"Ask me not if God exists, but why he's such a prick."
My Rating: ★★★★★
Genre(s): Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Horror
Publication: September 14, 2021 (St. Martin's Press)
Synopsis:
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.
Review:
I don't even know where to begin with this one. It feels bad to give Empire of the Vampire five stars, because it basically broke the scale. It is easily the best book I've read this year, and it is perhaps one of the best books I've ever read, period. Instant classic? I think yes. The new standard for dark fantasy and horror? Yes, I think so. The vampire book to make all other vampire books quake in their (possibly sparkling) boots? Absolutely.
“'A life without books is a life not lived.'”
Empire of the Vampire is the vampire book I've always wanted, even when I didn't know it. The story takes place in a world where sunlight has failed, and vampires are able to roam about during the day. In many ways, vampires are the ruling class, and humanity is entrenched in war with these bloodthirsty monsters that is slowly leaning in favor of the vampires. The only real hope lies with the silversaints -- a holy brotherhood of half-vampire warrior priests sworn to dismantle the growing vampiric empire. It's dark, gruesome, and violent. It's a story about a lifelong struggle with faith, about finding love in darkness, about brotherhood and hope. And, in Mr. Kristoff fashion, it is utterly soul-crushing. But, like, in a good way.
“'Your past is stone, but your future clay. And you decide the shape of the life you’ll make.'”
I felt the entire gamut of emotion while reading this beast of a book -- I laughed, I cried (a lot), and I had to put the book down countless times out of anger, frustration, and fear for the lives of my favorite characters. Gabe, Dior, Astrid, Aaron . . . there are so many great characters in this book, and, let me just say -- the level of attitude they have (particularly the foregoing) played a significant role in endearing them to me. Their flaws are great, but their will to live a life filled with love despite their horrific circumstances is greater. As is their proclivity for snark.
“'Aim your heart at the fucking world.'”
When I say that this book is soul-crushing, I mean it. It is absolutely brutal. If you're familiar with Kristoff's work, and Nevernight has caused you to suffer, then get ready. Empire is somehow infinitely more heartbreaking. I'm not kidding when I say that I'm tearing up just thinking about it . . . . These characters suffer, and our main boy Gabe suffers immensely.
“'There’s no misery so deep as one you face by yourself. No nights darker than ones you spend alone. But you can learn to live with any weight. Your scars grow thick enough, they become armour.'”
That being said, it's not all so dark. This book actually has some of the most beautiful moments of brotherhood and friendship I've read. Gabe's relationship with Dior and the way it develops makes me all kinds of emotional, the brotherhood he finds with some of his fellow silversaints makes my heart swell, and the love he finds with Astrid is a tribute to the power of love and hope in times of darkness. In a world that is on the verge of ending, love, brotherhood, and hope -- and all the bonds that hold humanity together -- are of the utmost importance, and Kristoff does an excellent job of illustrating this.
“'I will not give my heart to a coward. I will give it to a lion.'”
I could write endlessly about the absolute masterpiece that is Empire of the Vampire, but instead, I'll ask that you just go read it. Unless you're easily scandalized, you will not regret it. As this is only the first book in the trilogy, I am beyond excited to see where Gabe's story goes from here. I can't imagine how it will get better, but I have more than a little faith in Mr. Kristoff -- I am eagerly awaiting the unknown ways in which the rest of the series will destroy me. Again, like . . . in a good way.
Bonus
The quote that both made me feel seen and triggered an existential crisis:
“'It's in silence we know ourselves, vampire. It's in stillness we hear the questions that truly matter, scratching like baby birds on the eggshells of our eyes. Who am I? What do I want? What have I become? Truth is, the questions you hear in the quiet are always the most terrifying, because most people never take the time to listen to the answers. They dance. And they sing. And they fight. And they fuck. And they drown, filling their gullets with piss and their lungs with smoke and their heads with shit so they never have to learn the truth of who the fuck they are. Put a man in a room for a hundred years with a thousand books, and he’ll know a million truths. Put him in a room for a year with silence, and he’ll know himself.'”
Content Warnings: death, violence, gore, sex, abuse, blood, death of children, torture