I made a mistake... EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRE Rant Review

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff was one of my most anticipated fantasy books of the year, but things didn't go as I hoped. Join me in this spoiler-free rant review to hear more about it.
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[@tournesol5939]

As a french reading this novel in VO I was so surprised by the random french words everywhere lmao. I tough the french inspired vampires were a good idea, the names and description gave me Versailles/ interview with a vampire / 18th century vibes (even if the vampires descriptions make it looks like they wear cheap "gothic" clothes from hot topic). Hated the book but I can at last admit this element was fun. The french names he choose for the vampires were pretty funny... Love it too but maybe not for a good reason. And as you said, using words from another language for swear words, titles, technics terms or expressions make sense. Like the "touché" Jean François let slip is funny, the "chevalier" title he used is adequate. But most of the random french words Jay writes everywhere made no sense ?? they were so random, not specific term at all nor needed in a technical conversation, with perfect english equivalent. so dull and lazy writing. my rant is too long but I hated this book so much, reading "château" or "façade" in the middle of nowhere gave me a good laught when I needed it the most, it was my light in the darkness

[@Memodeth]

lol I should have titled this video Hot Topic Vampires!

[@massimojunio7916]

To me it felt like an extremely weird amalgamation of The Witcher, Castlevania, John Wick, The Last of Us, the Da Vinci Code with a side of Lord of the Rings and to my surprise… I kinda liked it?? It’s that book/piece of media that is so bad that it becomes enjoyable, and you come to a point that you do not really care about the constant “inspirations” from like every fantasy book in existence and you just read it to have fun. Overall a fun read, I gave it a 7.5 but the feeling of deja-vu remains throughout the whole book

[@kostkaguitar]

It looks like for I’m in minority, but for me this book was fantastic :) and I’m after Kingkiller Chronicles, 3 books from stormlight archive, witcher saga, gentleman bastard series, Farseer trilogy and a lot more…I can see your arguments, but based on a pure enjoyment it was one od the best books I’ve read so far ;) maybe I have a little soft spot for the vampire Stories, but this is definietely the best vampire story I read ;)

[@Memodeth]

Empire of the Vampire vs The Kingkiller Chronicles? 🥴 #booktube

[@kostkaguitar]

I didn't meant to compare this books 😅 I was just saying that I' m not completely new to the fantasy books and I still enjoy the Empire 😅 and I'm not saying that Empire is better from any of this books 😜 but you was saying that this books maybe can be attractive for a completely new Reader of fantasy genre and I was trying to prove that this book can be attractive not only for new readers 😁 Btw. Sorry for my English 😇

[@separator94]

I couldn't agree more. I haven't read many vampire novels (10 or so) but have read between 400-500 fantasy books over the last 30 years and I thought this book was seriously good. If I had to rate it I'd give it a 4.6/5 (possibly a 4.7) which is _very_ high for me. I actually enjoyed the well crafted, and artfully done, over the top, melodramatic nature to the book. It kind of reminded me of the same reasons I like Quentin Tarantino films. Over the top dialogue, a good amount of melodrama, lots of stylization and atmospheric artistry. I think a lot of people don't understand that it was purposefully done that way. It's a specific style and I think it paid off big time for this book.

[@nonyabiz9287]

100% agreed. I DNF'd at the end of chapter 2. My rule is get to chapter 3 at least and this is the first book I just could NOT do it with.

[@Memodeth]

You are much wiser than I.

[@rcaneairudite]

Certainly do not understand all the praise for this book. I regret not DNFing also. Thought it was bland in almost all aspects. Really wanted it to be better...

[@pavelhanak8998]

I really, REALLY wanted to get into this book, cos it have everything I love. I was really dying for a gothic/vampire/fantasy mix, but oh my, I think I have never read worse author than Kristoff. I mean… he’s always talks about how his books are NOT YA, but, they kind of are. I mean, the fact that you put a swear words, unneccesary violance, use wannabe dark/gothic names/words all the time doesn’t make an adult book. It’s like 13 year old boy trying to write an absolute epic dark masterpiece, but it’s just not there. It feels cringy,forced. I feel all the time that he’s trying to be soooo dakr and melancholic and gothic etc, that it’s just overwhelming and doesn’t feel any good. I also noticed that he’s trying to be very poetic-like (the lure of bloom to bumblebee), but in the end it feels like something from YA. I really WISHED to like this book, but his prose is just like one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Sorry.

[@flyingninjamimejr]

I got 46% of the way into the book and I had to DNF at that point. So many good ideas but the timeline is more annoying than charming and the F word is every other page to the point the main character seems a parody of himself. I'd have preferred the book if we just started with the younger timeline and continued forward.

[@Memodeth]

I should have done the same. It only got worse.

[@abolzero311]

Aah man I really loved this book. I'm sorry it didn't work for you

[@readingwithrobson3911]

I have to disagree (but love that two people can read the same book and have different perspectives). In terms of the chronicler I feel he was utilized to be a Segway between different timelines. The story had to bounce the way it did to make sense vs. just going chronologically and the story wouldn’t have diverted each section without the chronicler interjecting. ******spoilers******* I think the fact that from the beginning to end our protagonist didn’t make any progress is dark in the same way First Law is. I don’t think a big high, low, high story arc in the first book would buy a lot of investment to a whole trilogy. Again, like First Law. The trilogy is fantastic, but not many books individually are highly regarded. I think the first book bought character investment I hope the second book creates mission investment and the third book wraps both up nicely.

[@Memodeth]

Comparing this to First Law should be a bookish crime. Not only does First Law have so much character development, it’s what the series does best and better than most books.

[@anna--emilia]

I've already read 6 books (and enjoyed most of them) by Kristoff before and the glowing reviews made me want to pick it up sooner than I'd maybe read it otherwise. But I should've once again followed my gut feeling on this one in particular and not read it - I'm 85% in right now and like you, should've just dnf'd it right at page 50. With his other books it sometimes took a while to get into the story so I was still hopeful it would turn around but nah. The illustrations are amazing but everything else just doesn't work. And I'm so glad I wasn't the only one getting bad-Witcher vibes! Unnecessary and annoying. Definitely agree that if you're a seasoned fantasy-reader this one will give you nothing new or great.

[@Memodeth]

Yea, Nevernight had its challenges too, but I never wanted to dnf it, this one on the other hand….

[@887frodo]

I read the whole Nevernight chronicles and I stupidly kept forgiving major problems hoping it will all be tightly resolved in the final book and boy was I wrong. The sophomoric philosophy of that book, I tell ya… so edgy, so bent on making *everyone* conventionally beautiful by magical ways for totally arbitrary reasons, and then having these newly conventionally beautiful people have sex very descriptively. The characters are underage by the way… I got EotV hoping that would change (Nevernights “language” is Italian by the way so a bunch of Italian words; and yes, he replaces the word for family 😂), your review gives me no hope.

[@rudie54]

100% agree. I gave up at 37%, but only made it that far because all the glowing reviews made me think either it would get better or I was missing something. But by the fifth (or whatever. It felt like the 100th) iteration of "Look upon the field where I grow the fucks I give for what you think of me , coldblood, and see that it is barren" I just couldn't do it anymore.

[@Memodeth]

I should have done the same. You were wiser.

[@mystif1976]

I just did a search and you didn't have any of these guys so I double checked You didn't have R.A. Salvatore either tons of people love his Star Wars books, but His D&D books are the best, you should atleast treat yourself to the Crystal Shard Trilogy, the New D&D Game is based on it, He's a master of fight scenes, great play between charectors, never slows down, you can see smell and feel where you are just like Lumley and the others, and If you like Netflxs Last Kingdom, you should read the series by Bernard Cornwell, you are missing so much, but Floki was a good invention, Cornwell does historically acurate Fiction what he did with this is actually put his ancestor in the leading role, he had to fudge things and times a bit, but his surroundings and everything else is spot on, He's also written a Holy Grail Series which you can find on here, but if you can find it older it was told by a different man and I prefer him, for that he researched all the old Welch line of the story, tells the real "Sword in the Stone" merlin is no Wizard it's all done practically which is amazing, and both Series are written by the heroes or Someone close to them, it' gives great little break-in the books that don't happen too often or to long but they are so well placed, again he has a massive amount of books out, I'd Def gice The grail Quest trilogy a listen too or a read This SHOULD be a Movie or Trilogy cause of the sheer size, it's the best Author story you'll ever hear next to that movie Clive Owen was in I Promise, I'f you read them and you don't like them you can come and punch me in the face, but you have to finish the series as for Mathewson you also have to read "What dreams may come" a neat play on Dante's Inferno and Hell House th'all make up some of the best of his for a Trilogy each story being so different , and What dreams may come and Hell house were also made into movies, What dreams may come though is a movie you can even watch with a significan't other it's not really a horror movie even though it's based on the inferno it's more of a love story My First Post Was deleted so read about Brian Lumley Best Vampire Author ever!!! I quit that too too long

[@Memodeth]

haha thanks! I read some Salvatore back in my D&D days, but not familiar with his more recent work. I’ll check out the others.

[@arifulalam16]

I loved the book. Maybe something is wrong with me😅

[@Memodeth]

haha the second one is coming in February I think!

[@budgethornet7498]

Disclaimer: I wrote this comment after only a minute into your video. Seems we agree on many specific points. Like you, I was eagerly awaiting this book, I even ordered the special signed edition, something I never do. Empire of the Vampire is an amalgamation of other better books unfortunately. If you want a heroic fantasy, where the hero tells his story directly, read Kingkiller or Blood Song. If you want Monster hunting with a hardened hero and daughter figure who is actually the special chosen one, then go read the Witcher series. I enjoyed Kristoff's previous Nevernight Chronicles quite a lot. While suffering from a not so original set up, Kristoff's prose and style shined through and gave Nevernight it's flavour. Here however, he's really gotten in his own way. Not only is the hero telling you his story, but he's telling two stories out of order, and it's technically first person. The entire time, the hero speaking his story in real time, with all the extra speech marks that come with it. All this for the benefit of a few interactions with his jailer. I get it, it's a cool set up, hero telling his tale. But if you are doing it purely cause it's cool, then it becomes a hindrance. Kristoff and other authors (like Jenn Lyons with her Ruin of Kings) miss the thematic point someone like Rothfuss is making with this choice to tell the story, they add nothing. Neither tinelines in EOTV feel fully fleshed out. One promises Hogwarts for vampire hunters but doesn't go into all the details readers might want from it. The other is a road trip with a colourful cast of characters set in a vampire apocalypse, but those characters are more archetypal. Our hero, at 33 feels like a major edgelord Geralt wannabe, made worse by Kristoff's need to give him a cool line. In fact almost everyone receives a "cool" line. Kristoff no doubt aware his hardcore fans love to tattoo his words on themselves. The questions and themes of the book are not nearly as deep as it thinks they are. Such questions any young teen might ask like, 'If god's real then why are things so bad on earth?' are major through lines for the novel, with our hero so keen rant about it whenever asked or provoked. Nevernight had it's fair share of YA, CW show type character and story and here is no different, in fact its heighted. Everyone is related to each other or important somehow. I wish the book was third person and told from just one of the perspectives. I knew I was in the trouble from the opening line. "It was the twenty-seventh year of daysdeath in the realm of the Forever King, and his murderer was waiting to die." This whole book with lines like this and way he chose to tell the story made think his editors didn't question or challenge him when they know it was sure thing moneywise. Who lets an opening line like that get by? In summary, a simple story told well is the key. Nevernight, for it's faults was that. EOTV seems to show all of Kristoff's weaknesses from a lack of self awareness with how he approaches his stories (everyone is sexy and cool as fuck here without a shred of irony) and the ideas he has are, - to be kind - be done elsewhere cleaner and with more grace and thought.

[@chrissi9771]

The random French words were the reason I almost DNFd right at the beginning 😩

[@lonewolf_8894]

I'm halfway through the book.. and I keep agreeing and laughing with your review because those were also my grievances in the book.. also the constant use of title to the queen.. "HER GRACE MARGOT CHASTAIN FIRST AND LAST OF HER NAME and so on.." The readers get it.. no need to keep reminding us of it.. Jay Kristoff never misses a chance to flex his eye rolling purple prose prowess.. "the face of a half whisper"? Come on man.. 😅

[@Memodeth]

haha oh those metaphors… I don’t even know what a face of a full whisper is…

[@Memodeth]

haha oh those metaphors… I don’t even know what a face of a full whisper is…

[@nikitas7661]

I just bought the book today, I liked the premise. I'm wondering whether I should return it 😭

[@Memodeth]

😭 It has high rating on Goodreads, maybe you like it.

[@Catastrophic-hk3mh]

I loved it

[@Catastrophic-hk3mh]

This is book one in a series

[@LC-vk9qj]

I’m currently at page 27, and I’m dozing off 😢

[@Memodeth]

stop while you still can 😖

[@mandarinz69]

I'm 58% of the way through and just got it out of the library again to finish and I'm wondering if it's actually worth it. Given that I'm watching videos on it I think l'll just cut my losses and read books I know l'll enjoy lol

[@Memodeth]

I say learn from my mistakes, and cut your losses 😖

[@graytcorina]

Whenever I heard him go “famille » i had to think of the Fast & Furious franchise 😂

[@Memodeth]

😂

[@chaz9808]

Tried to get into this book but it’s like it was written by a hipster hot topic employee the dialogue is so cringy

[@AmandaE329]

"There are 388 f-bombs in this book." I actually thought it was way more than that!! Rather than making the characters seem edgy, as I'm sure was the intended effect, I kept thinking of prepubescent boys playing Call of Duty and shouting into their headsets. All this to say, this was a DNF for me

[@Memodeth]

haha the best analogy