I waited to read this until I could get my hands on the whole book & I'm so glad I did as I haven't been able to put it down.

This sequel has lived up to the first book & more. I can't wait to finish this one, but I also don't want it to end.

Kristoff is a wickedly wonderful author - his take on vampires perfectly balances violence and religion, intrigue and spice. Everything I've ever wanted from a sequel!

Jay Kristoff is an absolutely masterful author and this series is more proof that he is so talented at world building and character creation. I’ve never met read a JK book that I haven’t loved and these books are definitely worth the hype.

It was great returning to the empire and continuing the story from Empire of the Vampire. Kristoff transports you in his writing into the worlds he creates and can't wait to return agin.

Excellent characters, and the cost of the journey is felt in this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the early access to this sampler.

This sampler made me very excited for the book release - it's just as good as the first book so far. I cannot wait for release day!

As bleak and grim as you would hope from a vampire story. Vampires are the dominant species in this, a world where most resistance has failed. From book one we have our not quite hero Gabriel a captive of the vampires and telling his story.
In the devastated world of blood and darkness we learn about the different factions of vampires and their different agendas. We see far more of Gabriel’s sister, Celene and of course, humanity’s hope, Dior.
It’s a long and well written book, unusual that it doesn’t give you much hope for good over evil but keeps you engrossed none the less. This is good stuff.

What an epic story Mr Kristoff takes us on. Picks up where book two leaves off and we continue the story of Gabriel de León told by the hero himself. Just don't let him hear you call him a hero.

There were parts of this book that were hard to read because they were just so emotionally tough, but in a good way. I know it's a story about vampires but it's also story about love and sacrifice and bravery and grief and enduring when everything seems lost.

Empire of the damned by Jay Kristoff

My rating: *****

Genre: Fantasy

Tags: Vampires, Death, Dysfunctional family, Dark fantasy

This is the second book in the series, and I was given a chunk of the book to give a review, and I’m just going to say the instructions I’ve had for this are: ‘Keep the secrets. Guard the spoilers #DontRuinTheEmpire’, so my review will be with that in mind, not that I try to give spoilers normally!

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and what I’ve read of the second one hasn’t disappointed! It follows on very shortly after the previous book, so you do need to read the first one, and my suggestion would be to read them quite close together, though there is a character refresh at the beginning, which I found helpful, and I only read the last one in October!

If you haven’t read the first book, then this bit is for you! Set in a world where the sun last shone nearly 3 decades ago, and so the vampires have taken a lot of control. Gabriel de León is a silversaint of the Silver Order, and this means he’s part of a holy order that gives their lives to killing vampires. The story is set when he’s imprisoned by vampires, and is the last silversaint, and being made to tell his life’s story. It jumps between different phases of his life, so some of the times are when he’s young and doesn’t know what he is, when he’s training, and when he’s on mission.

These are quite dark books, since hope is a very fleeting thing in a world where the vampires have so much power, and humanity is desperate to find a way to release the vampires grip hold, and that’s why I would say a tag for this would be dark fantasy. I’m not sure it’s dark enough to be grimdark, but potentially it is!

As I mentioned, I really enjoyed the first book, and I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of this book at some point, but what I read was very good!

I was given this excerpt in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins and Jay Kristoff.

Empire of the Damned continues the bloody and unforgiving tale of the silversaint Gabriel de Leon. Gabriel remains the prisoner of the vampire Margot, the Empress of Wolves and Men, and she wishes for the infamous legend's story to be told to future vampire generations. The historian Jean-François is again the chronicler of these events, even though he and Gabriel did not conclude Empire of the Vampire on the most civil terms. Reluctantly, with many inventive swears and sarcastic wit, Gabriel relays the next stages of his heroic and tragic life. The action picks up with Gabriel, Dior Lachance, and a 'deathless bloodmage' contemplating what to do next regarding the vampire assaults and domination of Elidaen, and how they can go about ending the eternal night of daysdeath.

Gabriel dislikes vampires. Throughout this part of his recounting, he has a vendetta to settle with the most powerful vampire in the empire, Fabien Voss. Although Blood Voss are a constant presence and threat to the Silversaint and those he holds dear, Blood Dyvok are the main adversaries in Empire of the Damned. This house contains brutal, seductive, intelligent vampires, intriguing politics and histories, and are mysteriously much more powerful than they have any right to be. They have recently taken hold of the formidable Dun Maergenn and about forty percent of the novel happens within this city's walls.

Empire of the Damned features an almost perfect mix of familiar characters and new exciting players in Kristoff's well-realised fantasy world. A former Silversaint apprentice of Gabriel's and members of Dun Maergenn's court, both vampire and civilian, make great additions. As mentioned, we are presented insight into yet unfamiliar vampire houses, plus revelations regarding skinchangers, and the holy vampiric faction of the Esani. It makes for gripping and detailed worldbuilding as readers learn further details while Gabriel reflects on his escapades.

While recounting his story, one day to be read to the vampire children of this world, the banter and exchanges between Gabriel and the historian are once again top-notch. The back and forth is a battle-of-wits, a multilayered and energetic verbal joust. As per the previous book, Gabriel drinks a fair amount of wine as he dictates but, in his current predicament, the joys in his life are currently limited.

Alongside the present day happenings of Gabriel and Jean-François, Empire of the Vampire presented two distinct storylines at varying stages of the silversaint's illustrious vampire-destroying career. Empire of the Damned focuses on one flashback period, making up most of the narrative and this was welcome to me, getting my teeth into this drama wholeheartedly. I understand the need for many authors to have the formative years sections, especially in the first novels of a series and this was worked proficiently in the previous entry. Kristoff does alter his presentation with how the narrative is delivered at certain points. This was initially unexpected and extremely fulfilling so I will not go into the details. I enjoyed the change in dynamic so much, I would not want to take that moment of realisation away from other readers.

Empire of the Damned delivers many moments of high-intensity, including memorable showdowns, exchanges, and unpredictability, with very little going the way expected or in Gabriel's favour. Certain scenes may arguably be over the top yet Empire of the Damned is an undeniably addictive and fun read. Yes, with some characters' incredible powers of recovery, sometimes it seems as if fights do not have concrete consequences (Gabriel has many broken ribs!). Moreover, when reading it is not always obvious when someone's death means a character is actually dead. These minor points do not take away from the stunning spectacle that is Empire of the Damned. It is a dark fantasy read/experience of the highest quality, with an amazing and tragic finale that is worthy of these well-conceived 700 pages. Fellow Grimdark Magazine reviewer Fiona advised me that she was a 'whirlpool of feelings' when she finished this novel, and I concur, believing that is an excellent way to express post-Empire of the Damned emotions. The next entry in this series cannot come soon enough.

I received advanced review copies in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Harper Voyager and St Martin's Press.

This was only a little snippet of the book (tease!!) however, I have since went and bought the full publication release and OH BOY what a book!

I adore Kristoffs writing style, he is one of very few authors who I think writes witty banter and dialogue with natural ease. As always I enjoyed the humour scattered throughout but more than anything, the emotive way he writes his characters and the life (and love) he brings to their relationships on the pages.

Honestly cannot fault this series and as always it’s left me with wanting more!

4.5 stars

Really good, possibly even better than the first book. Loved getting Liathe as a viewpoint and Phoebe in her human form was a great addition to the cast. The last few chapters got kind of bogged down in battle scenes but the ending more than made up for it. It makes me mad to think that the next book is probably a few years away.

This sampler reminded me so much of the reason why I loved the first book so much. This is such an amazing cast of characters with an interesting story and some of the best banter!

Oh my god! I need the rest of this already!!! I adored book one, and book two might even be better. We know and love (or love to hate) the characters involved and have formed a strong bond with them. So this delves right in and we see the continuation of everything left off. Kristoff’s writing is colourful, and so evocative. It really conjures a picture in your mind, and i feel like i know the characters in real life and am invested in both their fates, and the fate of the world as it stands. Gabe is an amazing character, and his growth and changes over the last book and this one have been beautiful to see, and I love the play on faith and it’s important against the supernatural tide. Cannot recommened this series enough, I already need the rest of this book, and the rest of the series. Its just phenomenally written from person to character to world descriptions, and how everything fits together. I loved the idea of the interview style writing and having to simplify everything so we (the reader) would understand it too. Genius.

An exciting and intriguing start to this anticipated sequel.

I can’t wait see where it goes next!

Absolutely fantastic sampler which left me wanting the rest now! Jay does not disappoint with his books and I can’t wait to pick up where this sampler ended!

Having adored the first book with my entire being, delving into the second installment has been an absolute joy. From what I've read so far, I'm still in awe of the author's direction with the story. Gabriel and Dior are simply phenomenal characters, each with their own complexities and depth. And Phoebe? She's quickly become another favorite of mine. I'm eagerly anticipating what twists and turns lie ahead in the next chapters. This series continues to captivate and enthrall me, and I simply can't wait to see what comes next.

This chapter sampler had me counting down the days until EOVD is released, Jay Kristoff is the GOAT fans of EOTV will not be disappointed from what I read

I was fortunate enough to be able to read an advanced sampler for Empire of the Damned and all I can say is wow!

I loved Empire of the Vampire but my memory is terrible so I was very glad that the sequel started with a section that reminded us of the major characters and what had happened to them so far.

If anything I am enjoying EOTD even more than its predecessor. The characters feel so fleshed out and I love the banter between Dior and Gabriel which has me chuckling to myself on a regular basis.

The plot and the history that Jay Kristoff has created are incredibly complex but fascinating. It is very impressive that he has been able to do that and I am a bit in awe.

There is a fantastic and unexpected reveal at the end of the sampler which has made me even more keen to read the rest of the book which I will be picking up immediately.

Spell-binding plot, fantastic and complex characters and laugh out loud humour balance out the darkness and violence in a way that makes this an enthralling read.

I can’t wait to carry on reading this series and see where the author takes us.

I’ll admit I totally didn’t realise this was a sampler when I requested it, I don’t think it mentioned. BUT the first 200 pages of the 2nd instalment by Jay Kristoff is still a pretty sweet deal - and by ‘sweet’ I mean you get enough of the story to be terrified about how Kristoff will break your heart in new inventive ways.
Dior is, as always, a delightful character, bringing vulnerability and humanity to this story, and I’m so excited to get to learn more about Celine who is an incredible addition to this series (and creates on helluva visual every time she appears on the page).
If this 30% (ish) is any indication, this book is set to to prove EOTV wasn’t a chance instant classic, where greatness can be difficult in a sequel. With badass characters, morally grey characters, straight up characters, and apparently more poor horses dying - I’m reassured this series is something special, dirty, crass, devastating and special:

Thank you for the arc of the sneak peak of empire of the damned. I really loved getting back into the story and Jay Kristoff really is an author that spins captivating stories. As with the first book, I needed a bit to immerse myself into the story but was hooked again soon.

Following Gabriel's story and seeing how it continues is so nice, the authors way to write is perfect for that exact story he is telling and while I don't always like how he portrays women I can overlook that.

I can't wait to read how it continues and will give a full review on storygraph then.