I will start this review by admitting that I am a huge fan of Jay Kristoff’s works. I have frantically devoured his earlier series, the Lotus War trilogy and the Nevernight trilogy. I love Kristoff’s brand of violence, foul-mouthed lead characters and pretty bleak grimdark settings juxtaposed with some terrific writing. That said, despite the massive hype and word of mouth behind Empire of the Vampire, I just could never pick it up. It also coincided with a time when I was going through a massive reading slump. But with the imminent release of the final book of the trilogy, no better time than the present to dive into this series, and I am ecstatic to say Jay Kristoff has leveled up immensely on everything that had worked for him before in what is likely his best work to date.

“Live as a monster, or die as a man.”

Empire of the Vampire starts off in the time-honored fashion of our condemned, about-to-be-executed legend of a lead narrator narrating his own story. Gabriel De Leon, killer of one of the Vampire Emperors, is forced to present his tale to a chronicler of another of the Vampire rulers with an interest in the Holy Grail, the object of immense power. The telling of this tale comprises the entirety of this book (and the books to follow). While the book is over 700 pages, the deft writing and the ease of narration of the tale that Gabe weaves make this a pretty engrossing book all the way through. Make no mistake, this is a tragic book in the sense that this is a war that humanity has already lost when the sun dimmed, and Gabe is a broken, tragic person recounting the tale. However, there are elements of the book, especially related to the Grail, that the vampires want to get to the bottom of, and we see this tale unfold in a maelstrom of brutal violence, devastating heartbreak, and unquenchable sizzling lust.

Gabriel De Leon is an interesting, if melodramatic, narrator, and Kristoff allows for interesting choices with the narration, playing on Gabe’s idiosyncrasies. Like most tales, it does start at the very beginning for Gabriel – in a world that still has the sun, but events pick up once the sun dims and the vampires come out. The early part deals with the mystery behind Gabriel and his training as a silversaint, the religious order fighting against the vampires. Another part of the story now finds an older Gabriel on a mission, who stumbles on perhaps the calling of his life, even if he doesn’t know it yet. The non-linear storytelling is easily the biggest highlight of this book, while also shedding light on the changes that Gabriel undergoes during the two phases of his life.

“I’ve lived thirty-five years with the name my mother gave me, coldblood and never once have I seen the meek inherit anything but the table scraps of the strong. Besides, who the fuck would want to inherit an earth like this”

This is where the storytelling and the writing excel. The younger Gabriel goes through what feels like a typical training school for warriors 101 – he has a mentor, has an adversary who doesn’t like him as much, and is almost always the underdog, from a physical and a class standpoint. And then there is always a girl. If this seems trope-filled, Kristoff packs the surrounding scenes with a sense of danger and fosters interesting character dynamics and choices that are anything but tropish. He also highlights Gabriel’s tendencies to be heroic (for the good and the bad) at someone’s expense (friends and enemies). This part of the storyline also talks of the mysteries of his birth and bloodline, and adds an intriguing layer that will be explored further. There are moments of incredible heroism, action, and loss through this part – the highs are suitably balanced with some devastating lows, refining and shaping Gabriel for his future.

“Too much hate will burn a man to cinders, Chevalier.”

“Oui. But he’ll atleast die warm”

The juxtaposition of this earlier timeline with a Gabriel down the line presents a stark contrast. This Gabriel is bitter, addicted, angry, disillusioned, but still a legend with a capital L and a talking legendary sword. He is on a mission but is also a lost, unmoored man with no faith and excommunicated from the Order. This Gabe is a man on a mission, but runs into a face from the past. That ultimately becomes Gabe’s mission as it involves the Holy Grail and a way to save humankind, or so they say. Gabe is skeptical but, for old time’s sake, is willing to help to a certain level. The telling of that tale is the one that the vampires are interested in, and it’s a tale that Gabriel teases out in his own style.

“There’s no misery so deep as the one you face by yourself. No nights darker than ones you spend alone. But you can learn to live with any weight. Your scars grow thick enough, they become armor”

What follows ultimately is a saga of frenetic battles, treacherous betrayals, brutal violence, and devastating heartbreaks across both timelines. Gabriel serves as the narrator to these stories, but you realize much of it is his chronicles of past mistakes and poor decisions. He does come across as somewhat of an ass, but with a righteous chip on the shoulder and an ability to make things happen. Gabriel suffers many a loss and is a suitably tragic figure. He is also an addict, downing copious amounts of alcohol to avoid giving in to the vampire’s thirst for blood. In what works really well for the book, he does have a sense of the drama and is more than suitably melodramatic when it suits him.

“De Leon, Ye Live

Sadly

How?

God didn’t want me and the devil was afraid to open the door”

All of that makes for a book that is wonderfully quotable, and Kristoff’s writing really shines all the way through. The biggest achievement of the book is really making a 700+ page tome so incredibly easy to read without compromising on the quality of the writing and the overall bleakness that suffuses the book.

“It’s in silence that we know ourselves, vampire. It’s in stillness we hear the questions that truly matter. Put a man in a room for a hundred years with a thousand books and he’ll know a million truths. Put him in a room for a year with silence and he’ll know himself. I have spent my time in the silent room, vampire. I know what I am. I just don’t like it very much”

Make no mistake, this is a rather bleak book in many ways. It’s not just in the central concept of the book or the brutal violence. The bleakness also lies in Gabriel’s tone as well as in a world that hasn’t seen proper sunlight in three decades. With cold and snow everywhere, a general sense of ruin and despair, and with increasing mutations in the world, the bleakness is ever-present and atmospheric. This is a world gone to shit, and the cold makes it even worse – all of which are ever present as we see Gabriel go about his missions, across both story timelines.

“If we spend all our lives in darkness, is it any wonder when darkness starts to live in us”

There is a lot to praise apart from just the characterization, narrative, and the writing. The action sequences are suitably fantastic, well-written, and incredibly flesh-rendingly gory and brutal. Kristoff also introduces elements to the book that constantly question the purpose of faith, especially in a world like this. The history of the world, especially before the sun went out, is also teased as is the history of the Grail. Faith and Belief play important roles in a story that increasingly ponders about morality of sacrifice. Supporting characters for Gabriel also get their moments, with one becoming increasingly important for Gabriel as the book storms through.

“It matters not what you hold faith in. But you must hold faith in something”

The last 10% of the book is quite fantastic. After everything that Gabe has gone through, all the struggle and loss, the ending was quite along expected lines in a way – Gabe was only ever going to react the one way, and that unleashes a new level of violence and brutality. It is not just physical violence; there is trauma and loss that come to the surface as well. Kristoff also uses this finale to introduce an interesting twist on a character. However, to remind us of the stakes and who Gabe really is, there is a moment when things escalate with the chronicler that he is narrating the story to as well. The chronicler, the vampire Jean-Francois of Blood Chastain is an interesting choice to act as the audience surrogate in the unraveling of this tale. The chemistry, the back and forth repartee, and his feeling towards Gabriel make for a lot of interesting moments of interlude to this story, and it is at times, a sly fourth wall-breaking tool as well.

“Life is not a story that you can tell, De Leon. It’s only a story you can live. The bright news is, you can choose what kind yours will be. A story of horror, or a story of courage. A story of indulgence, or a story of duty. The story of a monster, or the story of a man”

I don’t think there is much to quibble about in the book. Yes, the violence and the horniness level of this book are quite ratcheted up, which may not appeal to everyone. A couple of the reveals were eminently predictable, but the skill of the author is in making us care for how those reveals happened and their impact. Kristoff does love modern pop culture a fair bit, and that shows in some of the critical moments of the story. There is a moment that serves as a tribute to Eowyn (in an almost anti-way) while there is also a moment inspired by Revenant. Those do feel kind of derivative in the moment, but the actions and reactions do justify how these are being used

“The pair were left along again, killer and monster, an ocean unsaid between them”

Empire of the Vampire is Jay Kristoff’s most ambitious work to date, and it shows. This is one of the best trilogy starters in recent times, and Kristoff keeps the narrative incredibly fresh, light, and engrossing despite the size of the book and the hewing to tropes. In Gabriel De Leon, we have a character who is incredibly compelling and suitably melodramatic, but not without a sly, spiky sense of humor, and you just want to keep reading on and on. This isn’t a book for the faint-hearted – the book packs in a lot of violence and heartbreak while also being steaming and sizzling, and it makes no apologies for that. Packing in a surprising twist at the end, Empire of the Vampire sets up its sequel, Empire of the Damned, incredibly well.

Rating – 4.5 Half Bloods on 5

PS: Between Empire of the Vampire and the Suneater series by Christopher Ruocchio, its a pretty bad time for the sun 😀

Empire of the Vampire is available now, you can order your copy from Bookshop.org