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A review by creaturereader
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
5.0
Ok... ok.
Originally had this at a 3.5 but I'm moving it up to a 4.5 because I can't stop thinking about it.
There are definitely things I don't like in this book:
• The misogyny - as others have pointed out, it is rife in this book. A lot of it can be put down to world-building or being accurate to the given religious/societal context (still...), but some of it is a bit eye roll worthy ()
• The underage sex/sexual content - yeah I'm gonna be honest, I just don't particularly need to read a graphic scene of someone losing their virginity lol.
• The main character - I found him to be the least interesting character in the book, especially with the mentioned boring misogyny..
But the things I did like:
• This book is epic. Like, EPIC. The world-building is fantastic and rich, I felt absolutely engrossed in the story.
• The characters (other than MC) are all fantastically written, I loved the varying personalities and "classes", it felt like reading a DND campaign at some points.
• The plot is amazing. It definitely combines a lot of narratives that have been seen before, but they work incredibly well together combined with the unique religious/historical background. It really feels like you're taken on a sprawling, intense adventure.
• I also did really love the interview-style narration, though I can see why it's not everyone's favourite.
Overall, this book is a real feat of writing. Despite it's flaws, I am incredibly excited to continue reading this story.
Originally had this at a 3.5 but I'm moving it up to a 4.5 because I can't stop thinking about it.
There are definitely things I don't like in this book:
• The misogyny - as others have pointed out, it is rife in this book. A lot of it can be put down to world-building or being accurate to the given religious/societal context (still...), but some of it is a bit eye roll worthy (
Spoiler
i.e. when the MC 'realises' the love of his life is like... a person - "spoke of a strength in Sisternovice Rennier I’d never dreamed of"• The underage sex/sexual content - yeah I'm gonna be honest, I just don't particularly need to read a graphic scene of someone losing their virginity lol.
• The main character - I found him to be the least interesting character in the book, especially with the mentioned boring misogyny.
Spoiler
Though it did help when we suddenly went all Ellie and Joel at the end and he started to have a personalityBut the things I did like:
• This book is epic. Like, EPIC. The world-building is fantastic and rich, I felt absolutely engrossed in the story.
• The characters (other than MC) are all fantastically written, I loved the varying personalities and "classes", it felt like reading a DND campaign at some points.
• The plot is amazing. It definitely combines a lot of narratives that have been seen before, but they work incredibly well together combined with the unique religious/historical background. It really feels like you're taken on a sprawling, intense adventure.
• I also did really love the interview-style narration, though I can see why it's not everyone's favourite.
Overall, this book is a real feat of writing. Despite it's flaws, I am incredibly excited to continue reading this story.