Empire of the Vampire

by Jay Kristoff

DISCLAIMER: I have done a deep dive on the recent accusations against Jay Kristoff, which is why this review is so delayed.  You can find my research and opinions here.  While reading this, I tried to keep my eye out for any content that might be viewed as problematic, but found none.  That said, I am one of those fantasy readers who thinks there’s certain leeway in fictional characters and cultures, including my own, so my radar on that might not be great.

This is my most anticipated adult book of 2021.  It was my most anticipated of 2020, back with the original release date, but The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue [review here] easily filled that slot instead. That aside, when I was offered early access to this book, I jumped on it. I wanted to read it twice before posting this review, but life got in the way.

That said, part of that was me doing the research I linked above [see the disclaimer], but part of it was also trying to squeeze in at least Interview with the Vampire to do a sort of comparison, since I’ve seen a lot of the negativity surrounding this book has been that it’s basically a rip off of that one.

I can honestly say, with 71% of it read and not being hooked or motivated to finish it though I should have long ago, if Empire of the Vampire is a rip-off of Interview with the Vampire, my opinion is that Empire is the better novel.

I know, I know, how dare I say that against a classic, but I’m allowed my opinion, and that’s what it is. If anything, trying to push through Interview is leaving me dying to pick Empire back up. That said, Empire suffered from the same beginning issues I [and many others] had with Nevernight – you have to give it a bit to grip you. That’s not to say the beginning is bad, because it isn’t – it just didn’t immediately make me struggle to put it down. But, like Nevernight, I’m expecting that to change on my reread [which, again, I expect to get to before publication, TBR be damned, because I’m dying to pick it up again], because the beginning is full of good information and foundation, and I’ll appreciate it more the second time, I’m sure.

Basically, all of that to say, just like with my recommendation on Nevernight, give it a bit before you DNF. With Nevernight, I had a particular page number to give people before they made that call, but I didn’t notice it this time around, because I was so hooked by then that the outside world stopped existing for me. Upon my reread, I’ll come back and update this with a page number [and chapter, for my audiobook readers, I see you!] of when a good DNF judgment spot is. Mainly because this book is definitely not for everyone, so there will definitely be DNF’ers and, “I hate this book!”/”This book is awful!” reviewers out there. But I’m a firm believer that some books need longer before judgment, and Kristoff’s books tend to fall into that category.

Recommendation: if you’re looking for a new and improved Interview with the Vampire with the interesting twist of the interviewer as the vampire rather than the other way around and prose that I personally find easier and smoother to read, pick this up! I don’t consider myself a vampire book lover, though I do enjoy a well-written vampire book, but I highly recommend this one. I went from being able to put it down, though I always wanted to keep reading, to being thoroughly annoyed whenever someone wanted my attention or life demanded I stop to do responsibility things. I knew the end was coming but dreaded it.

When that happened, I’m constant reminded why my long ago rule was to only read completed series when I picked up any, because, especially with early access, I have to wait even longer for the next installment.

And you bet I’m dying for it.

Gabriel De León is a member of the holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from creatures of the night, known as the Silver Order. The fighters are known as silversaints, a name hard earned through a life strictly led and trials most demanding – and Gabriel finds himself the last of them all. Never known to coddle his characters, Kristoff puts Gabriel through worse than most of his fellow silversaints endure, and this book details his story, forced from him by his vampire interviewer and captors. Gabriel’s story starts off not much different from his fellow brothers but, as the tale continues, it changes vastly from any others’, and leaves the reader stunned and hurt – but dying to learn more about this beaten-even-after-being-downed silversaint.

If you thought he put Mia through a lot in Nevernight, I’ve got some news for you. Mia doesn’t have a thing on what Gabriel goes through, at least as far as book 1 in the trilogy is concerned. You think Gabriel is put through enough for one book at a certain point, but the punches [and kicks, tbh] just. Keep. Coming. Man, am I glad I’m not a MC in a Kristoff book.

Normally, at this point, I go on to talk about some of the other characters you meet, but, in this case, I find disclosing anyone else to be a spoiler, though you can find character art and small bits of information on Kristoff’s Instagram.

That said – onto the spoilers! Spoiler warning line up next!

**SOOOOOOO MANY THINGS ARE SPOILERY FOR THIS BOOK, SO YOU’VE BEEN WARNED! ALL STOPS PULLED BELOW – READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! I’M NOT HOLDING BACK BECAUSE I’M DYING TO DISCUSS ALL THINGS EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRE BELOW, SO GO READ IT NOW AND COME BACK TO TALK AAAAAAAALL THE THINGS!**

I knew there was *something* up with Dior fairly early on, especially with all the secrets and privacy curtains and then the *scene* with Saoirse, and I had my suspicions, but the reveal was perfect, in my opinion. On brand for the two of them when it went down.

Oddly enough, when a book box talking about having a drinking vessel taken from the book featured in the box, I knew the Holy Grail wasn’t a cup, like everyone assumes. And maybe that’s because I loved The Da Vinci Code [which is the first time I read book 2 in a series before book 1 and didn’t realize it until well after reading it] and that twist, being the first time I had seen that take, but it wasn’t disappointing in the way you discover it. Between Dior being presented as the Holy Grail and a girl, I don’t know, it didn’t feel forced to me, but rather inevitable.

And, as much as Kristoff loves killing off characters you least expect the die, and how much I dislike characters being saved on technicality, I have to say I’m not surprised, and I’m glad, Chloe lived. This series feels a lot like it’s going to follow the rules of “if the body isn’t found and destroyed, you may see them again”, but not in a you-don’t-fear-character-deaths kinda way, but rather in a “this world is crazy and twisted and you may not like how that character reappears, like with Astrid.

Speaking of Astrid, you kinda knew early on [I did, at least, and it wasn’t subtle with its hints] that Astrid was dead. The book did a great job of making you wonder if she was dead-dead or undead-dead, but the way it was done . . . Damn. And, even though Gabriel talks about giving her her final death, I wouldn’t be surprised if she somehow retains the ability to recover from it, since he never talks about fully destroying her body, but, either way, Kristoff is being more brutal to his MC this time around. And, as horrible as this sounds, I’m here for it in this book, because it just fits. Like, this whole world is doomed and fucked and ravaged and on its last leg [or something worse, honestly], so why not have the MC reflect that? It’s perfect in it’s brutal treatment, and I can’t wait for book 2.