Although there are three distinct timelines in the story, the narration never leaves the present, and both the past timelines that make up the vast majority of the book are told as stories.

Instead, kicking off the cons category, I need to talk about the outrageously confusing narrative style of Empire. “The three timelines (distant past when Gabriel was in saint school, the recent past when he hunted the grail, and the present when he is a captive of the empire) are all told in a winding and interweaving story to create a tapestry of mystery, is what I would like to say. Depending on which vampire scion the silversaints have, they inherit the abilities of one of the bloodlines, except for our main character Gabriel who is not like other halfbreeds and has no bloodline.” In order to fight the ever-growing vampire hoard, a school of half-vampire cast-offs go to megachurch school and use the power of God to fight their full vampire brethren as silversaints. These powers are iron-like skin, the ability to cast glamors, an affinity for animals, and titanic strength. The vampires are your classic gothic horror variety they can’t cross open thresholds and running water, with the added twist that the four original bloodlines of the empire each have a bonus power. Both of these stories are of particular interest to his observer, a vampire secretary of one of the vampire emperors who currently rule the world ever since it got locked into eternal night. Our storyteller is Gabriel de León - silversaint and terror to vampires - as he tells the stories of his childhood training to become a saint and his quest to find the holy grail to save the world in two different time periods. “ Empire of the Vampire is told in the increasingly popular historical analyst narrative style, as made famous by Name of the Wind. It struggles with tonal issues, pacing, and direction and is chock full of herculean pros and devastating cons.” While this stylistic choice certainly differentiates Empire from most of the other books of 2021, it also makes it very hard to connect with or take seriously. “If I needed to describe Empire of the Vampire, by Jay Kristoff, in one word, that word would be ‘extra.’ This gigantic epic fantasy, that reads like a cross between Interview with a Vampire and The Name of the Wind, does everything in its power to be edgier than the sharpest knife, louder than a gigaton bomb, and more intense than a life-threatening wound.

Jay kristoff empire of the vampire 2