Empire of the Damned

Book Two

By: Jay Kristoff, Bon Orthwick - illustrator

Narrated by: Damian Lynch, Shakira Shute

This audiobook includes a bonus conversation between the author and actor/director Joseph Morgan (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Halo).

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Nevernight Chronicle, Jay Kristoff, comes the much-anticipated sequel to the #1 international bestselling sensation EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRE.

From holy cup comes holy light;

The faithful hands sets world aright.

And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,

Mere man shall end this endless night.

Gabriel de León has saved the Holy Grail from death, but his chance to end the endless night is lost. Drawn into an uneasy alliance with the mysterious vampire Liathe, Gabriel must now deliver the Grail to ancients of the Blood Esani, and learn the truth of how Daysdeath might be finally undone.

But the Last Silversaint faces peril, within and without. Pursued by terrors of the Blood Voss, drawn into warfare between the Blood Dyvok and duskdancers of the frozen Highlands, and ravaged by his own rising bloodlust, Gabriel may not survive to see the Grail learn her truth.

And that truth may be too awful for any to imagine.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2024 Jay Kristoff (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Extraordinary Writing Style

I was enthralled by this story within the first five minutes of Empire of the Vampire. I have been waiting since 2021 for Empire of the Damned.

I love the author's choice of writing style in this series. The chronology of the story is told from the prisoner's point of view while still immersing the reader in the story as if it were taking place at a point in time. It is brilliant.

The story is dark and gothic, which, in my opinion, is the best setting for a vampire/hunter tale. The narration pushes the listeners over the edge to a point of no return. Damian Lynch gives life to Gabriel.

Gabriel is a warrior fighting against a foe that can't be conquered. The sun never truly lights up the day; the nights are dark and cold. However, Gabriel is on a mission to protect what could be the world's last hope. He has no idea how the grail will free this world from its dark prison, but he has faith in the grail, and he will fight to the death to protect her.

The only thing I did not enjoy in this second book is the sexual content. The first book had its share of sexual content, but the author went too far in the second book.

The second narrator has a beautiful voice. However, it just didn't fit this story and undermined its grandeur.

All that being said, I finished the book and immediately hit replay!!!

Even better than book one

I hated to see it end. The vampire world Kristoff has plunged us in to, is exactly what vampires should be, some are lovely, but all are terrifying. The narrators did a fantastic job of bringing that persona to life.

wonderful book

loved the performance of the narrators great pace . wonderful characters great hook if you like dark fantasy this is a good read

wooo!

This was a really great time. The dialog peppered with crude insults was 100 % pure joy for me. Although I'm someine who appreciates a great side characters (and there are a few here) I love Gabriel as a main character. He's flawed, and crude, and often brutal, but family... especially found family is worth fighting for and that ending... I'm already highly anticipating the 3rd book.

wonderfully elaborated world-building and good character work

"Empire of the Damned" is yet another high fantasy book in Jay Kristoff's incredible repertoire. The buildup was a bit slow, but this allowed for the impressive building up of the world. Kristoff's attention to detail and furnishing of the fantasy setting with so much depth is remarkable.

The character development in this book is exemplary. Their growth together as individuals, as well as the growth of their relationship, was so well done. Their evolving dynamic and eventual downfall felt real and compelling; the final scene in which their fight leaves Dior undefended encapsulates the complex sibling love, hate, and rivalry beautifully.

However, some parts weren't very successful with me. Some of the plotlines seemed a little hokey and went in more of a romantic direction that I wasn't quite expecting after reading the first book in the series. Another point that bothered me is when Lachlan supposedly appeared out of nowhere in the final battle. There was no indication of why or how he even got there with the children if previously he abandoned them.

There were a couple of kind of hot scenes that I could have done without, but that is just me. The beginning of the book, how it started with Gabriel and his fighting the Silver Order, was so powerful and sad simultaneously. That's what I like in a story, to be so captivatingly sad right from the get-go. Still, the whole "trial after trial after trial" repetitive structure has bugged me in other series as well. Yet it was all balanced out by Kristoff's stellar writing, creative world-building, and innovative old vampire-based fantasy novel.

To sum up, despite some clichés and personal dislikes, "Empire of the Damned" is an excellent entry into the series and superb for characterization and world-building. I look forward to what direction the plot takes from here on. Would I recommend this book? Oh, absolutely. Particularly if you are a fan of high fantasy in which there is wonderfully elaborated world-building and good character work.