You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
anomaeus 's review for:
Empire of the Vampire
by Jay Kristoff
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff is a book that truly caught me by surprise. In all honesty, the title is sort of ... forgettable. Like something you'd see in a line up of books in the fantasy section, and it just feels so generic that you move on without ever giving it a second thought. I know this is be definition, judging a book by its cover, but still. It was recommended to me by a friend because of its "biting dialogue". I was pleased to be wrong in my assumptions about this book.
I first want to talk about the things I think would be most divisive before I go into what I like. This is the sort of book that wears its inspirations on its sleeve. Meaning, it has a very almost cartoonishly post 00s edginess. The main character, Gabriel De Leon, is by definition an unabashed edge lord. A grim past, a career cynic, unironically states: "I never called my self a hero", but... I love it. I'll get more into that in a bit. Another thing is that it really does subscribe to the grim dark atmosphere and does not pull its punches. Characters speak vulgarly, it depicts many levels of psychological, physical, and even sexual abuse. It is certainly not for the faint of heart, but I never got the feeling that it was being indulgent. I felt like it described things without needing to take a foray into unnecessary detail, which can be appreciated considering the level of brutality in this world.
The things I loved about this book have to be its dialogue and its characters. Mr. Kristoff is genuinely a funny person, and made me chuckle out loud a number of times. He also can write a really poignant scene, I genuinely teared up at one point, and I was bummed out for the rest of the day. I really love the pacing as well, it's told in three different time lines, and it alternates between third person (present) and first person (past) because the story is being recounted to us. Very cool concept that I haven't seen used that much. The character work is by far the stand out. I was very unsure of it at first, everyone sort of sucked in their own way, but then they really grew on me, and I felt myself genuinely caring what fates may/may not befall them. Also, the setting and atmosphere is superb. The world feels lived in, and takes a lot of inspiration from French history and by extension, a franchise near and dear to my heart, Bloodborne. I would consider this book a page turner. I would often tell myself that I can only fit in 10-20 pages on any given night, and sometimes I'd find myself breezing through 50+ pages, and on particularly good days, almost 100 in one sitting. I haven't done that since I read Game of Thrones a little over a decade ago.
Empire of the Vampire was a fantastic start to what will become a trilogy, and I find that I am fan of Jay Kristoff and will be looking into his other work. I cannot recommend this enough if you're looking for something with Bloodborne aesthetic, witty dialogue with a similar edge to Batman (2022), a gripping & imaginative world, and some truly harrowing scenes of despair. Love this book!
I first want to talk about the things I think would be most divisive before I go into what I like. This is the sort of book that wears its inspirations on its sleeve. Meaning, it has a very almost cartoonishly post 00s edginess. The main character, Gabriel De Leon, is by definition an unabashed edge lord. A grim past, a career cynic, unironically states: "I never called my self a hero", but... I love it. I'll get more into that in a bit. Another thing is that it really does subscribe to the grim dark atmosphere and does not pull its punches. Characters speak vulgarly, it depicts many levels of psychological, physical, and even sexual abuse. It is certainly not for the faint of heart, but I never got the feeling that it was being indulgent. I felt like it described things without needing to take a foray into unnecessary detail, which can be appreciated considering the level of brutality in this world.
The things I loved about this book have to be its dialogue and its characters. Mr. Kristoff is genuinely a funny person, and made me chuckle out loud a number of times. He also can write a really poignant scene, I genuinely teared up at one point, and I was bummed out for the rest of the day. I really love the pacing as well, it's told in three different time lines, and it alternates between third person (present) and first person (past) because the story is being recounted to us. Very cool concept that I haven't seen used that much. The character work is by far the stand out. I was very unsure of it at first, everyone sort of sucked in their own way, but then they really grew on me, and I felt myself genuinely caring what fates may/may not befall them. Also, the setting and atmosphere is superb. The world feels lived in, and takes a lot of inspiration from French history and by extension, a franchise near and dear to my heart, Bloodborne. I would consider this book a page turner. I would often tell myself that I can only fit in 10-20 pages on any given night, and sometimes I'd find myself breezing through 50+ pages, and on particularly good days, almost 100 in one sitting. I haven't done that since I read Game of Thrones a little over a decade ago.
Empire of the Vampire was a fantastic start to what will become a trilogy, and I find that I am fan of Jay Kristoff and will be looking into his other work. I cannot recommend this enough if you're looking for something with Bloodborne aesthetic, witty dialogue with a similar edge to Batman (2022), a gripping & imaginative world, and some truly harrowing scenes of despair. Love this book!