Reviews

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

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

moonysraccoons's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-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

5.0

rachelreadsfantasy's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

I fucking loved it. I am not usually one for vampire stories and I really have to be in the mood to read something this grim dark but it was perfection. I love the narrative style and the two-story lines of one individual and I love that Gabriel was just unapologetic asshole. 

drivenbyfiction's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

3.0

iliolis's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

sammyem's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

phedre's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

Can we make illustrations in books the norm?  This was an amazing book, and the pics helped bring it to life.  So good.  I haven't read a book in this "interview" type style, and other than sometimes being confused as to when dialogue was happening or who was speaking because of all the quotation marks, I enjoyed the style choice.  It is a slow book, in my opinion, but it was very well done.  I can appreciate a slow book when it's written well.  I really enjoyed the interesting cussing and name calling.  I cackled quite a bit.  Who knew a book so dark could be so funny.  And it was dark.  There is a lot of death and violence.  It's very Game of Throne - esque, in that no one is safe.  I really enjoyed reading this and can't wait to get to the second book.  

dawnstar96's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0