#MacmillanAudio review of - Empire of The Vampire by Jay Kristoff narrated by Damian Lynch

Those who know me well know I LOVE dark, epic fantasy well brothers and sisters, Empire of the Vampire is all that and more, it's one hell of a brilliant piece of fiction. Plus the illustrations are FAB in fact I've just ordered the Hardcopy just to have them!!
Brava!! 
I just hope he doesn't make us wait years for the next installment.
Enjoy!

ASIN: B08TY4KW4P
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release Date: 9-14-2021
Length: 27 hours and 10 minutes
Source: Publisher for review
Buy It: Audible

ADD TO: GOODREADS

Overview:

From New York Times bestselling author Jay Kristoff comes Empire of the Vampire, the first volume of an astonishing new dark fantasy saga.

From holy cup comes holy light;
The faithful hand sets world aright.
And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,
Mere man shall end this endless night.

It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness.

Gabriel de León is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order could not stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains.

Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope:

The Holy Grail.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.

“Brilliant and unputdownable, with tenderness and light bound into the bitterdark of a grim and fascinating world.”—Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Strange the Dreamer

“Kristoff wields his writing like a fine blade—well-balanced, graceful and wickedly sharp.” —V.E. Schwab, New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Here's the UK cover

Listen to an excerpt:

MacmillanAudio · Empire Of The Vampire by Jay Kristoff, audiobook excerpt

My Macmillan audio review:

Empire of the Vampire
Book 1 in Empire of the Vampire trilogy
Jay Kristoff

 

E P I C is the name of Jay Kristoff’s dark, dark fantasy, and first in his new Empire of the Vampire trilogy. It’s a behemoth at 27 hours in audio and almost 800 pages in print but every word is imperative because Gabriel de León has quite a story to tell, about faith, forbidden love, true believers and zealots about good vs evil - where sometimes the line between heroes and villains is razor thin.  Told in three timelines, the present where Gabriel is telling his story, Gabriel’s early years and his past as a 32-year-old adult where he describes a dark unforgiving world that’s only getting worse and like a train wreck where all evidence points to a terrible ending the audience still won’t be able to stop watching. Kristoff is a master storyteller and world builder, his brilliant cataclysmic narrative meticulously describes a grim, hopeless empire giving his audience a chilling authentic taste of his bleak, ruthless world.

All of his characters stand out but Gabriel is unforgettable, a hero, a warrior, a failure, a tortured soul and as he narrates his tragic tale be prepared to experience a multitude of emotions, horror, sadness, brief happiness and hopelessness.

If you’re looking for silver linings and happy endings this is not the book for you but if you’re looking for a truly dark epic fantasy tale you will not be able to put this instant bestseller down.

NARRATION:
The narration by Damian Lynch is unmatched he is the perfect Gabriel from the swordsmith to the drunkard, from the Knight to the prisoner. Spoken in a clear, clean voice Lynch gives his audience an unforgettable performance.

It’s been twenty-seven years since day’s death and in those years with no sunshine to speak of Vampires have been slowly snuffing out humanity. But humanity has a weapon a weapon born in shame but who rise to take up the sliver embedded swords of the Silver Order of San Michon, they are legends and warriors they are Silversaints and there is one among them who stands alone as the best and now he stands alone as the last. Imprisoned by the dark creatures he vowed to destroy, Gabriel de León, The Black Lion, The Sword of the Realm, once knighted by the Empress, the last Siversaint has spent his life killing these creatures but after slaying the Vampire known as the Forever King, is now held captive by it’s new Queen, Margot Chastain, and her historian Jean-Francois is demanding Gabriel recount his life story before they send him to meet his maker. And so the story begins about how a sainted Knight lost his faith and the empire he swore to protect lost its final battle.

About the author:
Jay Kristoff is a #1 international, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction. He is the winner of eight Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, has over one and a half a million books in print and is published in over thirty five countries, most of which he has never visited. He is as surprised about all of this as you are. He is 6’7 and has approximately 11,500 days to live.

He does not believe in happy endings.