Recent Reads: Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff 
Series: Empire of the Vampire #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date:  September 7, 2021

 

Format: Audiobook
Source: Bought on Audible. 

Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis: 

From holy cup comes holy light;

The faithful hand sets world aright.

And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,

Mere man shall end this endless night.

It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness.

Gabriel de León is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order could not stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains.

Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope:

The Holy Grail.

From author Jay Kristoff comes Empire of the Vampire, the first illustrated volume of an astonishing new dark fantasy saga.

Review: 

Um what just happened!? I listened to the audiobook, and it was wonderful! I am in shock, awe, mad, sad, confused... so many things! Disclaimer - this is an adult book, not recommended for a YA audience. Includes a good amount of violence and cursing. 

Empire of the Vampire is a recounting of a man named Gabriel, a Silversaint. He is recounting his life to a vampire historian while locked away. I am going to try to be as vague as possible throughout this review because everyone should go read/listen to this one. Especially if you like a good dark fantasy and a TON of worldbuilding. 

In this story, it is forever dark/eternal night and so vampires have come out of hiding and now exist with humans, only they are constantly at war with one another since humans are a food source. We are not really sure how or why it is forever night, but the vampires are there to stay. Gabriel has been enlisted, in a way, to be a vampire hunter and help humans as a Silversaint. 

The overall story is bold, violent, blunt, and coming from a jaded, burnt-out man it makes it all the more ominous and wonderful. You just feel everything about this world, the characters, and it plays like a TV show in your head. (Maybe because I am watching The Witcher right now also).

Gabriel is a bit broken as a character, but his tale is epic with fights, love, revenge, twists, and a weird religious undertone. There was a lot of religion in this book, and it was an interesting take on faith/ hope, blind faith, and understanding to world around you based in faith. I really liked Gabriel's story, sarcasm, and persona throughout this tale. 

Overall, I have lot of questions... which will be hopefully answered in the coming books. But this one was almost 900 pages and what felt like a billion hours on audiobook... we got some much in this book, which was spectacular but still it left so much to come. I am so excited to continue this series!

(Sorry if this review was all over the place... sometimes word-vomit is the way to go when I have all the feels about a book)