Reviews

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

alexa_d90's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

jessica_reading_writing's review against another edition

4.0

Overview: First of all thank you to my two book buddies for reading this HUGE book with me. It's not my usual genre and the only vampire book I've read is Twilight (no judgement please!) This book is a big beast and the words "epic" and "masterpiece" come to mind when trying to describe it. The world building is fantastic, the descriptions often beautiful and graphic and the story itself was gripping. There are different story lines within the book going back and forth in time as Gabriel tells his story.

Good Points: The chapters were short which definitely helped keep my attention. If they had been long then I would have struggled. Gabriel himself was such a likeable character. His wit and determination second to none. I loved the different stories and oh my...the ending...did not see that coming. Apparently this is the start of a series....in which case sign me up for the next one! Loved the banter between Gabriel and the vampire interviewing him.

Not so Good Points: Okay, so there were a few things I had a issue with. The swearing. I'm no prude but when almost every sentence had an F-word or worse I found it difficult to follow and connect with at times. The formal language was hard to grasp at first, but eventually I got used to it. I also feel at times it was quite long-winded, taking several pages to get to the point.

Overall...an EPIC book full of gore, swearing, sex and more...if you like all that then this one's for you!

nickl001's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

wiksa's review against another edition

Edgy style of writing made this read a pure suffering 

isoka's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

4.75

nshanay's review against another edition

The book is long kept losing momentum. Might pick up again

audleyzdarke's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

clio_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-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? Yes

3.5

I liked this book but somehow it felt like a combination of so many other stories. Which I will but in a spoiler, eventhough it probably does not spoil any plot. Anyway:

The overall atmosphere felt like the Vampire DLC of Skyrim, the overall Plot is Interview with a vampire just in reverse. Then the first part of the book is just Magic School, followed by my favourite part: the DND campaign. I found the adventure party very enjoyable, but I had to laugh at the introduction of them, because it felt like the first description of the Dungeon Master. After this part it's basically "The Witcher" ended by "The Last of Us".

So people who have consumed a lot of stories you will find something you like in there XD. In general a good vampire story, maybe a bit dark for me at some points. 

sp00ky_n3rd's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

I started this book being slightly annoyed at the writing. The author uses the odd French word in sentences that are otherwise completely in English and has excessive swearing (like waaay more than necessary, and I'm not a prudish person), but that does slow down a bit as the book goes on.
Despite these criticisms/annoyances, this book was SO GOOD. It had me by the throat the whole time and wanting to get to the next part. Despite the main character being a bit of a bastard, I grew to like and understand him. I actually loved this book in the end. It doesn't feel as big as it is at all. 

thelucindac's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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