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patrissia10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
sws004's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Empire of the Vampire is a dark, pulpy, good time. The book's strongest point for me was its atmosphere. There's a powerful sense of dread and hopelessness that made this a fun Halloween read for me. The atmosphere was great, with dilapidated cities and scary-as-fuck forests filled with bizarre mushroom monsters. The vampires themselves work well as over-the-top cartoon villains whose level of atrocities start out as scary but quickly become kind of silly. If you want a complex take on vampires, à la M.L. Brennan's "Generation V" or Barbara Hambly's "Those Who Hunt the Night", look elsewhere. These vampires are here to kill bloodily and die painfully.
The most divisive element for most readers will likely be the narrator. Gabriel is a whiny, arrogant, and unabashedly edgy little shit. His character development is somewhat hampered by the dual timelines, as teenage-Gabriel displays considerably more faith and respect than his jaded, moody twenty-something self, and the book obviously needs to provide some reason for this. The eventual explanation is some of the most blatant fridging I've seen in a while (and it happens twice!), combined with a general attitude of misogyny from Gabriel that I found unpleasant. In general, the teenage sections are rough going, filled with cliche training montages, stock characters, and repetitive info-dumps. Gabriel narrates his story to a vampire captor, so why does he need to fill in the details that a vampire should know about his own kind? The narration does mention the absurdity of this but also provides no explanation and continually repeats information.
Thankfully the future timeline is considerably more enjoyable with characters who feel like real people and play off Gabriel well. His interactions and gradual friendship with the character of Dior, in particular, are handled very well. It gives the book a much-needed character who pushes back against Gabriel challenging his cynicism, providing some of the book's most emotionally satisfying moments. Their relationship reminded me of Joel and Ellie from "The Last of Us" and is the element I'm most looking forward to in the eventual sequel.
It's also worth noting that the book has just surprisingly good pacing. Despite its 700+(!) page count, it flew by with tons of action and quippy dialogue. The last 150 pages, in particular, have some of the most exciting showdowns (and one of the best final villain kills) that I've read in a long time.
Despite some issues, I greatly enjoyed the tone and action of Empire of the Vampire. If you want a read filled with bloody and intense monster-hunts and a fun sense of pulp and melodrama, I'd recommend checking it out.
3.5/5
CWs: Homophobia, Misogyny, Child Death, Animal Death, Extreme Violence and Gore
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Torture, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol
clairew97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
thewereraven's review against another edition
Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Rape
lostinworlds's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, and Alcohol
karapillar's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Rape and Pregnancy
leonormsousa's review
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Death of parent, and War
cakeylu's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, and Child death
emesfiz_28's review
- 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
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Body horror, and Child death
karienga's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol