Empire of Silence GraphicAudio Delayed After Fans Criticize Hadrian’s Voice

GraphicAudio is going back to the drawing board on its full-cast adaptation of Christopher Ruocchio’s Empire of Silence after the first preview received a largely negative response from Sun Eater fans.

GraphicAudio has delayed its upcoming adaptation of Empire of Silence and is trying out new narrators following criticism of the voice chosen for Hadrian Marlowe.

Christopher Ruocchio confirmed the change in his latest Biweekly Update, explaining that GraphicAudio heard the response to its recently released preview and decided to reconsider the casting.

Ruocchio said:

“People were not terribly happy with the narrator… they have heard your criticism, and they want to make sure that they produce a product that you all are happy with.”

According to Ruocchio, GraphicAudio is now trying out “a couple new narrators,” with the release expected to move into December. The adaptation is being produced in two parts, and GraphicAudio currently plans to continue with the rest of the Sun Eater series.

The First Preview Received Immediate Criticism

The response began after GraphicAudio released a sample featuring Hadrian and several other characters from the opening portion of Empire of Silence.

The company is known for its full-cast dramatized audiobooks, which combine separate voice actors, music and sound effects. The Empire of Silence production was intended to give Sun Eater the same treatment, but much of the reaction to the preview focused on Hadrian’s voice.

In a widely discussed thread on the Sun Eater subreddit, listeners described the voice as too deep and too far removed from how they imagined Hadrian. One commenter said the main narration sounded “way too deep and a little off,” while another compared it to “a bad Snape impersonation.”

Not everyone disliked the full production. Several commenters said the music, effects and other performances sounded good, but argued that the voice used for the character telling nearly the entire story was too important to overlook.

GraphicAudio responded directly in the thread, writing, “Thanks for your comments. This is helpful and we will adjust.” The company later confirmed in another reply that the release had been delayed until December.

The sample appears to have been removed from GraphicAudio’s product page following the response.

Ruocchio Was Not Involved in Choosing the Cast

Ruocchio also clarified that he had little involvement in the casting process and did not hear the completed preview before the audience did.

“They picked all the voices and everything, and I heard the final product when you did,” Ruocchio said. “I hope that you’ll be happy with the final that we bring to you later this year.”

That makes the delay a direct response from GraphicAudio rather than a change requested by the author. Ruocchio thanked listeners for speaking up, while GraphicAudio appears willing to redo a significant part of the production rather than release a version its intended audience was already unhappy with.

Listening to Fans Is the Right Decision

Personally, I’m glad GraphicAudio is listening to the early feedback. Hadrian’s narration is such a large part of Empire of Silence that getting his voice right matters more here than it would for almost any supporting character.

Samuel Roukin, who narrates the original U.S. audiobook edition of Empire of Silence, is generally considered to be an excellent voice for Hadrian. I agree. His performance has become closely associated with the character for a large part of the existing audience, which is one reason the new version faced such an immediate comparison.

Personally, I hope GraphicAudio can bring Roukin back as part of the full cast. A dramatized adaptation will naturally sound different from the original audiobook, but keeping the voice that so many listeners already recognize as Hadrian would give the production a much stronger foundation.

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