An element that often made me smirk is when the historian will tap his quill on his manuscript, a nonchalant reminder to Gabriel that the Queen of Vampires wishes for him to explain certain parts in-depth, as if to a child. He isn’t thrilled to have to tell his tale to the vampire historian but, as the stories progress, there is some excellent back-and-forth banter between the duo. He’s humorous, bitter, witty, sweary, and world-weary. He reluctantly joins a sort of fellowship, bemused to find himself part of a prophecy that relates to a god that Gabriel thinks is a prick. The second of the past accounts finds a thirty-something, disgruntled, addict Gabriel, whose deeds are the tales of legends.

The first of these surrounds the events of Gabriel’s teenage years including his relationships with his parents and sisters, daysdeath and the increased strength and threat of the vampire empire, his infatuation with blood, and his perplexing abilities which leads Gabriel to the brotherhood of the Silversaints. With this being the setup, in addition to the above-mentioned “present-day” storyline, there are two past timelines that the killer recounts. In a similar fashion to The Name of the Wind, the historian Jean-François of the Blood Chastain chronicles the events of our protagonist’s epic tale, as told by the chevalier Gabriel himself. The new ruler of the vampires wishes for Gabriel’s story to be recorded before his demise. He is a legend and having settled a vendetta, killing the Forever King, he is now at the mercy of his enemies. Vampire-hunter and bane of the creatures of the night. “It was the twenty-seventh year of daysdeath in the realm of the Forever King, and his murderer was waiting to die.” Thank you to Jay Kristoff and Harper Voyager.

I received an advanced review copy of Empire of the Vampire in exchange for an honest review.

Jay kristoff vampire book 2