EMPIRE OF THE DAMNED by Jay Kristoff (Overview + Book Review) // Empire of the Vampire book 2
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- Опубліковано 25 чер 2024
- My thoughts on the New York Times bestselling sequel Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff (Empire of the Vampire book 2). I am so excited to jump back into this dark and gritty world to see how our favorite Silversaint, Gabriel de León, is doing.
I discuss EotD's themes, tone, twists, and overall impressions. If you didn't think it could get any twistier than Empire of the Vampire, you were wrong! LOL.
Be warned that this video does contain spoilers for Empire of the Vampire. Santé!
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Empire of the Damned overview & review (spoiler-free)
1:10 My experience reading EotD vs EotV
2:07 Tone, themes (love & family), and how EotD left me feeling
4:25 Most fascinating characters to me
6:55 Things I'm looking forward to in the last (?) book
8:36 ALL of the twists in Empire of the Damned 🤯
9:32 My only critical feedback (expectation & character detachment)
10:52 Start of Empire of the Damned SPOILERS
13:13 Comments on Jay Kristoff's romance & smut writing
14:20 Wrap-up / Thank you for watching!
ABOUT ME:
Hi! I'm Sandra Bruxvoort: Japan-born American, Half-Filipina, Mom, Minimalist. Gamer, Book Reviewer, Fantasy Nerd. Here for the stories-that means books and adaptations of books. Oh, and I write things, too. New videos when anxiety compels me.
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Related channel: @storydarlings
#booktube #grimdark #fantasybooks #vampire #bookreview
Which book have you enjoyed the most-Empire of the Vampire or Empire of the Damned?
The first book. This one was a step down in it's totality. That ending.....baawhaa.
@@Speed202 Agreed. BUT, I am hopeful for how the series wraps up! It’s got potential.
This series, like his other trilogies, is terrific!
These 2 vampire novels are almost reaching the levels of Brian Lumley's Necroscope series.
That’s high praise! Jay Kristoff is an excellent storyteller in his own right. His balance of banter and action is fantastic! I’m not up on my vampire stories and have now added Necroscope to my TBR 🔥
@@SandrasLibrary I guarantee you're gonna love the classic, legendary Necroscope series. Dark fantasy mixed with awesome world building and loads of terrific and terrifying characters. With a love story at it's core.
I never read his book, but you got me for blood smut. Friend bought the first book for my 17 year old daughter 😂. I told her, it’s might be a little graphic for her. I told her just to wait until she turns 18.
Oh. My. Word. 🤣🤣🤣 That’s a great call bc this series is very graphic and violent. But I mean… just depends on the 17yo I guess?? lol
I almost dnf, but I pushed through. Definitely liked the 1st one better. Feels like he tried too hard with this one, over did it with the smut and side quests.
Overdoing it is a great way to put it. It’s almost like the reception for book 1 was so great that he doubled down on the sheer number of reveals and twists, but it was too much for me personally, especially with how I read. I still enjoyed it, just not as much as EotV!
Absolutely love both books, literally just finished the 2nd an hour ago, so now have that lost feeling after finishing such a good book😂
Love that feeling! Going through that very thing with a different book-it’s my new personality 🤣🤣🤣
@SandrasLibrary the only similar feeling I've had to finishing a good book is a break up 🤣
@@markshepherd4791 HAHAHA! That's such a good way to put it! On the one hand, stunned it's over, but on the other...a sort of quiet excitement for starting fresh!
@SandrasLibrary I'm thinking maybe go back through a song of ice and fire or am I just going to set myself up for more pain by knowing I won't ever know the proper ending 😂 decisions decisions
"Blood smut" is definitely a new term for me
Ha! If I’m remembering correctly, this is how the author referred to it back when the first book was to be released! I mean, it’s accurate! 🤣
Great review, thanks. I agree with your point about this series, the first book was outstanding and 5/5 no contest. 10:24. This book felt like a 3.5/5 in comparison. I enjoyed it but not to the same degree and i just couldn't understand why.
I think you made some really vaulable points about this book being too much for too long and needing to take breaks. I did EOTV in a week, I finished EOTD yesterday (13/04) having got my copy on release day on 29/02. I think that says it all. All that said, Im very excited for book 3 and this is in no way a bad book... its just not EOTV.
Incidentally, anyone who gets the audiobook - the switch in perspective is matched by switch in narrator. I hate this technqiue having first experienced it with the Brian Stavelely series Ashes of the Unhewn Throne - The Empire's Ruin. its jarring, kills the willing suspension of disbelief and doesnt work for me. It didnt work there and doesnt work here. Another thing the first book did better!
I’m relieved to not be the only one who felt this way! After waiting for this book for 3 years, I had high expectations, and the sheer amount of reveals and twists was overwhelming to me.
Like you, I’m still excited for the next book-it’s a compelling story overall-it’s just hard to beat EotV.
I’ve actually been curious about the audiobook experience with this series and had avoided them for those reasons you shared. It seems like it would be challenging to follow something structured this way, but I didn’t have a problem with The Name of the Wind, which was similar in some ways.
@@SandrasLibrary Definitely not! Like you I so wanted to love this book but it just didn't land right and maybe that looooong wait didnt help..
Absolutely excited, just hope its not another 3 years! I agree thats part of the problem, its being compared to such a seminal book in EOTV.
The audiobook is great for EOTV... The audiobook of EOTD isnt bad, its just let down by the production choice to go with separate narrators.
Up to 250 pages i hate it!!!
LOL Idk why I’m chuckling so hard but I understand. Your reaction caught me off guard!🤣🤣🤣
I didn't really enjoy the first book, but I pushed on through to the end. I didn't have the same level of commitment for this book. DNF.
Any true fan of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles understands what a cheap rip-off the first book was of those chronicles, which makes it hard to enjoy, but this second book was just, well, stupid, nonsensical and poorly written.
Up t0 250 pages i hate it
Imitates george rr martin
Maybe the last parts are the quality garantee
Just finished it. And i feel disappointed. It felt mostly like filler
I can’t even fault you for having that take, because I somewhat agree! It wasn’t a bad book-it had some strengths-but it doesn’t hold a light to EotV.
I loved nevernight but I didn't like how he ended the book. There were no loses and it was happy ending for most characters.
I hope he doesn't do the same with this series.
I feel like if a few of the main cast members are still alive by the end of the series, then it truly isn’t grimdark. And JK strikes me as an author who fancies himself just that!