A review by leonormsousa
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

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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