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amzief's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I really enjoyed this book despite being intimidated by the size of it. I loved reading about Gabriel’s story! I did find the way it was set up a bit odd having Gabe be interviewed by a vampire but I found myself enjoying it more and more as we read on. I can’t wait to read the next one and find out what happens to Dior and how Gabe killed the forever king
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Alcoholism
Moderate: Blood and Body horror
writingcaia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
It’s been twenty seven years of darkness, twenty seven years since the sun barely shines in the world, and now the black lion, the last of the Silversaints, the hero of the people, Gabriel de Leon has been captured by the new ruling vampire house.
There Gabe is forced to relay his life’s story which he fast forwards to when he turns fifteen just before being sent to the Ordo Argent, the Silver Order, to become a Silversaint. Half-human half-vampire it seems to his mother that the order will be his best option, and it is. It is there he will find a family, love, power, and recognition all he has ever dreamed and more, but at a cost. That price we see in another period of his life’s journey that he also relays to the vampire historian writing his story down, which is when he is thirty two, just two years before the present time.
In sum we will have a pretty clear idea of who Gabe was until he was seventeen and at thirty two, the rest we get only scraps that tease our appetite for more. One thing is clear Gabriel de Leon is now jaded and crushed, but the light of his hatred for the vampires is unbroken and mighty, and there seems to be hope for his current status as a prisoner or so we hope.
It is hard to review a book I’ve waited for for more than a year, the expectations were enormous, first because it’s Jay and second because I freaking love vampires.
So, what did I think?
I loved it, it was awesome. It’s medium-fast paced, has a great world building, the characters are amazing, well fleshed, and just overall super interesting. It is dark, bloody and the narration has the snarky-ness, which I adore, we are used to since Nevernight, and I mean Gabriel is mega hot, those illustrations wow, and another favourite is Dior. The only minus for me was the back and forth between timelines, I got so invested in one and then had to go back to the other, and vice-versa, plus on those almost seventeen years between them so much happens that we just know from small references dropped here and there, that specially annoyed me. I do prefer a more regular timeline particularly if we almost know what happen between the two timelines but not enough to quench the curiosity. But, honestly it didn’t take much from my love of the story.
And, now the suffering begins, the wait for the next two books in the series.
If you love adult fantasy, vampires and dark moody books, this is for you.
There Gabe is forced to relay his life’s story which he fast forwards to when he turns fifteen just before being sent to the Ordo Argent, the Silver Order, to become a Silversaint. Half-human half-vampire it seems to his mother that the order will be his best option, and it is. It is there he will find a family, love, power, and recognition all he has ever dreamed and more, but at a cost. That price we see in another period of his life’s journey that he also relays to the vampire historian writing his story down, which is when he is thirty two, just two years before the present time.
In sum we will have a pretty clear idea of who Gabe was until he was seventeen and at thirty two, the rest we get only scraps that tease our appetite for more. One thing is clear Gabriel de Leon is now jaded and crushed, but the light of his hatred for the vampires is unbroken and mighty, and there seems to be hope for his current status as a prisoner or so we hope.
It is hard to review a book I’ve waited for for more than a year, the expectations were enormous, first because it’s Jay and second because I freaking love vampires.
So, what did I think?
I loved it, it was awesome. It’s medium-fast paced, has a great world building, the characters are amazing, well fleshed, and just overall super interesting. It is dark, bloody and the narration has the snarky-ness, which I adore, we are used to since Nevernight, and I mean Gabriel is mega hot, those illustrations wow, and another favourite is Dior. The only minus for me was the back and forth between timelines, I got so invested in one and then had to go back to the other, and vice-versa, plus on those almost seventeen years between them so much happens that we just know from small references dropped here and there, that specially annoyed me. I do prefer a more regular timeline particularly if we almost know what happen between the two timelines but not enough to quench the curiosity. But, honestly it didn’t take much from my love of the story.
And, now the suffering begins, the wait for the next two books in the series.
If you love adult fantasy, vampires and dark moody books, this is for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Homophobia, War, Religious bigotry, Torture, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Alcoholism, Gore, Sexual content, and Drug use
cakeylu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Child abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Outing, Torture, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Child death, Bullying, and Animal death
zoe_mh's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Outing, and Animal death
Minor: Child death and Child abuse
emesfiz_28's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Violence, War, and Cursing
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Addiction, Body horror, and Child death
theboundbookmark's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
By the Holy Father…
the Blessed Mothermaid…
and the Seven Martyrs…
Empire of the Vampire, written by New York Times bestseller Jay Kristoff, is easily one of the best books I’ve ever read. It features bloody vampires, bastard halfbreeds, religions reminiscent to our current and historic ones, lust and romance, several cuss words, a sword that stutters, a mysterious prophecy, and a cold and blighted land where the sun is shrouded by a mysterious darkness.
SPOILER-FREE SYNOPSIS:
Gabriel de León, the anti-hero, the Last Silversaint, awaits his doom in a tower cell and tells his story to a vampire historian. Readers will journey through Gabe’s childhood in Lorson, his short time with the Silver Order of San Michon, and his disasters with a small group of individuals set to fulfill a prophecy.
If Interview with a Vampire and The Kingkiller Chronicle were ever to mingle, this would be their child. It’s been said by others, but it rings sure and true.
WHAT I LOVED MOST:
As with all my favorite books, I fall in love with the believable characters and world-building. Empire of the Vampire rushes in, somewhat in medias res, and I immediately had hundreds of questions when I started to read. Patience is a virtue and it awarded me with several answers down the road of Gabe’s travels. I also gathered more questions that must be answered in the future installments of this series. Mister Kristoff used clever strategies to avoid cliches, fleshed out his dark and cold world, and crafted characters who made believable choices. I gasped, I cried, I smiled, I hoped, and I cursed at these inked pages. I cherished it most for those reasons. Because it fucking made me feel.
the Blessed Mothermaid…
and the Seven Martyrs…
Empire of the Vampire, written by New York Times bestseller Jay Kristoff, is easily one of the best books I’ve ever read. It features bloody vampires, bastard halfbreeds, religions reminiscent to our current and historic ones, lust and romance, several cuss words, a sword that stutters, a mysterious prophecy, and a cold and blighted land where the sun is shrouded by a mysterious darkness.
SPOILER-FREE SYNOPSIS:
Gabriel de León, the anti-hero, the Last Silversaint, awaits his doom in a tower cell and tells his story to a vampire historian. Readers will journey through Gabe’s childhood in Lorson, his short time with the Silver Order of San Michon, and his disasters with a small group of individuals set to fulfill a prophecy.
If Interview with a Vampire and The Kingkiller Chronicle were ever to mingle, this would be their child. It’s been said by others, but it rings sure and true.
WHAT I LOVED MOST:
As with all my favorite books, I fall in love with the believable characters and world-building. Empire of the Vampire rushes in, somewhat in medias res, and I immediately had hundreds of questions when I started to read. Patience is a virtue and it awarded me with several answers down the road of Gabe’s travels. I also gathered more questions that must be answered in the future installments of this series. Mister Kristoff used clever strategies to avoid cliches, fleshed out his dark and cold world, and crafted characters who made believable choices. I gasped, I cried, I smiled, I hoped, and I cursed at these inked pages. I cherished it most for those reasons. Because it fucking made me feel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
Minor: Sexual content
heather34's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy
ketreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Empire of the Vampire was a pick by a friend of mine for our book-buddy-duo.
I had not heard of this book, nor read any of Jay Kristoff's other works before starting on this one.
Simply: I loved it.
Kristoff's use of age old vampire lore + grim-dark & French Gothic setting is something that just fits together effortlessly. The world he has created is full of darkness, danger and years of history that has created the feeling of a well-realised and lived in world.
This book follows our main character of Gabriel de Leon throughout two time-lines in his life:
Naive boy becoming a legend, and the broken legend trying to survive in a world that failed him.
It is a tale about love, loss, faith, humanity, and found family. The book starts with our character already defeated and alone, being forced to tell his story to another. He's immediately a dick, unlikeable and arrogant, even at his lowest. Throughout the story you come to understand him better (often better than even he seems to understand himself), feel for him, his family, and his friends. The story is one of adventure, mystery but most importantly it's a human story.
In a world full of vampires, the story is about humans and the lengths they would go to protect those in-which they love.
I liked it a lot.
Though do be warned this is a foul mouthed and often gory tale, I never found it without reason to be.
I had not heard of this book, nor read any of Jay Kristoff's other works before starting on this one.
Simply: I loved it.
Kristoff's use of age old vampire lore + grim-dark & French Gothic setting is something that just fits together effortlessly. The world he has created is full of darkness, danger and years of history that has created the feeling of a well-realised and lived in world.
This book follows our main character of Gabriel de Leon throughout two time-lines in his life:
Naive boy becoming a legend, and the broken legend trying to survive in a world that failed him.
It is a tale about love, loss, faith, humanity, and found family. The book starts with our character already defeated and alone, being forced to tell his story to another. He's immediately a dick, unlikeable and arrogant, even at his lowest. Throughout the story you come to understand him better (often better than even he seems to understand himself), feel for him, his family, and his friends. The story is one of adventure, mystery but most importantly it's a human story.
In a world full of vampires, the story is about humans and the lengths they would go to protect those in-which they love.
I liked it a lot.
Though do be warned this is a foul mouthed and often gory tale, I never found it without reason to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism and Animal death
sleepysadpoet's review
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Some of the language was confusing, especially when Danton would talk. (It's still fuck that guy though).
When it was revealed that the grail was a person was when I really got invested. I'm not religious by any means and don't believe in a higher power, but it got me thinking quite a bit honestly. I know that the initiates were fighters for God, and their holier than thou attitude made me mad sometimes. They would sin like no one's business, but get mad when... *Checks notes* Aaron is found in bed with a man? Sounds a lot like some of the christians we know nowadays huh?
This story had twists and turns at every corner, and I love that despite the whole premise being that it's an interview, I could picture everything just fine in my head. The artwork is gorgeous too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Sexual content, Violence, and War
Moderate: Homophobia
lunaruprising's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Sexual content