Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Empire of the Vampire

The bits I liked I REALLY liked.
The issues I have with it REALLY irk me.

The world building is immaculate if a bit on the nose, really vivid writing and visceral descriptions, a great mechanic. Love the use of tattoos and the lore building. Overall I liked the story itself.

The issues, though?
I found myself rolling my eyes at a lot of the vulgarity because it was genuinely ludicrous at times. Swearing doesn’t bother me in the slightest but the lengths to which these characters went just to get a “banged your relative” joke in was over the top.

Everything has a simile. Everything. The doors locked like a secret. The floors cold like the night. The night air cold like knives. Wind like knives. Words like knives. Running frightened like a startled horse in a barn on fire and the devil whipping it all the way. The lips red like red things.

The repetitive phrases (fuck my face, like his lady’s lips the last time he kissed her, better a bastard than a fool) stopped feeling symbolic and started feeling like a crutch about half way through and using the same *twist* mechanic used twice (gender neutral names being the crux of two stories told so closely together) made it feel less polished than it could have been.

Thanks to various reviews etc I was also expecting a “big thing” to shock me at the end but I kind of felt it was obvious…?

Anti-climactic, in a word, but I do want to know what happens so it’s not like I hated it.

Content Warnings

shadeyc's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Not quite what I expected, but also a lot of what I expected...I know, that makes no sense.
I enjoyed it mostly. There is always that moment when I read Kristoff books (actually not just Kristoff books, there are a couple that do it) where I sigh and roll my eyes and think 'here we go again, some more torture for your MC that doesn't actually give much to the story'. It's not bad, it's just a little tiring. Sometimes I think his books could be much shorter and properly breathtaking all the way to the end.
Anyway. I like Gabe. He's a bastard as intended. But he's also a dumbarse, but I guess that's the point.
I LOVE the illustrations, that was a cool touch. I have a special spot in my heart for Baptiste. And all the good good dogs, and good good horses, and good good giant kitties.

(But can we PLEASE stop fucking killing them off?!?! We all know I cannot handle that shit)

. And Ash, ah Ash, you're the best of them all.
In general the story is pretty solid, and the format it unfolds in works really well to keep intrigue going (aside from that aforementioned horrid momentum dragging bit).
Oh also, I hate it when a reveal or reveals happen and you see them coming for miles, I cannot be the only one who saw all that foreshadowing, it was pretty heavy handed, there was A LOT.
Maybe I'm just tired and cynical, and want to get all my jolly's faster than I can read these bricks.
Will be interesting to see what actually gets put into the next book.

Content Warnings

karapillar's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

justanothergirl_23's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I finished it? Or it finished me? Up for debate.

First of all can we take a moment to appreciate that cover? Because damn!

Now let's get to the actual book;
Jay Kristoff has never been known as a kind writer or even a writer who's anything less than brutal but holy shit for all of my mental preparation, I couldn't have possibly been prepared for THIS!
I now understand why Mr. Kristoff was hyping this book as much as he did; the man did not hold back! This was brutal and gory and graphic, and although I am not a queasy reader there were parts where I had to pause the audiobook and get some fresh air before I could continue!

There was one scene in particular that I can't think of without gagging, hell I feel like throwing up as I'm writing this and it there scene where

Gabriel drinks that girl's period blood

, that was the point where I fully understood what kind of book this was and what to expect going forward.

Don't get me wrong, yes it's gory as all hell but it's not a bad book in the slightest, nor is it gory just for the heck of it. The brutality is there because the story requires it and it's woven in very well.

Empire of The Vampire is told in a very interesting way, where it starts with our MC; Gabriel in a cell and he's asked to tell the story of how he killed the Forever King. But unlike I expected, that exchange wasn't a one-off thing, as a matter of fact the dialogue between Gabe and the vampire prompting him for the story are core parts of our tales and they give a lot of insight. We also jump from one point to another so the story isn't told chronologically but rather in a very "My ADHD-self telling a story I'm excited about" way; which may not be for everyone but I for one, loved it!

I ended this book with more questions than I started so I hope the next book will come out soon!

Overall this was an incredible albeit brutal read and if you find the idea interesting then I highly recommend it!

Content Warnings

More...