You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
I loved The Witcher games and I remember finding out they were based on books and ran out and got the first couple. And I HATED them! They’re like 70% talking and meh fight scenes. I bring this up because Empire of the Vampires is EXACTLY what I expected out of a Witcher book. Similarities abound between the two. A brotherhood of suped up warriors taking on dark creatures of the world? I could eat a whole bowl of that. It’s grim, it’s stylish, and it’s got fantastic fight scenes.
Buuuuut, I still had fits with this book. The primary problem was the presentation. Gabriel is telling his story to someone else. That’s fine, I’ve read a few books like that, pretty normal. What’s unusual and was sometimes distracting is that it’s told as literal quotes. Every paragraph starts with quotation marks! And then there’s the extra one when someone within the story is talking! I’m sorry but that is utterly obnoxious. Maybe no one else is bothered by this but there’s better ways to separate the viewpoints is all I’m saying.
This book is what the cool kids like to call Grimdark and it fits the bill perfectly. I mean, the villains are blood thirsty monsters so it has to be, right? And while I love all the blood, and viscera, and guts flying all over one of the other qualifications of Grimdark is usually a protagonist who is very haunted by their past and acts like a dick to everyone. Gabriel is sometimes a bit tooooo melodramatic about his problems. A character who has fallen out of faith can be really interesting and sympathetic. But Gabriel just goes on and on about “hey guys did you know I hate god so fuck him and also you’re stupid for liking him?” It started to chafe by the end. It was nice that near the end Gabe has a conversation with a friend who had a really great defense of God which was sorely needed. Everyone up to that point had just kinda shrugged at Gabe
The Vampires were so badass. I love when vampires are actually used as frightening horrors instead of sexy misunderstood paleboys. Every Big Boss Vamp was treated as a serious and impossible fight. Gabriel is known as the best sword fighter in his order AND has a magic talking sword (also I’ve read a lot of stories with talking swords and Ash is easily my favorite, love her) and he still has a very hard time fighting the top Vampires. Those fights were all so excellent.
A very nice start to the series. It has its warts, sure, but the overall tale is just so fun, mysterious, and blood-soaked that I can’t wait for the next installment.
UNPOPULAR GRIPE: I love art in books but I really didn’t like the style used here. Every character looked like a femme version. No one looked tough or scarred or bedraggled. Not nearly grim enough!
Buuuuut, I still had fits with this book. The primary problem was the presentation. Gabriel is telling his story to someone else. That’s fine, I’ve read a few books like that, pretty normal. What’s unusual and was sometimes distracting is that it’s told as literal quotes. Every paragraph starts with quotation marks! And then there’s the extra one when someone within the story is talking! I’m sorry but that is utterly obnoxious. Maybe no one else is bothered by this but there’s better ways to separate the viewpoints is all I’m saying.
This book is what the cool kids like to call Grimdark and it fits the bill perfectly. I mean, the villains are blood thirsty monsters so it has to be, right? And while I love all the blood, and viscera, and guts flying all over one of the other qualifications of Grimdark is usually a protagonist who is very haunted by their past and acts like a dick to everyone. Gabriel is sometimes a bit tooooo melodramatic about his problems. A character who has fallen out of faith can be really interesting and sympathetic. But Gabriel just goes on and on about “hey guys did you know I hate god so fuck him and also you’re stupid for liking him?” It started to chafe by the end. It was nice that near the end Gabe has a conversation with a friend who had a really great defense of God which was sorely needed. Everyone up to that point had just kinda shrugged at Gabe
The Vampires were so badass. I love when vampires are actually used as frightening horrors instead of sexy misunderstood paleboys. Every Big Boss Vamp was treated as a serious and impossible fight. Gabriel is known as the best sword fighter in his order AND has a magic talking sword (also I’ve read a lot of stories with talking swords and Ash is easily my favorite, love her) and he still has a very hard time fighting the top Vampires. Those fights were all so excellent.
A very nice start to the series. It has its warts, sure, but the overall tale is just so fun, mysterious, and blood-soaked that I can’t wait for the next installment.
UNPOPULAR GRIPE: I love art in books but I really didn’t like the style used here. Every character looked like a femme version. No one looked tough or scarred or bedraggled. Not nearly grim enough!
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you love vampires, Knights of Lazarus lore, the Witcher and LOTR vibes then you will love this epic fantasy world. From the found family, badass supporting feminist FMCs to the LGBTQIA+ relationships and unique magic system, this story is one you don’t want to miss.
However, don't expect a flawless and shining knight in this story. Gabriel de Leon (Geralt of Rivia x Aragorn), had some epic one liners [keep in mind there is a lot of swearing 😂], being a grumpy anti- hero with humour that had me laughing out loud. I also throughly enjoyed how our story was told from his recollections during his prison interview.
The book is a tomb and the middle did feel that it dragged a little, with some descriptions of animal death and questionable blood drinking that were not on my bingo card for this book and were the only elements I didn’t enjoy (only reason it wasn’t a 5🌟). But it is safe to safe book 2 has been ordered!!
𝖱𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
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 Stars (review to follow)
This book had its issues; but nothing that would cause it to come even close to a 1 Star rating. This was a long story; but a very interesting one. A new take on vampires and also their worth to humans, in a way. I will have to think more on this; so, of course; review to follow.
Highly Recommended
This book had its issues; but nothing that would cause it to come even close to a 1 Star rating. This was a long story; but a very interesting one. A new take on vampires and also their worth to humans, in a way. I will have to think more on this; so, of course; review to follow.
Highly Recommended
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This started off slower than the Nevernight trilogy for me. But once it got going, it got good!
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
At first it took me some time to get into this book but about 1/4 of the way through I really grew attached and started to get invested into it I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.