The following is based on a sampler amounting to the first 200-ish pages of the book.

I bloody love this series – pun fully intended.

Empire of the Damned picks straight up from the end of book 1, Empire of the Vampire. Gabriel is still a captive, recounting his tale to the Marquis Jean-Francois of the Blood Chastain. We’re down to just the two timelines now. I did find myself missing the chapters covering Gabriel’s younger years, but that tale is now told. We treated to more action in the ‘present day’ timeline, which more than makes up for it.

Given that this sampler only included part one of the book, it’s absolutely actioned packed throughout. Things ended on an interesting note too, with the narrative looking set to head in an unexpected but intriguing direction.

I can’t wait for the full book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, HarperVoyager, for a sampler in exchange for an honest review.

Why I think Empire of the Damned will be worth 6 stars or all the stars.
A different kind of post today: a prediction post!

When I saw that I had been approved on Netgalley for a copy of Empire of the Damned, I thought I had won the lottery!

But the more I read and saw my rapid progress, the more I suspected something was amiss! And I was right as it turned out that I didn’t get the whole story but an excerpt only!!!

Granted, this is a 200 pages excerpt so about 30% of the book but now I am lamenting as I have to wait a month to finally get the whole book!

BUT

That also makes me in a very good position to give some predictions about the rating and awesomeness of that sequel!

So why do I think Empire of the Damned will be worth at least 6 stars?

Because when reading that excerpt, I thought: “It’s like a Sergio Leone western cross with interview with a vampire. We have the wounded hero whose family died seeking revenge on all vampires. He is crude, rude, strong , courageous and still has a heart. And we have duels with powerful vampires and their armies, when all odds are against the hero.”

And it really is like these western movies because Gabriel de Leon has a foul mouth, he is swearing like a sailor but he is also determined to protect his charge, Dior, at whatever cost.

Then we also have a variety of villains.

Some being morally grey like Celene, Gabe’s sister turned vampire and called a liathe.

Celene was a real “piece of work” (I am trying to stay polite here) and love is certainly not what motivates her to help Gabriel! But she also was a total badass!

I really admired her!

If Gabriel is the experienced warrior/loner in our western, Dior looks like the green cowboy, wanting to prove herself. Full of hope and energy but lacking in experience. Having raised herself for some time now, living on the street, she too has a foul mouth an lots of sass so that gives us incredible banter filled with sarcastic retorts

I know we can’t quote from ARCs and I bet even less from excerpt but I so wish I could!

The writing is EPIC!!!

Going from powerful when Celene gives all her titles before announcing that she will be the end of someone to having me snickering when Dior gave as good as she got from Gabe!

I love the elegant writing, the old language mixed with crude and foul mouth of Gabe.

The characters are also amazing!

Not only Gabriel who is a rough man with a big heart and no fear for the battles ahead but Dior and her ironwill, Celene’s badassery and other characters I won’t mention for fear of spoiling you!

Add to it that there is of course a quest/race to save mankind and lots of twists and turns!

Now tell me you don’t think it will be amazing hu?

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Voyager for this advanced copy.

This book was amazing. One thing I really loved about this was the book had a short summary about what happened in the first book, which was so helpful for someone who had short term memories like me. Jay Kristoff never failed

Didn't realise this was a sampler and now I am chomping at the bit for the rest of the book. I love this world and Gabriel and I am so glad its not too long until the full book is released.

I was only able to read a sampler of this book which picks up almost exactly from where Empire of the Damned ends and it was wonderful to be back in the world of Gabriel de Leon , it left me more excited than ever for the upcoming release, bring it on!

For over 30 years, the world has been cast in darkness when the sun set and shadow covered the land. The vampires, without the sun holding them back, unleashed their cruelty on humanity, enslaving most and those still free, huddling together in fortresses, barely surviving. Silver saints became a beacon of hope, half-human, half-vampire; these men have the strength of their vampire parents but have pledged themselves to protect humanity. But the silver saints are all gone except for Gabriel de Leon, the last silver saint and a disgrace to his order. Once the pride of the saints, he is now a drunk and emotionally unstable, struggling to cope after years of witnessing atrocities and committing murderers. However, he is the preferred bodyguard of the Grail, the descendant of God whose blood has the power to restore the sun and destroy the vampires forever. But in this world of death and destruction, who is left to tell Gabriel how to achieve this? It may already be too late.
For those of you who read my review of Empire of the Vampire, the first book in this series, you'll know how much I loved it. It was a gut-wrenching punch in the stomach of violence and bloodshed. The story is the epitome of grimdark. The world is bleak and hopeless, as expected, after vampires take over the world with humanity downtrodden, abused, and traumatized. Even the silver saints are tarnished, suffering from a blood hunger that grows until they become the thing they hate the most or commit suicide. Empire of the Vampire was the dark vampire story I had been yearning for my whole life. It was going to be a tall order for Empire of the Damned to continue in the same vein, but it does and sexier too.
We start a few nights after Empire of the Vampire finishes with a scene that helps us understand the vampiric world as it stands now before going back to Gabriel, who recounts the events after the end of the first book. This time, we have another voice joining Gabriel's in telling us the story, not the Grail's, but another character's (no spoilers). In the same way as Gabriel, this other character tells the story of the Grail from their point of view and calls into question everything Gabriel has told us.
In Empire of the Damned, we see the shapeshifters from the Ossiann Highlands properly for the first time. They were hinted at in the first book, and one character was from there, but we didn't see much of their culture. However, we got enough to understand they were Celtic-like clans with pagan beliefs. This time, we get a lot more of them and see how they fit into the world and what they have to offer in this fight against the vampires.
The imagery is vivacious, capturing the essence of each scene perfectly. One moment stands out, particularly when a captured silver saint is presented to a vampire lord with all his silvery tattoos removed and filled with ash, so he is the antithesis of what he was meant to be. There are still luscious pictures depicting key moments in the narrative, bringing everything together. My review copy has blank spaces where some pictures should be, so you can guarantee I will be treating myself to another copy with all the pictures.
The battle scenes are loud and chaotic, full of screams, blood, and dirt. The death scenes are heartbreaking and poignant and, in some cases, so meaningless that it's shocking how casual it is. This is not a book for the faint-hearted, which I also have said about the first. The pace is the same reckless charge from one moment of danger to another without a break. I was constantly on edge, and there was no saggy middle to disrupt my immersion.
I fear no review would be long enough for me to put into words how much I enjoyed Empire of the Damned. I could talk for hours about all the things I enjoyed, how cleverly the two books are woven together or the moment of desperate hope I felt on the very last page, the character development, the revelations, the questions answered, and the new questions posed. Even as I write this review, I am questioning whether I could rejig my TBR pile so Empire of the Vampire and Empire of the Damned can go back to the top for a reread. If you loved The Witcher, Game of Thrones or 30 Days of Night, then Empire of the Vampire and Empire of the Damned deserve a place on your bookshelf.

This morsel of Empire of the Damned was not enough. I was surprised with how much I loved book 1 and have incredibly high hopes for book 2 that this excerpt only increased. Jay Kristoff is very good at weaving a tale with characters and a world build that has a realistic depth to it.

Even more bloodthirsty and action packed than the first in the series, Empire of the Damned continues to follow Gabriel de Leon as he recites his story to enemies from all corners of the vampire world. This sampler was marvellous, opening up the world established previously and really enriching Gabriel's story to the reader. I flew through it in just under a day, sucked into the murky atmosphere Jay Kristoff creates, which has hints of French musketeers and chivalry, mixed with vampires. If you enjoyed Empire of the Vampire, you'll devour this one.

I got to read a Sampler of this book, it was Bloody brilliant!
Many thanks, I can’t wait for my copies to arrive!

I have been waiting so long for this sequel and was so happy have been approved for an ARC. I was really happy to have some different POV's in this book as you could get a better backstory and understanding of some of the other characters in the series. It builds up context and has a lot more world building and context for fans to enjoy.

You need to have read the first book in the series before trying to sink your teeth - sorry for the vampire pun - into this book as I think it would be confusing to readers to not have an understanding of the characters and initial story.

A solid addition to this series and didn't fall into the 'middle book filler' which I usually dread having to read

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This booked certainly lived up to the expectations following the first part.
It was just as gripping, action-packed and witty. I learnt a few more insults and swear words (they are hilarious).

We got to see other types of vampires. I loved the Dyvok fighting style: the Tempest. It seems very manga-inspired with the movements and oversized weapons..

I enjoyed the characters and the unexpected relationships developing between them. They seem to be set up well and seem natural, which means a lot.

Gabriel's description of the game of chess was lovely. Using appropriate metaphors and parallels to politics, war, church and state and court intrigues.

I cannot believe I hadn't realised at forst that what I read was only a taster and not the whole book. I cannot wait to read it.

I received a copy of this ARC from Netgalley and was so excited to be approved for it. I loved the first book and could not wait to continue with the story.
Imagine my surprise and disappointment then, to receive the e-copy, only to realise that it's not the entire book - only a "sample" of the first 150 or so pages. Nowhere in the description from the publisher did it specify this - if it did, I never would have requested it.
I am one of those people that believe you cannot review a book unless you have consumed it in its entirety. I would never review, or give a rating, to a book that I DNF'd. (Because who's to say that it doesn't get better, or in this case, worse, as it progresses?!?!) The first 150 pages might be excellent, but the remaining 600+ pages that we don't have access to could be utter rubbish! So you see, I am completely unable to give this so-called-ARC a review. I will be putting a 1-star rating to this review only to indicate my complete disappointment.
I haven't actually read any of it, and will not read it until I have the full book in my grubby little hands.

I really don’t know why I read Kristoff teasers, they just leave me hurt and afraid for the full book.

Will I stop reading them? Never.

Bring on Empire Of The Damned 🙌🏻

As always, just sheer brilliance from Jay Kristoff - but I need the whole book in my hands like yesterday! Cannot wait for this to come out so I can read the whole thing

I cannot believe I got approved for an ARC of Empire of the Damned! ALL THE GASPS! Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for allowing me to read this in return for a fair and honest review🤍

Granted I didn’t know that this was a sampler and so not the entire book but it was still a good enough piece of the book for me to be SO excited!! Kristoff has done it again, with his witty writing and rich characters and relationships. I can easily see this as a MINIMUM 4 star read!

I can’t wait for the full book to be released, after which I will read the whole thing and release a full review!

I’m not going to give away any spoilers so I’m just going to gush about how brilliant this book is going to be. It’s been two long years since Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire was released and it’s one of those books that I’m always recommending (it’s probably due to all the cursing which is exceptional and original!). If you haven’t read EOTV, where have you been?! Do yourself a favour right now go order a copy before Empire of the Damned is released at the end of February.

Kristoff brings us once again into the world of Gabriel and the Silver Order. I love the way Kristoff writes his characters. Be prepared for epic battles scenes, blood, gore and violence and Kristoff’s one liners are just perfection. I predict this book is going to be one of the biggest releases this year.

I was lucky enough to get the first 200 pages of the book and I am now desperate to find out what happened to Gabriel. At the very start of the book, you get a recap of everything that happened in the book one, so you’ll be able to catch up before you dive into Empire of the Damned. I’m predicting a five star read so watch this space. All I can say is Kristoff please don’t break my heart again!!

Empire of the Damned is out on February 29th. Go preorder it now…go go 🦇 Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the arc sampler.

Omg this series misshaping up to be one of my faves. What a fantastic sequel! Mr Kristoff is and always will be a forever fave author of mine

Just finished the first 200 pages sampler from Netgalley and loving this as much as I expected to so far.

After the long, and eager, wait since EOTV finished, it felt great to delve back into Gabe's world. And book two picks up nicely were the first one finished, continuing the recounted tale as Gabe is held captive at the hands of the Empress.

Love the banter between Gabe and Dior, how we get to see these two continue the journey after the death at Gabe's hands of the monks.

Still dark, still captivating, still a series of dangerous adventures and heart in mouth battles. This book looks set to be yet another EPIC installment in the trilogy.

If you lived Empire, you'll love this. And if you haven't read that yet then do.

I cant wait to read the rest when the book releases soon.

Full review to follow then.

Really excited about this book but will not be offering a review at this stage as this is only a sampler and does not offer enough of the book to provide an informed review.

This was amazing!! Kristoff is a master at creating a world so rich and detailed it feels real. Gabriel’s story continues in a magnificent way. Cannot wait for the rest.