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A review by jonezeemcgee
Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff
4.0
Thank you to Goodreads and to The St. Martin's Publishing Group for the giveaway copy of Empire of the Damned. This has been my most anticipated book of the year, and to WIN a copy of it felt like winning the lottery. Except I am still in debt…
4.25 Stars
It is no secret that I am an over-the-moon fan of Kristoff’s books and writing. However, don’t for a moment think that this will color my look at his work. I am also very honest with my reviews. Each star for this tome has earned its place.
And what a tome this is. I thought I was chunky, but this book is the second in its series and weighs in at over 700 pages (as did the previous novel), and I can honestly say, it needed a bit of the fat trimmed. Not much, but a bit. While the story progresses in a compelling enough fashion, I often felt like it dragged in sections. It was, at times, a rinse-wash-repeat of near-successful attempts at achieving something that was somewhat of the same goal, only to meet well-timed devastation that either throws a wrench in the plan or serves as a traumatic moment for a character. I felt that many of these moments could be skipped or somehow condensed. At times I found myself putting the book back down and not picking it back up for a few days for this reason. This was not an issue I had with the first book, which I couldn’t wait to pick back up and had trouble putting down. Aside from this, there is not much criticism I can find for this second offering.
Empire of the Damned throws us back into the dark medieval landscape of the first book. In this novel, as with the first, this story is relayed in a split narrative to the Silversaint Gabriel de Leon’s captor, the Vampire Historian Jean-Francois, with Gabriel’s narrative being the weightier portion. The narrator(s) here are morally grey unreliable, and somewhat unlikable. Kristoff’s characters are not always likable, but somehow still beloved. The story resumes where it was left, following Gabriel, and Dior shortly after Gabriel saves Dior, the Holy Grail, from death.
He and his sister, the vampire Liathe, try and keep Dior from being snatched by the wrong hands, as they travel to Esani to find someone who can explain to them how to put an end to the endless night that has overtaken the lands, and do so without having to end Dior’s life. Of course, the trip does not go to plan in a way they would hope. In this world enemies become new friends, and people you once thought to be friends, become enemies.
This novel gives the blood-soaked world of the vampire clans an even closer look. It pulls no punches with its descriptions of gore, violence, and atrocity. Just as it tugs at our heartstrings with its descriptions of found family, love, and friendship. I found myself both gasping and at a couple of points near tears at some of the more shocking and heart wrenching moments. Especially those toward the end of the novel. There is no doubt that Kristoff can grab your attention and hold it in his fists with his words. The vampires and creatures in this offering are both terrifying and intriguing. They will make you recoil, but they will keep you reading. Many things are revealed to the reader in this novel, albeit slowly and deliberately.
Kristoff’s writing can be described as purposeful, colorful, wry, and very self-aware. Yes, it is full of metaphors, but I feel that Kristoff’s metaphors are often well down, or at the very least, charming in the turn of phrase. He is a master at crafting a world through storytelling.
This was overall a fairly satisfying build-up to the final book, and not one that I would say suffers much from “second book syndrome”. I would love to get further into detail, but will refrain from doing so until after the book's release. At that time, I may return to this review to add some spoiler-y thoughts.
4.25 Stars
It is no secret that I am an over-the-moon fan of Kristoff’s books and writing. However, don’t for a moment think that this will color my look at his work. I am also very honest with my reviews. Each star for this tome has earned its place.
And what a tome this is. I thought I was chunky, but this book is the second in its series and weighs in at over 700 pages (as did the previous novel), and I can honestly say, it needed a bit of the fat trimmed. Not much, but a bit. While the story progresses in a compelling enough fashion, I often felt like it dragged in sections. It was, at times, a rinse-wash-repeat of near-successful attempts at achieving something that was somewhat of the same goal, only to meet well-timed devastation that either throws a wrench in the plan or serves as a traumatic moment for a character. I felt that many of these moments could be skipped or somehow condensed. At times I found myself putting the book back down and not picking it back up for a few days for this reason. This was not an issue I had with the first book, which I couldn’t wait to pick back up and had trouble putting down. Aside from this, there is not much criticism I can find for this second offering.
Empire of the Damned throws us back into the dark medieval landscape of the first book. In this novel, as with the first, this story is relayed in a split narrative to the Silversaint Gabriel de Leon’s captor, the Vampire Historian Jean-Francois, with Gabriel’s narrative being the weightier portion. The narrator(s) here are morally grey unreliable, and somewhat unlikable. Kristoff’s characters are not always likable, but somehow still beloved. The story resumes where it was left, following Gabriel, and Dior shortly after Gabriel saves Dior, the Holy Grail, from death.
He and his sister, the vampire Liathe, try and keep Dior from being snatched by the wrong hands, as they travel to Esani to find someone who can explain to them how to put an end to the endless night that has overtaken the lands, and do so without having to end Dior’s life. Of course, the trip does not go to plan in a way they would hope. In this world enemies become new friends, and people you once thought to be friends, become enemies.
This novel gives the blood-soaked world of the vampire clans an even closer look. It pulls no punches with its descriptions of gore, violence, and atrocity. Just as it tugs at our heartstrings with its descriptions of found family, love, and friendship. I found myself both gasping and at a couple of points near tears at some of the more shocking and heart wrenching moments. Especially those toward the end of the novel. There is no doubt that Kristoff can grab your attention and hold it in his fists with his words. The vampires and creatures in this offering are both terrifying and intriguing. They will make you recoil, but they will keep you reading. Many things are revealed to the reader in this novel, albeit slowly and deliberately.
Kristoff’s writing can be described as purposeful, colorful, wry, and very self-aware. Yes, it is full of metaphors, but I feel that Kristoff’s metaphors are often well down, or at the very least, charming in the turn of phrase. He is a master at crafting a world through storytelling.
This was overall a fairly satisfying build-up to the final book, and not one that I would say suffers much from “second book syndrome”. I would love to get further into detail, but will refrain from doing so until after the book's release. At that time, I may return to this review to add some spoiler-y thoughts.