Reviews

4.33 stars.

I'd tried reading this book once before and bounced off the very first chapter, but I decided to give it another try based on my spouse's good opinion of it. I wasn't in love with the story until about halfway through, incidentally when Gabriel did an bout-face to become a decent human being. I wasn't exactly suffering through the first half of the book, but I spent a lot of time rolling my eyes at the MC's attitude, the gratuitous French "ouis" and "familles," and the puerile, over-the-top swearing. Listen, I love a good swear, but they have to be deployed strategically, not sprayed all over like blood in a Tarantino film. In the second half of the story, things get more serious, and the plot morphs into a new shape. A familiar shape, but one I like. A lot about this book is familiar. I caught explicit references to Interview With the Vampire, and potentially Kingkiller Chronicles, but I also wrote down Blade, Devil May Cry, Castlevania,
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The Last of Us,
Kushiel's Dart, The Ruin of Kings, and

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The Da Vinci Code

as comparable in one way or another. In addition to being derivative (though in a mostly positive way!), this book isn't afraid to lay on the clichés. In a way, it makes things more satisfying, as do the frequent ironic callbacks. However, as with Rothfuss and Kingkiller, the author is also overreliant on similes. Everything is "cold as tombs," or "quick as flies," etc., and they get repetitive. Otherwise, the prose is quite good.

I warned my spouse when I was a little ways in that I thought I could sniff out the potential for some

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fridging of female characters, based on the general misogyny of the setting. Boy was I right. I wasn't thrilled by all the deaths

, but the tonal shift in the second half of the book managed to assuage my annoyance enough for me to enjoy it anyway. Heads up if you're not a fan of that kind of thing.

In the end, I have changed my opinion of Gabriel enough to say that I like him, and I'm eager to connect the ending of the first book with the events of the present-day framing device. On we go.

pennj's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jaylenrick's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense medium-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

3.5

laneylane573's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Content Warnings

arianappstrg's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

malignantcactus's review against another edition

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3.0

It's fine, but Jay Kristoff is a hack.

Empire of the Vampire is literally the twist from Da Vinci Code meets ending of The Last of Us but with vampires instead of zombies. As written with the edginess of a man still stuck in his high school emo phase.

Nothing original in the slightest. It's all serviceable in how he put it together, but the book is far too derivative with no identity of its own outside of "edgy Vampire man hates God" to rate it any higher.

cheestringsfan's review against another edition

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5.0

I am afraid of how thicc the other parts will be…

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