Action & Adventure
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Empire of the Vampire
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER
From New York Times bestselling author Jay Kristoff comes Empire of the Vampire, the first illustrated volume of an astonishing new dark fantasy saga.
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 New York Times bestselling author Jay Kristoff comes Empire of the Vampire, the first illustrated volume of an astonishing new dark fantasy saga.
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.
Editorial Reviews
Praise for Empire of the Vampire:
"Brilliant and unputdownable, with tenderness and light bound into the bitterdark of a grim and fascinating world." ―Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Strange the Dreamer
"This book is bloody brilliant." ―V. E. Schwab, New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
"Kristoff's Empire of the Vampire is a wonderfully crafted tale, the pieces as meticulously interlocked as fine woodwork." ―Robin Hobb, New York Times bestselling author
"Jay Kristoff's latest dark fantasy, Empire of the Vampire, is a gothic bloodbath that will leave any reader―including this one―breathless. The story is a vast apocalyptic canvas, reminiscent of Justin Cronin's The Passage, even Stephen King's The Stand, yet Kristoff's work stands on its own ruthless merit as the opening gambit of a richer tale yet to unfold. I can't wait to return again to this rich, lush, and bloody world. Until then, read this book now!" ―James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Odyssey and The Starless Crown
"With Empire of the Vampire, Jay Kristoff has once again shown why he is a master storyteller. Gabriel de León is a complex and complicated new hero for Jay's legion of fans, and soon-to-be fans… I absolutely cannot wait to share this book with my friends and fellow book lovers." ―Sarah Danforth, Towne Book Center (Collegeville, PA)
"Empire of the Vampire is an epic marvel! …This is the best book that Jay Kristoff has written. He is a master storyteller …This is a story of vampires and heroes, of love and sorrow, of friendship and loss, of joy and devastation. It is a story of death and darkness, but if you look closely you will find a thread of hope that shines brighter than the sun." ―Meghan Vanderlee, Schuler Books (Grand Rapids, MI)
"Kristoff's multifaceted exploration of morality is enticing and complex." ―Publishers Weekly
"Simply put, Empire of the Vampire is an impressively built beast, bursting with supernatural lore and promise. With plenty of detail and twists to keep the reader intrigued, we're predicting this to be a new favorite of the genre." ―The Nerd Daily
"Empire of the Vampire is not for the faint of heart…. this is a book bursting with darkness of both the literal and the figurative variety….Empire of the Vampire is also genuinely compelling, a rich, layered story that embraces real stakes and wrestles with complex questions about faith, belief, and family, both found and otherwise." ―Den of Geek
"...the most I've enjoyed a fantasy novel for a long time...Empire of the Vampire is packed with many ...
"Brilliant and unputdownable, with tenderness and light bound into the bitterdark of a grim and fascinating world." ―Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Strange the Dreamer
"This book is bloody brilliant." ―V. E. Schwab, New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
"Kristoff's Empire of the Vampire is a wonderfully crafted tale, the pieces as meticulously interlocked as fine woodwork." ―Robin Hobb, New York Times bestselling author
"Jay Kristoff's latest dark fantasy, Empire of the Vampire, is a gothic bloodbath that will leave any reader―including this one―breathless. The story is a vast apocalyptic canvas, reminiscent of Justin Cronin's The Passage, even Stephen King's The Stand, yet Kristoff's work stands on its own ruthless merit as the opening gambit of a richer tale yet to unfold. I can't wait to return again to this rich, lush, and bloody world. Until then, read this book now!" ―James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Odyssey and The Starless Crown
"With Empire of the Vampire, Jay Kristoff has once again shown why he is a master storyteller. Gabriel de León is a complex and complicated new hero for Jay's legion of fans, and soon-to-be fans… I absolutely cannot wait to share this book with my friends and fellow book lovers." ―Sarah Danforth, Towne Book Center (Collegeville, PA)
"Empire of the Vampire is an epic marvel! …This is the best book that Jay Kristoff has written. He is a master storyteller …This is a story of vampires and heroes, of love and sorrow, of friendship and loss, of joy and devastation. It is a story of death and darkness, but if you look closely you will find a thread of hope that shines brighter than the sun." ―Meghan Vanderlee, Schuler Books (Grand Rapids, MI)
"Kristoff's multifaceted exploration of morality is enticing and complex." ―Publishers Weekly
"Simply put, Empire of the Vampire is an impressively built beast, bursting with supernatural lore and promise. With plenty of detail and twists to keep the reader intrigued, we're predicting this to be a new favorite of the genre." ―The Nerd Daily
"Empire of the Vampire is not for the faint of heart…. this is a book bursting with darkness of both the literal and the figurative variety….Empire of the Vampire is also genuinely compelling, a rich, layered story that embraces real stakes and wrestles with complex questions about faith, belief, and family, both found and otherwise." ―Den of Geek
"...the most I've enjoyed a fantasy novel for a long time...Empire of the Vampire is packed with many ...
Readers Top Reviews
scowler
This book is a glorious ride from beginning to end. Lots of vampric style blood and violence and even though it's quite long I finished it quickly. However there's two glaring problems for me. One, the illustrations, which do fit in with the story are maddenly amauter looking. It really put me off when the drawings are meant to have been done by someone really talented. The second is that you can really tell which bits are "influenced" by various other books. Especially "the Witcher". But also many more. I found myself playing "spot the story" while I read. If you can get over that though, it's a good book.
Michelle Tempest
⚠️ TW: violence, alcoholism, gore, graphic content, animal death, murder, homophobia, torture ⚠️ Wow I don't even know where to start with this review because this book left me speechless, it is an absolute masterpiece of epic dark vampire literature and I loved every second!! This book follows Gabriel De León, a half man, half vampire creature known as a paleblood who is a sworn brother of the holy silver order, the Silversaints, dedicated to protecting humanity from the war waged by vampires since daysdeath happened 27 years ago when the realm was plunged into a constant state of night. But as the vampire royalty known as highbloods continue to build their eternal empire Gabriel, the last remaining Silversaint, is all that stands between the world and its end. Now as he finds himself imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy he is forced to tell his epic tale filled with legendary battles, forbidden love, family and friends, lost faith, wars of blood and the forever king and the almighty quest for humanity's last hope, the holy grail. Firstly this book will have you feeling every emotion possible as it takes you on an immense dark, high fantasy journey. You will swoon, get hot under collar, laugh, cry and more importantly be absolutely enthralled from the very beginning. The world building and character development in this book is just utter perfection and I genuinely believe this book will be known as a vampire classic in the future because it is impeccable. Also, it has given me so many new one liners and insults too and I love it 😂 Overall, if high fantasy, vampires and epic journeys sound like your thing then you need to read this book and I cannot recommend it highly enough and I need book two ASAP 🦇
Russ
Reviews aren't meant to be spoilers giving away the plot as you so often see on Kindle reviews - that's why I hardly ever leave a response as it annoys me that some narcissist sap actually thinks that they are contributing with their scene setting drivel and I want no part.......................however. I've been reading books pretty much all of my 56 years and with the advent of tech I devour books on Kindle. THIS IS THE MOST RIVETING, EXCITING, FABULOUS BOOK OF ITS KIND I HAVE EVER READ. That's a Review to you knobjockey spoilers - you know who you are ;-)
Claire Jones
Holy S**tballs! This book was one hell of a ride! Vampires are back, extremely evil which is how I like them! If you are looking for a Twilight kind of read, well, you will be in for a shock. This is a bloody, gruesome, atmospheric, action packed tale that is all kinds of awesome. The main character Gabriel de Leon is moody, brave, intelligent and totally bad ass! The adventures he goes on are like nothing I have read before. It is exciting, thrilling and shocking, with a fair few twists that I definitely was not expecting at any point in the book. It is not all just about the action though, there is so much more to this book with themes such as the importance of friends and family, trust and betrayal, love and loss and life or death. My heart was broken a fair few times reading this. Kristoff holds no prisoners! The stunning illustrations also deserve a mention. They gave me an even more immersive experience reading this book. I honestly think this may be my book of the year. I have read some amazing reads recently, but I haven’t felt this excited reading a fantasy book in years. It is an epic, magnificent, gothic vampire story and I am now desperate to read the next book. Dark fantasy fans, get this book as soon as possible. I promise you will not regret it. It is something special and it deserves all the hype.
Kayleigh
It’s no surprise that Empire of the Vampire is a five star read for me. It deserves nothing less. It’s so much more than just a vampire book. It’s about family. It’s about friendship. It’s about finding faith and losing it, betrayal and heartbreak, and still finding the strength to go on. As with all of Jay’s books, I was completely captivated from start to finish. The world building is so rich you can easily picture where you are at any point in the book. The vampires — even though there are similarities to their predecessors — also feel different enough that the concept of vampires feels new and gives them a new angle, and that really takes some skill and imagination to pull off. I loved Gabriel. The flaws make him so much more believable and likeable a character and I really empathised with him every step of the story. None of the characters are black and white. Many times I found my opinion of certain characters changing over the course of this book and even when I thought I knew a character and what their motives were, my opinions were turned on their head. I ended up loving characters I didn’t like in the beginning and distrusting or even hating those I liked at the start. I can’t quite find the words to say how impressed I am and how much I loved this book. I expected nothing less, and it definitely lived up to — if not exceeded — my expectations. And let’s not forget that the illustrations are absolutely stunning. This book was everything I hoped it would be and more.
