Reviews with content warning for War - Empire of the Vampire

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Reviews tagging 'War'

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

77 reviews

sarah837's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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writingcaia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

It’s been twenty seven years of darkness, twenty seven years since the sun barely shines in the world, and now the black lion, the last of the Silversaints, the hero of the people, Gabriel de Leon has been captured by the new ruling vampire house.
There Gabe is forced to relay his life’s story which he fast forwards to when he turns fifteen just before being sent to the Ordo Argent, the Silver Order, to become a Silversaint. Half-human half-vampire it seems to his mother that the order will be his best option, and it is. It is there he will find a family, love, power, and recognition all he has ever dreamed and more, but at a cost. That price we see in another period of his life’s journey that he also relays to the vampire historian writing his story down, which is when he is thirty two, just two years before the present time.
In sum we will have a pretty clear idea of who Gabe was until he was seventeen and at thirty two, the rest we get only scraps that tease our appetite for more. One thing is clear Gabriel de Leon is now jaded and crushed, but the light of his hatred for the vampires is unbroken and mighty, and there seems to be hope for his current status as a prisoner or so we hope.
It is hard to review a book I’ve waited for for more than a year, the expectations were enormous, first because it’s Jay and second because I freaking love vampires.
So, what did I think?
I loved it, it was awesome. It’s medium-fast paced, has a great world building, the characters are amazing, well fleshed, and just overall super interesting. It is dark, bloody and the narration has the snarky-ness, which I adore, we are used to since Nevernight, and I mean Gabriel is mega hot, those illustrations wow, and another favourite is Dior. The only minus for me was the back and forth between timelines, I got so invested in one and then had to go back to the other, and vice-versa, plus on those almost seventeen years between them so much happens that we just know from small references dropped here and there, that specially annoyed me. I do prefer a more regular timeline particularly if we almost know what happen between the two timelines but not enough to quench the curiosity. But, honestly it didn’t take much from my love of the story.
And, now the suffering begins, the wait for the next two books in the series.
If you love adult fantasy, vampires and dark moody books, this is for you.

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emesfiz_28's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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the_midwest_library's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

First book of 2022 and a really solid start. This grim, sarcastic, raw vampire epic was really fantastic. I enjoyed the story, the world was cleaned out, the main characters likeable in the worst ways. My only complaint was the pacing felt a little funky at the halfway point but it found its footing by the end. Really enjoyable, super fun and dark.

Halfway through the year I'm bumping my review from 4.5 to 5 because I can't stop thinking about this book which was fantastic!

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hildaahlstrand's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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tatiannaskye's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

This book took me practically a whole month to read and at first part of me hated that it was taking me so long but the other part now actually doesn’t mind. This book tore my heart in half and left me to stitch it back together. I felt as if I was watching the most complex movie I have ever watched in my life while reading this book. The Worldbuilding was phenomenal and unimaginable. Just the way that this story, Gabriel’s story was laid out was unalike anything I’ve ever read. This by far is now a new favorite series of mine, hope the next book comes out soon.

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sleepysadpoet's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense medium-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

4.5

I wanna start this off by saying I love the interview with a vampire vibes to this story (rip, Anne Rice). Storytelling within a story is such a cool thing and I have always enjoyed that.
Some of the language was confusing, especially when Danton would talk. (It's still fuck that guy though).

When it was revealed that the grail was a person was when I really got invested. I'm not religious by any means and don't believe in a higher power, but it got me thinking quite a bit honestly. I know that the initiates were fighters for God, and their holier than thou attitude made me mad sometimes. They would sin like no one's business, but get mad when... *Checks notes* Aaron is found in bed with a man? Sounds a lot like some of the christians we know nowadays huh?

This story had twists and turns at every corner, and I love that despite the whole premise being that it's an interview, I could picture everything just fine in my head. The artwork is gorgeous too.

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