Empire of the Vampire
Ratings168
Average rating4.5
Vampires are one of those tropes that refuse to go out of fashion. Fortunately, they find ways of reinventing themselves to create that evolution of the monster itself. Kristoff's vampires are evil, violent, pitiless and much more in the classical mold than some of the recent iterations (this is most definitely not twilight). These are blood thirsty monsters who treat humans as chattel. They are very much at the top of the food chain.
There has been a trend in recent vampire stories to take a more urban fantasy approach. This necessitates a hiding in the shadows - the vampires of recent years have been somewhat pathetic creatures who cannot stand up to humanity. Transferring the story into a fantastical setting is a smart move in that sense - it allows the vampires to be omnipresent, visible and helps brings their monstrosity to the fore. The world we are in has been recently cursed into a kind of semidarkness allowing the vampires to roam 24 hours a day (although their power grows in the true night). The vampires are on the rise and apparently unstoppable. The one thing standing in their way is an order of half-breed vampires determined to stop them. Their vampire half allows them to counter the vampires with their own abilities. Their one vice - they need to smoke the blood of vampires to manage their own hunger for blood.
Empire of the Vampire is dark, cynical and bitter. The darkness is pervasive - the atmosphere, the sense of despair, the imbalance of power. This is not a happy read. Some of Kristoff's idioms do get a little abrasive at times - I am all for appropriate levels of swearing, but the use here is extremely gratuitous. I do love his dark humour though. The cynicism that pervades this is delicious
Plenty of violence, epic and sweeping scope, nice little narrative framing. Not sure if it's as edgy as it thinks.
Omg this book was so awesome! How it lead up to the ending was great! My only gripe with the book is that I had to look up a lot of the words to figure out what they mean and pronounced due to a lot of French being spoken. Other than that this book is great and a must read.
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff is nothing short of a masterpiece, seamlessly blending the gritty, atmospheric storytelling of The Witcher Season 1 with the gothic elegance of Interview with the Vampire. Kristoff’s worldbuilding is unparalleled, creating a richly detailed and immersive universe where sunlight has failed, plunging humanity into a relentless battle against the vampiric dark.
Told through the fragmented, confessional voice of Gabriel de León—a weary, haunted protagonist—it masterfully weaves past and present narratives, adding layers of intrigue and depth. The prose balances poetic beauty with raw brutality, while Kristoff’s unique voice breathes life into every page.
This is not just a story of blood and battle; it’s a deeply emotional exploration of love, loss, loyalty, and betrayal. Gabriel’s journey is both epic and intimate, a tale of humanity’s resilience and the darkness that lies within. For fans of morally complex heroes, intricate plots, and unforgettable worldbuilding, Empire of the Vampire is an instant classic that will sink its teeth into your soul and leave you craving more.
I got halfway through before accepting it was not for me. I would class this as dark YA fantasy.
DNF
I wanted to like it because I think the story can be interesting, but I really don't need to read about a teenage boy's erection and odd sexual references.
Strange choices are made in this book.
Yo what a fucking banger 4.5 stars. only reason its not a 5 is cuz i have a mental block against giving a book self described as “bloodsmut” a 5.
What a great popcorn book. It rly leaned into the vampire edgelord “empire of the vampire” giga trope and it was sick
It's quite impressive how this book went from probably a 6/10 or less to almost an 8 in the final 20% of the book or so.
Oh look yet another book I buddy read with Destiny this month. I've read several of this author books that he has cowritten with other authors and have enjoyed all of them. Until now I hadn't read any books that he wrote on his own despite owning several of them. For some reason I just kept putting off picking his books up so I'm so glad I finally read this one. As I mentioned in my review for Wolfsong I love vampire books and this one was no exception. This wasn't what I was expecting from a book with vampires but I absolutely freaking loved it. To me it was perfect. The author isn't afraid to break your heart and I equal parts love that and hate that. I am so so excited to be starting book 2 very very soon.
If Bloodborne and The Last of Us had a dark, gruesome, bloody page-turner of a baby!
EASILY among my top 3 favorite books now, I had such a blast reading this, and even though this is a thicc boi, it never got boring because there was always something happening!
Gonna immediately jump into the sequel now. UvU
It was fun to be reading Kristoff again. His books are fun but there is an unexpected depth and darkness to them that make them more than just a fun romp. Gabriel is an interesting character and the supporting cast was also well realized in this one. Gabriel’s sword was unexpected. I really enjoy Kristoff’s humor but if you don’t like sarcasm or inventive curses you may have issues with it. This is a well told story with a medium to fast pace that made the pages fly by. I look forward to the sequel.
I didn't really know what to expect with this book. Vampire fantasy? Didn't seem like my cup of tea. So I certainly didn't expect to love it as much as I did. This book was a journey from start to finish. Extremely well written characters, plot, and world
So many questions were answered, but so many things were left unanswered. It was a perfect blend
5/5. Just amazing. Can't wait for book 2
There's a lot to like with this book - its dark, it's atmospheric and it's exciting. I loved the setting and the different vampire families with their differing abilities, then having the half bloods being the ones to hunt those vampires whilst battling their own inner need for blood. It was all very well done.
is there even any words to describe this masterpiece?
i was engaged from the beginning to the very end. there wasn't a single moment of this book where i wasn't on the edge of my seat. it is worth every single bit of its 700-something pages because the story simply couldn't be told in less than that.
the atmosphere? unable to be duplicated. take every hard, dramatic aesthetic of the church and turn it up to eleven. it's blood and silver and hopelessness and battle fury.
the characters were intensely flawed and intensely loveable. no one could have told this story like gabriel did.
i didn't realize this was an incomplete series when i started it (i don't usually read incomplete series) but i am absolutely locked in. i cant wait for the rest of the story.
if you want a grimdark vampire fantasy epic, why aren't you already reading this?
I liked the book well enough. I think it's the best vampire book I've read so far, though I haven't read a lot of those.
It had a great atmosphere - gloomy and depressing.
Some good character work and nice plot twists.
And it didn't get 5 stars, because it was so damn long for no damn reason.
This was 750 pages long book to tell 3/4 of an eighth of a story. The author threw endless hints and mentions of things that supposedly happened, but barely showed any of it at all. The story he told could've rested comfortably in 500 pages, if that.
There was so much repeating of scenes, of feels, of descriptions, of metaphors... like a dear friend who came to visit and overstayed his welcome (see, we can all do it).
By the time I reached 80%, I was tired of metaphors and “the taste of blood in my mouth” and just wanted it all to end. And that kind of ruined the moment of the big reveal... which at that point I had guessed 200 pages ago.
Regardless, I recommend and will look forward to the next book, which will hopefully tell more story and describe less feelings.
En mi opinión vale la pena leerlo pero no llega al nivel de nuncanoche, por lo que si se ha leído este antes mejor no tener las expectativas por las nubes.
Mantiene el tono edgy que caracteriza a este señor y en general la historia y la forma de contarla me parece que está bien pero en algunas partes es mucho texto. El final ha sido la parte que más me ha gustado y me he acabado ventilado 400 páginas en menos de 2 días.
Me parece que los próximos libros de la saga pueden estar mejor que este al tener ya puestos los cimientos de los personajes, el mundo y la trama.
This was excellent. Like Name of the Wind and Anne Rice had a baby. I think that I could have done without the artwork, but it didn't detract from the story. I can't remember the last time I read a 700+ page book in 5 days.
The story is original and compelling. The magic and lore are entertaining and unique. I wish the second book was already out.
Game of Thrones meets The Witcher and Interview with the Vampire and created this bad ass of a story. HOLY FUDGERY FUDGE. This book was everything I hoped for and more. I loved, no, I ADORED, the world and the characters. The story was so long, but it was so so worth it. I enjoyed every single page and I can't wait for the next book.
Mister Kristoff, you've done it again. A masterpiece.
Ever read a book that's so good that every word grasps your attention? That's this book for me. This is a combination of Anne Rice's Vampires, Blade, and Anthony Ryan's Blood Song put in one big paper love child and oooo mama it's amazing! Idk if I can say that it's the best fantasy book but definitely the best Dark/Supernatural Fantasy you will ever read. Also a nice little surprise was the fact that it has about 40+ illustrations thrown in it and they go perfectly with the story to help you imagine what he's writing. I feel like most illustrations are a little arbitrary and don't have anything engaging with the story. Definitely a rated R book not to be confused with Twilight but it's tasteful. Standing ovation for Señor Kristoff, you have officially made a die hard fan off one book.
