From holy cup comes holy light;
The faithful hand sets world aright.
And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,
Mere man shall end this endless night.
It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness.
Gabriel de León is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order could not stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains.
Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope:
The Holy Grail.
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff (Empire of the Vampire #1
Narrator: Damian Lynch
My Rating: 4/5?
Goodreads Rating: 4.33?
Storygraph Rating: 4.29?
Length: 27hrs 10mins / 739pgs
High Fantasy | Vampire | Horror | Grimdark
Pacing: Medium
Spice: Low
Gore: Medium-High
Content Warnings: Graphic Blood and Gore | Death | Torture | Homomisia/Homophobia | Religious Fanaticism | Substance Abuse | Child Abuse | Death of a Child | Animal Death
“And in sight of God and his Seven Martyrs,
I do here vow;
Let the dark know my name and despair.
So long as it burns, I am the flame.
So long as it bleeds, I am the blade.
So long as it sins, I am the saint.
And I am silver.”
Oh boy this was a chunky one! Still, once I got my teeth into it I seemed to fly through much quicker than I expected.
You will experience the highs and lows of love, hatred, faith, glory, friendship and betrayal as Gabriel de León, the last silversaint, tells the story of his life. The world is in a dystopian state of darkness and danger as vampires’ war against humanity is on the precipice of complete control. The world building is subtle but atmospheric. It’s dark, desolate and gritty with red being the only colour that matters.
Gabriel is an anti-hero with a complicated history who gives no sh*ts about what others think of him and almost revels in being a b*stard. Despite that, he feels deeply and his loyalty knows no bounds once given to someone he deems worthy, he has a strong sense of right and wrong and won’t stay down even when life (and men) have kicked him to the brink of death. I enjoyed his character arc as it remained true to him rather than a complete remaking of him (I don’t want to give too much away here). His dark humour was an excellent tension breaker throughout with many comments giving me a bit of a chuckle. Below is a quote that fairly well sums him up as a person.
“I’m something of a bastard on the best of days. And that day was hardly my best.’
Jean-François’s gaze roamed Gabriel, toe to crown. ‘Nor this one, I fear?’
Gabriel tapped an empty leather pouch at his belt. ‘Behold the purse in which I keep my fucks for what you think of me.”
You will get the full spectrum of side characters, each with its own particular emotional rollercoaster and integral part in either Gabriel’s personality or the overarching plotline. You will have teachers and mentors, brothers in arms, an almost tropey group of traveling companions and of course all the big bads with their evil predilections. I like when an author puts a bit of time and effort into its side characters and I thought that Kristoff did a pretty good job with this one.
I’m not religious myself but find it fascinating in fiction particularly the impacts on the individual and the community. It’s a prominent theme throughout this book and I felt showed the good, the bad and the ugly. I liked the Silver Saints’ tattoos and all the different meanings, significance to each person and their faith and thought it was an interesting ‘magical system’.
A quick note here regarding content warnings. There is everything you would expect in the grimdark genre. Beware there is some pretty nasty Homomisi (hatred of homosexuals) which is part of the religious aspect. It’s not a large component but it’s definitely dark and disturbing and thought it’s worth specifically mentioning. Finally, to any animal lovers preparing to read this one… the horses do not have a good time in this book.
Overall, I enjoyed this story – a very worthy 4 / 5 stars. Solid story-telling, intriguing characters and plotline. Perhaps not as emotionally gripping (for me) as others I have read of Kristoff’s (looking at your Nevernight). A pretty good job by narrator Damian Lynch too. I will be continuing the series in the near future.
Julia Kitvaria Sarene