In Howling Dark, we find Had and friends still searching for the Cielcin, fifty Earth years later, although they all spent stretches of that time in suspended animation or in "fugue" as they call it. They are all traveling under the fictitious identity of a mercenary group, the Red Company, led by Hadrian. In the fifty years since we last saw our heroes, they have had some adventures, which get mentioned in passing here and there, but they have yet to find Vorgossos, a mysterious planet that is their best lead to finding the Cielcin. That's right. They are having difficulty in locating a planet. Granted, it's a planet of almost mythical secrecy and is said to be a mecca for black market genetics and things that are outlawed by the Empire. And Hadrian doesn't have any reason to believe he would find the Cielcin there... just got a tip that they had done business with them before. To Hadrian, this is a solid lead. To Bassander Lin, the Imperial Captain playing the part of Commodore of the Red Company and Captain of the Pharaoh, one of the Red Company's ships, this has been a fifty year-long wild goose chase of flying out into the dark while good Imperial soldiers are dying at the front and more human colonies are being destroyed.
With the war still in full swing, the military components of Hadrian's tiny fleet are itching to give up the quest and return to the fray. Hadrian is reluctant to give up, however, because he sees their task as the one possible quick resolution to what will, otherwise, become a war of attrition, not ceasing until once side is completely wiped out.
When orders are sent to return to the fight, Bassander and Hadrian will find themselves at odds and tensions will rise, leading to a falling out that will leave Hadrian's quest for peace in jeopardy, even as he finds what might be a way to get transported to Vorgossos.
Hadrian Marlowe has always had lofty goals, a flare for melodrama and a deep-seated interest in heroic legends of years gone by. His adventures in Howling Dark will show him that, although some stories get exaggerated or altered over time, some myths are real and tangible.
Although I wished I had a chance to read the stories of those events that happened in the fifty years between the two books, I found Howling Dark to be an engaging read, consuming me even as I consumed it. There was so much in the book that I truly didn't expect, each new reveal pushing me to read on. I highly recommend Howling Dark and the Sun Eater series, but would recommend starting with Book 1: Empire of Silence.
