I read Empire of Silence recently.

Pretty solid overall. It's the start of a 7-book Sun Eater series (plus novellas) about a space opera set 20,000 years in the future, where humanity has colonized a third of the galaxy.

And this is not a spoiler since it's from the first page: the protagonist blows up a sun at some future point in his story, resulting in the deaths of billions of people during war against aliens. It's written from his perspective in the future, as he goes into his life and how he got into that huge decision.

It's a slow-burn read. Excellent prose. Subverts a lot of expectations, while also having clear influences from books like Dune, and maybe Name of the Wind. Some of the characterization and plot details could be a bit stronger, at least for this opening book (can't comment on the full series yet).

Solid 4/5 stars imo.