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pacifickat'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
3.25
"We'd fought side by side [...], and like I said, there's a bond between men who have placed their lives in a brother's hands and asked that brother to do the same. But there's fanaticism, too. There's faith unbridled and minds unquestioning, the soldier at the order of his commander, the faithful at the word of their priest. [...] My brother trusted me not so much as once he had."
Ok, so first off, my big beef with Kristoff as a writer:
He seems to have ripped off major elements of other writers and creators, such as
Do readers who adore this book simply not recognize all the glaringly obvious borrowed plot elements, or do they enjoy the references and not mind that it makes the storyline easy to anticipate? I felt like this blunted what probably should have been the most surprising plot twists, and saw several big reveals coming a mile away, somewhat gobsmacked the author would so directly pull from other books and media. When I described some of these overlaps with other works to my husband, he asked if I thought the book was partially written by AI. (I don't believe it was, but that would exlpain the number of things pulled from existing sources.)
I also didn't really like how sanguimancy was never really explained other than it fixes a lot of problems in a pinch in the story. Feels very convenient, a very squishy element of the magic system.
Now, on to things I liked:
In the end, I still very much enjoyed the audiobook. The audio narrator did a brilliant job bringing the characters to life with various distinct accents and voice intonations. I honestly probably would have given up on the book otherwise due to all of the seeming copy/paste from works of other creators and the subsequent predictability of the storyline.
I know the author doesn't like the term, but the story is grimdark through and through, meaning no good and noble deed goes unpunished. I like what this kind of story says about those who do good in a bleak world in spite of great personal cost. Kindness and mercy are only extended at great risk. I think this is one of the most compelling things about EotV. Allowing oneself to love takes the greatest sort of courage.
I liked how Kristoff used this dark and bloody setting to explore ideas about faith, fate, fidelity, fanaticism, family, friendship, and the stubborn endurance of hope. (I know, that last one should have started with F as well.) There are elements of the One Faith, the book's thinly veiled version of Christianity, that are just as dark and frightening as the impending vampire invasion: a torturous inquisition, corporal punishments, acts of violence in the name of blind faith, fidelity to the cruel teachings and practices of church leaders, fanatical interpretations of scriptures and prophecies, and an underlying religious lore that makes sacrificing individuals for the sake of the whole an acceptable and honorable wager (in the pattern of the Christ figure they call the Redeemer). This is a world of characters caught between a rock and a hard place, each deciding what to do in the face of their humanity becoming a liability. What will they hope in? What hill will they die on? Who/what will they sacrifice for redemption? This is where the book is at its best.
The best action sequence imo was
I wish that
Anyways, that's my meandering review on this 27+ hour listen. I will likely listen to book 2 next month.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Classism
Religious trauma, religious fanaticism, clergy abuse, fridged female characers, biting, eyeball injuriesmetaphorsandmisc'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
whackettreading'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Outing, and War
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
garrettcz'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Gore, Sexual content, Slavery, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
novelty_reads'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? It's complicated
4.5
In 2021 there was no book quite as hyped up as Empire of the Vampire.
I remember seeing it everywhere. You couldn't escape it on Bookstagram/Booktok and die-hard book collectors were scrambling to get ARCs of it. With such hype, I was a little bit worried about this book. I was worried if it would meet such high expectations or fall epically flat.
Well, let's just say this:
Empire of the Vampire takes a while to get into. Or at least for me it did.
The book starts off with our main character, Gabriel, the last Silversaint, imprisoned in a cell by vampires, telling a historian, Jean-François about his life and how he came to be a living legend. This book, just looking at form alone, astounded me at how it goes between the interview-like present, Gabriel's early days as a Silversaint, and a few years before his current situation looking for the Holy Grail.
The book's first "part" (350 pages in) was all about the world building, setting up the scene and the ambience of the novel. While it was interesting, nothing really grabbed me after the first 50 pages (in part one). I think that's mainly due to the fact that I wasn't really connecting to the characters much.
But then we got to part 2 and all of a sudden, I understood why this book got so much praise.
The book's slower beginning makes up for everything it lacked in part 2 where all the plot twists happen and all the loose ends are tied up. All of a sudden, we got that closeness/connection we wanted from the characters and I started to really enjoy my journey with this book.
Where Gabriel started off as a stoic-sort of character, by the end of the book you see just how much he has been through. Honestly, I didn't expect that ending though which I won't get into for spoilers reasons but it made me understand his character and everything he's been through. I love it when books come full circle and all the pieces of the puzzle come together, not just plot wise but character wise too.
I also liked Dior though admittedly not as much as Gabriel. I've been told book 2 follows this character as well as another so I'll be excited to discover more about Dior as the series progresses. Also, I absolutely loved the bromance between Aaron, Baptiste and Gabriel and it honestly elevated the book so much! I'm excited to see them all again in Empire of the Damned.
This book was unlike any other books I've read before: it was dark, moody, bloody and hugely atmospheric and while I've read darker fantasy before, none were as gothic as this one. It also was the thickest book I've read in a long time, which for a person like me who read 300-400 paged books, this was basically double my regular length. That being said though, I would be very excited to read book two and I hope Gabriel gets his revenge on Voss. He really has been through hell and back.
ACTUAL RATING: 4.4 STARS
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and War
amy_reading_23'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
5.0
It's about Gabriel De Lion, a dhampir recounting his life to a vampire who has him imprisoned. He focuses on two tales, the one of his upbringing and the one of the adventure leading him here. Just when one tale comes to a cliffhanger he switches to the other.
I really enjoyed Gabriel's character. He is a destructive mixture of cynical, sad, fearless and hopeful, a man having lived an incredibly hard life. But although the book has dark and sad moments, he tells his story with humour and I couldn't get enough of it.
There were some bits I was unsure of, that made me a bit uncomfortable. E.g. I don't know why Kristoff felt the need to write such explicit sex scenes between teenagers in an adult fantasy book. That felt unessecary and having heard some criticisms of his other books I do have to wonder why he chose to do that. But other than that, the book was great and I'll be thinking about it for a while.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
simmich429'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
januaryt123's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Homophobia, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Abandonment
novaleestar'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Excrement, and Death of parent
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism