solid, the pace is tight, and it’s a nice peek into how things were unraveling back home while Hadrian was off being dramatic across the galaxy. If you enjoy the world of The Sun Eater series, this adds some great depth, just don’t expect to love your time with Crispin. He’s prickly, proud, and hard to root for… but that’s kind of the point.