Narrated by Damian Lynch and coming in at over twenty-seven hours, Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff was one of my most anticipated audiobooks, and Kristoff delivered a dark, gritty, brilliant tale.
by Jay Kristoff
Series: Empire of the Vampire #1
Narrator: Damian Lynch
Length: 27 hours and 10 minutes
Genres: Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Narration: 4.5 cups Speed: 1.3x
Twenty-seven years have passed since the last sunrise, and for almost three decades, the creatures of the night have walked the day without fear. Once, humanity fought bravely against the coldblood legions, but now, we exist only in a few scattered settlements—tiny sparks of light in a growing sea of darkness.
Gabriel de León is the last of the Silversaints, a holy order dedicated to defending realm and church, now utterly destroyed. Imprisoned for the murder of the vampiric king, Gabriel is charged with telling the story of his life.
His tale spans years, from his youth in the monastery of San Michel, to the forbidden love that spelled his undoing, and the betrayal that saw his order annihilated. Most importantly, Gabriel will tell of his discovery of the Grail—the legendary cup prophesied to bring an end to the eternal night.
But the Grail was no simple chalice; it was a smart-mouthed teenage urchin named Dior. Their journey with a band of unlikely allies would see Dior and Gabriel forge an unbreakable bond, and set the broken paragon on a road to redemption.
But now, the Grail is shattered. And with the cup of the Savior destroyed and the last Silversaint awaiting execution, what can bring an end to this unholy empire?
Empire of the Vampire begins twenty-seven years after the last sunrise and is just the beginning of this saga by the same name. We meet Gabriel de León who is currently imprisoned for the murder of the vampire king. The new ruler once an account of his life and orders his story chronicled before his execution. The writer tells him to start from the beginning and so we travel back in time to his youth before meeting him again in his mid-thirties in the second part and follow until the fall of the Silversaints. In between events/chapters, we find ourselves back in the dungeon as the writer demands explanation. I must admit, I enjoyed their interactions.
I think this is Kristoff’s most brilliant work to date. The audiobook is twenty-seven hours and the book almost 900 pages, complete with black and white illustrations. I pre-ordered the hardcover edition and the audiobook. I am already planning to re-listen as I read along.
A dark and gritty fantasy with rich characters and dangerous times. We learn of the Grail—the legendary cup prophesied to bring an end to the eternal night. Only the grail isn’t a physical object but a street urchin named Dior. We witness Gabriel’s pledge to the church and his brothers in arms to his personal struggles from addiction to faith.
While this is a vampire story, Kristoff delivers so much more. This story will appeal to a broad adult audience. Think Witcher saga and Name of the Wind as examples. It is a struggle against good and evil, man’s’ inner turmoil and sacrifices, but also one of faith, love, and loss. You’ll get gory battle scenes, snarky banter, romance, friendship, and heartbreak. The story was otherworldly, with a realistic vibe that made both the story and characters feel raw and genuine. From his blade, Ashdrinker to the secondary characters who become his traveling companions, I found myself fully immersed in the tale.
Kristoff does a brilliant job of fleshing out his characters and world, all while telling an elaborate story that pulls the listener in and holds them captive. He had me emotionally invested with potent feelings towards these characters. I loved some and loathed others with a vengeance. I laughed, wept, cringed, became angry, cheered, and desperately wanted more.
Damian Lynch narrates the tale and gave voice to these characters from personalities to their wide range of emotions. His inflections enhanced the telling and brought the story to life.
Fans of fantasy tales like The Witcher, Name of the Wind and Interview with a Vampire will enjoy slipping into this brilliant story. Brave Mr. Kristoff, may I have another?
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff delivered a tale listeners won't soon forget as they crave more. #audiobook #DamianLynch #MacmillianAudio #Fantasy #DarkFantasy #EmpireOfTheVampires Share on XAbout Jay Kristoff
Jay Kristoff is the award-winning author of THE LOTUS WAR trilogy, a Japanese-inspired steampunk fantasy. Part 3, ENDSINGER, is out now. He's also co-author of the upcoming ILLUMINAE (with Amie Kaufman), a YA Sci-Fi... thing, to be released by Knopf/Random House in 2015, and NEVERNIGHT, the first part of a new fantasy trilogy kicking off in 2016. Jay is 6’7 and has approximately 13380 days to live. He abides in Melbourne with his secret agent kung-fu assassin wife, and the world’s laziest Jack Russell. He does not believe in happy endings.
About Damian Lynch
Damian graduated from the University of Nottingham with a second class division one BA Honours Degree, in French & German (which included a year working as a Language Assistant in a bi-lingual grammar school in Northwest Germany). After working for a few years in international sales, Damian decided to retrain as an actor and completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Acting at the prestigious Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Stay Caffeinated!
Never miss a post by adding Caffeinated to your Inbox
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Gigi
Does the audiobook come with a pdf with the illustrations?
Kimberly
No. In this case, I bought the hardcover as well.
Vi @Inkvotary
Thank you for your review about this audiobook, Kimberly. After reading your text, I bought the audio and am sure that it was a good decision *smile*
Nicci @ Sunny Buzzy Books
I’ve been seeing this everywhere and I’ve been firmly on the fence as to whether I’d read it but I think you’ve swayed me! I doubt I’ll read it soon but it’s definitely going onto the TBR list. 🙂
Sophie
I had begun listening to it but the tone Damian used was too monotone for me. I couldn’t make the difference between Jean-Baptiste talking or Gabriel talking or just a setting of the scene. That put me off the book and so, I chose to read the old fashioned way instead. This was much better for me. I am only 23% in the book but I am smitten!
Debbie Haupt
Oh I totally agree Kim, I’ve got about 10 hours left of the audio and am going to order the print just to see the illustrations and to revisit before book 2
Great Review mine will be up soon
Anne - Books of My Heart
Robin’s working on this one. I haven’t delved into this author yet but I’m more likely to start with one of his other series.
Sophia Rose
I’ve only read his sci-fi duo author, but this does look fabulous.
Pek Sim Koay
Does it have a LifeLik3 feel to it? Or this runs darker and more say…. slower pace?
Kimberly
Darker and slower pace. LifeLike3 was more YA and this is darker and adult. The world and story build slower, but it has his rich characters, and it commands your attention.
Pek Sim Koay
I do have a love hate relationship with J Kristoff, sometimes he annoys me, most of the time he pulls me in, then he annoys me XD
Nadene
I am looking forward to this one. Never knew it was that long though, not that I mind.
Felicity Grace Terry
Just when I thought I was through reading vampire books {at least for the moment} along comes your review of this, a book that’s caught my imagination with thoughts of a a holy order dedicated to defending realm and church. Definitely something I’ll be adding to my Wish List if its available in paperback.
Lorna
I’m glad you enjoyed it. I do like vampire books but 900 pages or 27 hours I just can’t do.
Kimberly
Honestly, it didn’t feel like that. LOL
Melliane
I really need to read more books by this author!