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.
My Thoughts:
It’s really hard to gather my thoughts after reading such a fantastic book. Jay Kristoff is an absolute wonder when it comes to writing, and the concepts he is able to come up with just knock it out of the park. The second installment of Empire brings just as much gothic dread as the first book, all while amping up the stakes, and drawing you farther into the past as not only Gabriel tells his tale, but we also get a second POV that I was not expecting.
It’s not too often that I’m knocked back flat by the amount of WTF twists and turns, but Jay was able to bring more than one serving to the table. I can easily recall 3 separate times where I had to close the book and take a step back from reading just to process what I just read; as well as clear my tears so I could continue to see. Even through the sadness and shock, Jay is able to seamlessly weave in light hearted moments, as well as plenty quips that had me dying with laughter.
I was anticipating a fantastic book before I dove into the pages. However, I wasn’t expecting such a strong book 2; especially with what Empire of the Vampire brought to the table. I can’t wait to see how Jay decides to finish off this trilogy. While I have my theories, I know that whatever comes will surly blow my expectations out of the water again, and that the series will end at the top spot of my all-time favorite series.
You can find Empire of the Vampire, and Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff at your favorite bookish retailer.
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