Early Reader Review: Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff

Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff

Series: Empire of the Vampire #2
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date:  March 12, 2024

 

Format: Paperback ARC

Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Gabriel de León has saved the Holy Grail from death, but his chance to end the endless night is lost.

After turning his back on his silversaint brothers once and for all, Gabriel and the Grail set out to learn the truth of how Daysdeath might finally be undone.

But the last silversaint faces peril, within and without. Pursued by children of the Forever King, drawn into wars and webs centuries in the weaving, and ravaged by his own rising bloodlust, Gabriel may not survive to see the truth of the Grail revealed.

A truth that may be too awful for any to imagine.

If you haven't read Book 1: Empire of the Vampire 

STOP go read that review/ book!

Book 2 Review: 

This isn't going to be a short review- sorry.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and I am THRILLED.... beyond thrilled that it was offered to me for review. Sadly now I have to wait LONGER for the next book... but this book was crafted wonderfully. 

When we left off Gabe was saving the Grail from a sacrificial death this book jumps right back into Gabe's tale as being told to his vampire captor. I am going to try to be as spoiler free as possible, but still proceed with caution. 

Every chapter of this book was a cliffhanger ending even as Gabe is telling his tale, but moreso when we are given alternative point of view for the tale/history being written. It was all the harder to hold on an wait for the chapters to revert back to the original storyteller... but then back and forth it will give the reader whiplash! And it did. In such a good way. While this book is a tome at over 700 pages the author does a great job pushing the plot forward in this way and with the suspenseful moments chapter after chapter. 

Let's talk about the overall layout for a second, then jusp back into plot. 

I really appreciated that there was a refresher of the characters at the beginning of the book and that there were a bunch of maps, my review copy had 2, but it looks like there might be a 3rd in the finished copy. 

I love the illustrations! I know that as readers we want to be able to imagine the characters in our own ways, but the art is beautiful and even if those characters don't fit the ones in my head, they are gorgeous. The review copy only had images to about page 120 though, so I will certainly be grabbing a finished copy to pour over the rest of them. 

Anyway, back to it.

I adore the world that Kristoff has created. It is fantasy, dark, devoid of so much, but these characters will fight til the end for each other. Family bond being so important to them... and family is whatever you will make of it. The groups of characters along with this world are deeply  thought out in relation to their locations and significance within the overall story - so well. 

I appreciated the history lessons thrown into the tale - they were a break but also background builders. I also love that it is told from this historian context - a tale being told. The break from the main plot, stepping out, is so helpful at time to process everything  and what is happening... and what could be happening. If you are like me, you try to figure out the twists. You can catch some here... but some are such a slap in the face. 

Some things to note before reading: Gabe is still an ass a lot of the time, but does show his heart/soul and will mercilessly fight for his people and cause. I felt like every character was important to the plot/ story/epicness of this tale/ adventure... and there were a lot of them. More were added along the way and more will be added, so if you aren't into 100 characters... this  might not be the book for you. If you can follow - more power to you! It is worth it. 

I gasped FAR too many times to count while reading and was always excited to pick this book up. I was excited and pissed off and in the end... I was shocked and gleeful about how the next book will stack up. 

While a daunting tome of a book, this is SO worth the read. If you like vampires and epics, and too many characters to keep track of, and beautiful art - this series! You need to read this series. 

I am still sitting here reeling over the ending and craving what will happen next! I cannot wait.