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A review by dariadanley
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
4.0
This is one of the best books I've read in a while.
Jay Kristoff creates a masterful story about a land overrun by vampires since the sun stopped shining. It follows two parallel timelines, one where Gabriel is young and learning, and one where Gabriel is much older and searching for the Holy Grail.
This book was so refreshing since it's so different from the books I've been reading. It's incredibly dark and explicit (PLEASE DO NOT LET SOMEONE UNDER 18 GET THEIR HANDS ON THIS). This is the kind of book I've been craving in fantasy. It's REALISTIC. By that I mean that there is death, there is a lot of death, and one bad thing around every corner. Sometimes in fantasy, everyone gets a happy ending (looking at you SJM) when it's not the reality of the situation the characters are in.
I loved the characters throughout this story. I felt a real connection with them and I could find defining characteristics. Which only made the deaths throughout even harder.
There wasn't a dull moment in this book. There were quieter moments, but not sections where I was drudging through. I wasn't thinking "okay let's move on already." The story was always moving, in all of its 739 pages. Even the journey sections seemed to move.
I do have to say that the religion in this story has so many commonalities with Catholicism that made me uncomfortable. It was basically that everything we hold dear and sacred was tweaked. For example, they make the sign of the cross and in this, the characters made the sign of the wheel. Similarly, the story of San Michon bares so many similarities to the conspiracy of Mary Magdalen from the Da Vinci Code. It didn't feel original and I wish that instead of frankly renaming everything from Catholicism, he would have made a whole new religion. That's why I took off a star.
Other than that issue, I loved this. Kristoff is one of my favorites and I'll definitely be reading the next installment.
Jay Kristoff creates a masterful story about a land overrun by vampires since the sun stopped shining. It follows two parallel timelines, one where Gabriel is young and learning, and one where Gabriel is much older and searching for the Holy Grail.
This book was so refreshing since it's so different from the books I've been reading. It's incredibly dark and explicit (PLEASE DO NOT LET SOMEONE UNDER 18 GET THEIR HANDS ON THIS). This is the kind of book I've been craving in fantasy. It's REALISTIC. By that I mean that there is death, there is a lot of death, and one bad thing around every corner. Sometimes in fantasy, everyone gets a happy ending (looking at you SJM) when it's not the reality of the situation the characters are in.
I loved the characters throughout this story. I felt a real connection with them and I could find defining characteristics. Which only made the deaths throughout even harder.
There wasn't a dull moment in this book. There were quieter moments, but not sections where I was drudging through. I wasn't thinking "okay let's move on already." The story was always moving, in all of its 739 pages. Even the journey sections seemed to move.
I do have to say that the religion in this story has so many commonalities with Catholicism that made me uncomfortable. It was basically that everything we hold dear and sacred was tweaked. For example, they make the sign of the cross and in this, the characters made the sign of the wheel. Similarly, the story of San Michon bares so many similarities to the conspiracy of Mary Magdalen from the Da Vinci Code. It didn't feel original and I wish that instead of frankly renaming everything from Catholicism, he would have made a whole new religion. That's why I took off a star.
Other than that issue, I loved this. Kristoff is one of my favorites and I'll definitely be reading the next installment.