A review by craigreadsbooks
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

Did not finish book. Stopped at 93%.
adventurous dark funny 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? Yes

3.75

📚Spoiler Free Review📚
 
Book: Empire of the Vampire
Author: Jay Kristoff
My Rating: 3.75 Stars
 
Review
 
Friends, familia, and those who fit into neither, join me on a journey to The Empire of Elidaen, where the sun hasn’t risen for 27 years and vampires roam during the dusky days and pitch black nights 🌑
 
Beware! These vampires do not shimmer and glitter, these murderous beasts have declared war on humans and will rip your throat out quicker than you can beg for mercy 🩸🩸🩸
 
Fear not, for we have a champion. Let me introduce you to Gabe, he might look like the undead but he is a silver saint, chosen to hunt and destroy vampires, wherever they may hide. Alas, our hero has led a hard, brutal life, starting from when he was just a boy 🗡️
 
Do you care to hear his tale?
 
Take a seat by the warm, crackling, fireplace, sit back, relax and allow me to take you on a tale through the Empire of the Vampire 🩸

I came to Empire of the Vampire as my first Jay Kristoff book, so I was unfamiliar with any of his earlier works or his writing style.

In saying that I do know he has a very loyal and loving fan base and that previous books have been well received and EOTV was an anticipated release for lots of people in the book community.

Before reading the book I skimmed StoryGraph and Goodreads and there were lots of 5* reviews and some glowing recommendations on booktube.

I enjoyed Anne Rice Interview of a Vampire, and there were a lot of reviews comparing the two. This plus the high ratings meant I went into this book expecting to love it.

Sadly, although I enjoyed it, there were a few areas that, for me, made it less enjoyable 😲

What I liked:

Even though it is a chunk of a book, it’s pretty fast-paced and there is a lot of action throughout ⚔️

I thought the world-building was excellent and I could feel this bleak, decaying, dark setting where the story takes place. In particular, Kristoff does an excellent job of making the reader feel the cold as the character's journey through ice and snow ❄️

I liked the idea of the vampire hunter being interviewed by the vampire and the way, throughout the story, we are reminded that the interview was taking place.

What I didn’t like:

Although we had a really good insight into our main protagonist Gabe, I felt the rest of the characters weren’t given enough time. I would love to have seen this as a multi-pov book and gotten to know the story through the eyes of the different characters we meet.

I think that this book could have been turned into a trilogy on its own simply by expanding into the lives and motivations of a handful of the other characters. I would love to have heard Chloe’s side of the story or given a deeper insight into Dior's past 📖

This leads me to my opinion that this book is much more plot, than character driven. That’s not a bad thing, but I prefer to spend time getting to know the characters. When a character dies I want to, at the very least, have some sort of emotion, be that relief or sadness. This wasn’t the case in EOTV as I didn’t feel any connection to the characters in question.

Lastly, EOTV felt like a new adult book to me (somewhere in between YA and adult) partly because it didn’t quite lean into the darkness as much as I thought it might, this story could have been dark and horrific but it felt quite tame.

Overall:

I enjoyed this book, it is a chunkier read and it took me 11 days to get through (my average is 3 or 4 days for a book), so it’s not a read to be taken on lightly, but if you like an action-packed, plot-driven book then I think you will enjoy EOTV.

As for the sequel, which I believe is due in late 2023, I will be picking it up as I’m keen to see where the story goes from here.

Have you read Empire of the Vampire and if so do you agree or disagree with my take on it?