Reviews with content warning for Gore - Empire of the Vampire

The bits I liked I REALLY liked.
The issues I have with it REALLY irk me.

The world building is immaculate if a bit on the nose, really vivid writing and visceral descriptions, a great mechanic. Love the use of tattoos and the lore building. Overall I liked the story itself.

The issues, though?
I found myself rolling my eyes at a lot of the vulgarity because it was genuinely ludicrous at times. Swearing doesn’t bother me in the slightest but the lengths to which these characters went just to get a “banged your relative” joke in was over the top.

Everything has a simile. Everything. The doors locked like a secret. The floors cold like the night. The night air cold like knives. Wind like knives. Words like knives. Running frightened like a startled horse in a barn on fire and the devil whipping it all the way. The lips red like red things.

The repetitive phrases (fuck my face, like his lady’s lips the last time he kissed her, better a bastard than a fool) stopped feeling symbolic and started feeling like a crutch about half way through and using the same *twist* mechanic used twice (gender neutral names being the crux of two stories told so closely together) made it feel less polished than it could have been.

Thanks to various reviews etc I was also expecting a “big thing” to shock me at the end but I kind of felt it was obvious…?

Anti-climactic, in a word, but I do want to know what happens so it’s not like I hated it.

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caitlinbutcher's review against another edition

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Insanely boring. Like oh my god. I got EIGHT HOURS into the audiobook and I was still SO bored. I could have read an entire book in the time it took me to learn that Gabe is a horny watered-down-vampire but vampire-killing legend who swears a fuck ton. I was on the fence about whether to continue with it or not when I looked up some goodreads reviews. I was feeling a little weird about the portrayal of women in this book but the goodreads reviews really cemented it for me. Apparently only the women in the story die horrific and graphic deaths. So yeah. I understand now why people hate this author.

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shadeyc's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

Not quite what I expected, but also a lot of what I expected...I know, that makes no sense.
I enjoyed it mostly. There is always that moment when I read Kristoff books (actually not just Kristoff books, there are a couple that do it) where I sigh and roll my eyes and think 'here we go again, some more torture for your MC that doesn't actually give much to the story'. It's not bad, it's just a little tiring. Sometimes I think his books could be much shorter and properly breathtaking all the way to the end.
Anyway. I like Gabe. He's a bastard as intended. But he's also a dumbarse, but I guess that's the point.
I LOVE the illustrations, that was a cool touch. I have a special spot in my heart for Baptiste. And all the good good dogs, and good good horses, and good good giant kitties.

(But can we PLEASE stop fucking killing them off?!?! We all know I cannot handle that shit)

. And Ash, ah Ash, you're the best of them all.
In general the story is pretty solid, and the format it unfolds in works really well to keep intrigue going (aside from that aforementioned horrid momentum dragging bit).
Oh also, I hate it when a reveal or reveals happen and you see them coming for miles, I cannot be the only one who saw all that foreshadowing, it was pretty heavy handed, there was A LOT.
Maybe I'm just tired and cynical, and want to get all my jolly's faster than I can read these bricks.
Will be interesting to see what actually gets put into the next book.

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karapillar's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

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justanothergirl_23's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-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? Yes

4.25

I finished it? Or it finished me? Up for debate.

First of all can we take a moment to appreciate that cover? Because damn!

Now let's get to the actual book;
Jay Kristoff has never been known as a kind writer or even a writer who's anything less than brutal but holy shit for all of my mental preparation, I couldn't have possibly been prepared for THIS!
I now understand why Mr. Kristoff was hyping this book as much as he did; the man did not hold back! This was brutal and gory and graphic, and although I am not a queasy reader there were parts where I had to pause the audiobook and get some fresh air before I could continue!

There was one scene in particular that I can't think of without gagging, hell I feel like throwing up as I'm writing this and it there scene where

Gabriel drinks that girl's period blood

, that was the point where I fully understood what kind of book this was and what to expect going forward.

Don't get me wrong, yes it's gory as all hell but it's not a bad book in the slightest, nor is it gory just for the heck of it. The brutality is there because the story requires it and it's woven in very well.

Empire of The Vampire is told in a very interesting way, where it starts with our MC; Gabriel in a cell and he's asked to tell the story of how he killed the Forever King. But unlike I expected, that exchange wasn't a one-off thing, as a matter of fact the dialogue between Gabe and the vampire prompting him for the story are core parts of our tales and they give a lot of insight. We also jump from one point to another so the story isn't told chronologically but rather in a very "My ADHD-self telling a story I'm excited about" way; which may not be for everyone but I for one, loved it!

I ended this book with more questions than I started so I hope the next book will come out soon!

Overall this was an incredible albeit brutal read and if you find the idea interesting then I highly recommend it!

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leonormsousa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

Although I’ve been reading a lot of fantasy, it’s been a while since I read such an epic adventure book as Empire of the Vampire, and what an amazing experience it was! I came in with great expectations and despite being surprised with some aspects of the book, I was absolutely not let down!

󠁰󠁰󠁰󠁰First of all, a warning: this is definitely a very adult and a very violent book! Some scenes are very descriptive and can be quite appalling if you’re not expecting them. On the other end, it’s also a much more emotional book than it lets on. I shed some tears on more than one moment and there’s one particular chapter that it’s just completely heartbreaking. I would definitely recommend reading the trigger warnings if you are more sensitive to some kinds of topics.

Now, for the book itself, it was amazing! Although it’s quite a big one (700+ pages), the pace is just right, keeping you completely hooked to the story. The book contains three main timelines: in the present, the MC, Gabriel, is telling his story to his captors and he does so alternating between his younger self story (15-16 yo) and his quest adventure in his 32. Sometimes with the intercalation of different timelines (or POVs), I sometimes find myself wanting to skip the “less interesting” one(s), but in this case, there was a perfect balance. I was always super invested in all of the timelines, and the way in which you uncovered the secrets in each one was just so well matched!

I also thought that the “present timeline”, although “not necessary”, gave something very special and unique to the book. At the same time, the comparison between the 3 Gabriels allows this book to be so much more than just an adventure story: it becomes a story about humans and how we deal with war, faith, grief, glory, treason and love, not just on the short term but also throughout the years.

Gabriel, although a bit of a bastard and despite me not liking him very much in the beginning, revealed himself to be a great companion but Astrid was the character I fell in love with the most, closely followed by Dior. But even when the characters were not that likeable, they were all super well constructed and developed and right in that grey area where I love them to be (well, maybe the vampires were just really on the black side 😝). It was that kind of “I love to hate you!”

Now, to my one little critique (that is really just one small point): there were some plot twists that weren't that surprising for me personally. I wasn’t necessarily expecting them but at the same time when they did happen, I felt like I had read them somewhere else (and I had, I checked later 😝). But it was really just a minor point!

And apparently, we’re doing sandwich feedback cause we’re coming back to the good 😝 First of all: loved the queer representation! Second: absolutely freaking loved the illustrations! They made so much sense in the context of the story and they were so helpful to visualize some scenes. I think I’ve never seen illustrations make so much sense in a book. Big shout out to Bon Orthwick (also known as @monolimeart)! Third: loved the french vibes! Especially since I’m currently living in France, it just added to my whole experience. Fourth: loved the reference to the important part that women play in wars. No, wars are not and never were just fought by men! For me personally, it was so important! Even if it’s not something huge (not all books need to focus on these topics), I think is super relevant when authors make their MCs act, say or just even think about the kind of inequalities they see. It raises awareness and that’s always the starting point to something more.

Finally (and before I run out of space), I must say I was not expecting at all a book with so much religion in it (I identified a lot of Christianity but that is the one religion I had the most contact with by far so it could also be based on others). It didn’t particularly bother me, I was just surprised. But I gotta say: I thought it was done in the most tasteful and graceful way! There was never any attempt to defend either the existence or inexistence of God, or anything similar, so, in my opinion, it’s a book that doesn’t intend to criticize or support either believers or non-believers of any religion. It mainly focuses on faith and how it affects our actions, even our thoughts. It also addresses a bit the clash of religions and intolerance. But once again, all done in a way that is not to discredit anyone or anything, but more to maybe display the effects of religion in our lives and the ones of others.

Ok, now that I’ve clearly written too much (this is always the problem: never know what to write and then I start and I write way too much), a quick conclusion: if you’re the kind of person that enjoys a good old dark and epic fantasy adventure, read this! I honestly can’t wait to read book 2 in this series. There’s so much more to uncover, I loved how the first one ended and I heard we’re getting a second POV 🤭 Officially a fan of Jay Kristoff and I’m super curious to read some of his older books as well!

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di_the_reader's review against another edition

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3.5

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cutewitch's review

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adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I feel like this is a bit of a Dead Dove situation for me. The jacket certainly warns you that it’s dark. But I dunno, on the back of the Nevernight trilogy, I guess I just wasn’t expecting it to be so… RELENTLESSLY dark and sad? You kinda feel bad, it’s just one thing after another for this guy. Almost nothing goes right ever for 700 pages. I was also maybe expecting more wit, maybe some levity there… and it’s true, Gabriel is the foul-mouthed asshole father of Mia Corvere’s dreams (nightmares); all of the book’s lightness comes from him being a nasty bastard. I liked the take on vampires, I liked the tri-timeline structure. I enjoyed the story, it was enjoyable and I look forward to the next one, but… idk. I feel like this one won’t really stick with me.

Plus, I don’t get why other reviewers are raving about the worldbuilding? Did they READ Nevernight?? This is pretty basic powered-up-vampires, plus pretty basic pseudo-medieval-renaissancey-Europe, plus Catholicism with a VERY THIN new coat of paint. This is not revolutionary, people.

Sex cw:

is it just me or does Kristoff have a menstruation-cunnilingus kink? I’m not judging, just observing… if I had a nickel for every time he wrote a scene with that very particular phenomenon, i’d have at least two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

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