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sandrae04'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexism, Violence, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Blood, Child death, Homophobia, Addiction, Grief, and Animal death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death of parent, Torture, War, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Drug use
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 of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Blood, and Gore
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: Grief, Violence, Gore, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Torture, Death of parent, and Animal death
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: Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Ableism, Animal death, Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Abandonment, Bullying, Cannibalism, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Torture, Alcoholism, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Violence, and War
cc0906'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Child death, War, Bullying, Slavery, Torture, Cursing, Confinement, Gore, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, Death, and Alcoholism
fivexfiveb'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Torture, Grief, Bullying, and Child death
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: Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Stalking, Body horror, Child death, Drug abuse, Grief, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Gun violence, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Torture
Moderate: Excrement, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, War, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Vomit, and Stalking
Minor: Pregnancy and Rape
gardenofroses'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Grief, Drug abuse, Addiction, Homophobia, Death, Drug use, Death of parent, Murder, War, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
leonormsousa'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: Violence, Death, Child death, Blood, Gore, Animal death, Addiction, Drug use, Alcohol, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, War, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Sexism
holly_n's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Animal death
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Homophobia, and Alcoholism
Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Torture, and Sexual assault