About Empire of the Vampire
Empire of the Vampire is a horror-fantasy novel written by Jay Kristoff.
Twenty-seven years after Daysdeath swallowed the sun and handed the world to the undead, Empire of the Vampire is the confession of Gabriel de Leon – the last Silversaint, a half-blooded vampire hunter rotting in a cell after killing the Forever King – and what Kristoff delivers is a sprawling, blood-soaked dark fantasy told in flashback, packed with forbidden love, shattered faith, a ragtag quest for the Holy Grail, and a protagonist so bitter and broken he makes the apocalypse feel personal.
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Horror/Fantasy
Release date: September 7, 2021
Empire of the Vampire Review
There are few horror fantasy books that, for me, meet the brief. Most wallow in self-aggrandising spectacle of trying to hold a candle up to their fantasy forebears – while failing to do so. While the rest fall into the category of not-being-horror-enough. Throwing in a zombie king here or a vampire lord there. White walkers, anyone? Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire does neither.
Now before we get into the throes of this book I want to point to a few things. Yes, I’m aware of Jay Kristoff’s body of work. No, I haven’t read any of his other books. And, honestly? I’m all the better for it.
Kristoff weaves an intricate web of equal parts horror and fantasy storytelling without calling either his master. Following the adventures of Gabriel de Leon, a half-human, half-vampire hybrid, we’re introduced to “Gabe” towards the end of his illustrious career as the vampire-slaying silversaint. As he wastes away in a cell awaiting his exection, he’s interviewed by vampire historian, Jean-Francois Chastain, so ordered by the Undying Empress. And yes, there’s lots of French names – both the people and the places – in this dark and cursed world. Get used to it!
Thanks to Gabriel’s vampire slaying and laundry list of vices, you’ll quickly ask yourself as I did, is this not just a bastardised concoction of Interview with the Vampire and The Witcher? And you’d be wrong to leave the assumption there. For all the skirmishes, debauchery and unending legions of the damned, Empire of the Vampire emerges as a darkened world populated with achingly appropriate allegories pointing to post traumatic stress, grief, religious cults and addiction. In fact, after just a few short chapters, addiction becomes prevalent as a core motivator that makes and shapes Gabe’s world.
Kristoff introduces us to a cast of warrior called Silversaints, the Knights Templar of this world, except they’re all bastard sons of vampires. With each ‘siring’ comes certain gifts. Some of the silversaints can enter the minds of whomever they wish (although it’s forbidden amongst their brethren) whilst others are exceptionally strong. It’s this development of Empire of the Vampire‘s lore which reveals a variety of Vampire lineage and, depending on who your father is, dictates exactly what type of ability you inherit.
While it appears, at first, that Kristoff is lining up Gabriel for the biggest underdog story in fantasy-horror history, it’s eventually revealed that Gabe’s lineage is so rare. His gift so powerful. That he can literally boil the blood of the Wretched (zombie-like vampires). But with these gifts, comes the thirst they suffer from – just like any vampire. A thirst kept at bay by the creation of grounded-down wretched blood which the silversaints smoke. A substance which also heightens the senses and levels up their natural vamp-abilities. There’s that addiction I was talking about!
During his training with the silversaints at their fort in San Michon, Gabriel de Leon is subjected to unending levels of torment by his brethren (the least of which includes shitting in his bed on a regular basis). Torment which begins to taper-off as his accomplishments stack up. Thankfully, his time at San Michon is made all the less horrible when he meets the Emperor’s bastard, Astrid, a girl whose been sent to San Michon to join their nunnery. Gabe and Astrid grow closer, they begin an affair, fall in love and she eventually gets pregnant – leading to their eventual excommunication from the order.
As Gabriel tells Jean Francois this version of events, another timeline surfaces, one of an older Gabe who’s just as much a drunkard as a disshelved warrior devoid of honor. One who works mostly alone. It’s here we learn of a plot point that will reshape your very expectations of this book as it lead us right up to the grand finale: the story of how Gabriel de Leon lost the Holy Grail, which turns out to be a person – Dior Lachance. Supposedly descended from god himself, who has the power to literally fry Vampires and their Wretched minions alive, thanks to her blood. Although, she gets into even more trouble than Gabriel.
Thanks to the two timelines, three if you count the storytelling angle, Gabe uses every opportunity to fuck with Jean Francois, frustrating the vampire-historian immensely with the hope to extend the story as much as possible. We learn of the Forever King, ruler of the Wretched, who kills Gabriel’s daughter and turns Astrid into a vampire, leaving Gabriel a shell of a man. Ultimately leading to him becoming the self-serving cunt we meet at the start of this mess. It’s with this knowledge that we begin to understand Gabe more than we ever could – sympathising with a protagonist on the road to damnation.
Jay Kristoff excels in scribing the darkness that shrouds the world of Gabriel de Leon, the Forever King, the Silversaints and the limitless horde of wretched. Kristoff has a way of knowing how to let Empire of the Vampire breathe and absorb the atmosphere of the quiet moments. Just like he knows how to crank the action, the skirmishes and the full-blown assaults to eleven. Kristoff ruminates in the darkness, basks in the suffering and by the end of this first instalment, reveals himself to be Gabriel de Leon’s master tormentor.
It’s for those who miss the heyday of Black Library or when fantasy novels felt truly dangerous.
