Empire of the Vampire and Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff

I recently read Empire of the Vampire while away in September, but didn’t get around to reviewing it.  I decided on impulse to read the sequel, Empire of the Damned recently, and so decided to review both together.  These books form the first and second instalments of what I believe to be a trilogy, and you do need to read them both.  The second novel takes off where the first novel ends, and while a background summary is provided with the key players reintroduced, you really need to understand the full context of the first novel to get the most out of the second. 

While I would normally include the synopsis for both novels here, I felt that the blurb for Empire of the Damned gave away a little of what happens in the first novel, and so here is the summary of Empire of the Vampire only:

It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise.

Ever since, vampires have waged war against humanity building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Gabriel de León, half man, half monster, and last remaining silversaint – a sworn brother of the holy Silver Order dedicated to defending the realm from the creatures of the night – is all that stands between the world and its end.

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

The Holy Grail.

I really liked the format of these novels.  While many fantasy novels have you riding along with the protagonist(s) as the action happens, these are told in retrospect as Gabriel de León, the last Silversaint – the name given to vampire hunters – is forced to share his story with vampire cum chronicler, Jean-Francois Chastain, prior to his execution.  This details how he became a Silversaint, why he left the Order, and what he’s been up to since.  It works really well, with the first novel being told out of sequence, teasing the reader with what comes after before taking them back to an earlier point in his history.  The second novel continues in the same vein, but introduces a second perspective, which also works well as Gabriel is separated from the person he’s trying to protect.

If the title of the first book hasn’t given it away, these are books about vampires.  Since Daysdeath, these creatures of the night have grown in power, gradually building and expanding their empire, with little use for humans beyond the blood and services that they can provide.  The Silversaints stand in their way.  A monastic order, they are comprised of men who are half-vampire, half-human (human mothers, vampiric fathers).  As such, they share some of the traits of their fathers – they are stronger and faster than mere mortals, and quicker to heal although they aren’t immortal and are more fragile than the vampires they hunt.  But, who better to hunt a monster than one who is almost one himself?

I really like Kristoff’s play on vampire lore.  His vampires have some familiar traits – they are weaker in what constitutes day time since Daysdeath – but Kristoff has some fun with his beasts, dividing them into families with their unique skills and abilities.  Some have an affinity for animals, some are so strong as to be virtually impervious to damage.  It adds another layer to a familiar trope, and makes the tasks of the Silversaints that much harder, although they too share some of those traits, in a weaker form, via their father’s bloodline.  Kristoff also has some fun with Grail lore, although I don’t want to say too much about that because of spoilers.

I’m not sure how to categorise Gabriel de León.  He’s something of an anti-hero for much of the first novel, drowning his sorrows (although the reason for that is eventually revealed, and I forgave him everything at that stage), and generally being a grumpy bastard who cares for no one but himself.  Until he finds something to live for, after which he proves to be a good man, deep down, although still a bit of a drunken mess at times.  I’ve become quite fond of him if I’m honest.  He’s being held prisoner by the Undying Empress, and it’s not yet been revealed how he was captured, although we do know the crime that he’s to be executed for.  It’s very intriguing, and I’m looking forward to the next (and final?) instalment to see how it works out. 

I have to admit that I couldn’t help but make comparisons to The Witcher while I was reading these books.  Sending an almost monster after the even worse monsters.  Even their names, Geralt of Rivia (the White Wolf) and Gabriel de León (the Black Lion) bear similarity.  The stories are quite different from the little I know of The Witcher, however, and I do like the concepts that Kristoff has introduced here.  I am curious as to why a human-vampire union doesn’t create female offspring though, or if they do, why they can’t also be Silversaints.  It may be covered in the novels and I’ve just forgotten (the problem I have if I don’t review a novel soon after reading!), but I honestly see no reason why this can’t be the case, particularly as Kristoff isn’t gender-biased in other aspects of the narrative with his female characters often proving the equal of their male counterparts. 

These are both quite chunky novels at some 600-700 pages each, but I’ve enjoyed them both, and perhaps the second more than the first.  This is unusual for a trilogy, but Kristoff has successfully avoided the dreaded middle book syndrome.  Empire of the Damned does set the stage for what’s to come, but there’s so much action that it’s definitely not just filler, and there are revelations here that I feel would typically come in the finale.  I am so intrigued as to what might happen next. There are some things that I am expecting – he still has to commit the crime for which he’s been imprisoned – and some things have been hinted at, but there’s are also elements that I have absolutely no idea where they will lead! Unfortunately, I may have a bit of a wait to find out, as I believe the next book isn’t due until 2026…