Empire of the Damned

Empire of the Vampire, Book 2

By: Jay Kristoff, Bon Orthwick - illustrator

Narrated by: Damian Lynch, Shakira Shute

Length: 31 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

This audiobook includes a bonus conversation between the author and actor/director Joseph Morgan (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Halo).

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Nevernight Chronicle, Jay Kristoff, comes the much-anticipated sequel to the #1 international bestselling sensation EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRE.

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.

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

©2024 Jay Kristoff (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Extraordinary Writing Style

I was enthralled by this story within the first five minutes of Empire of the Vampire. I have been waiting since 2021 for Empire of the Damned.

I love the author's choice of writing style in this series. The chronology of the story is told from the prisoner's point of view while still immersing the reader in the story as if it were taking place at a point in time. It is brilliant.

The story is dark and gothic, which, in my opinion, is the best setting for a vampire/hunter tale. The narration pushes the listeners over the edge to a point of no return. Damian Lynch gives life to Gabriel.

Gabriel is a warrior fighting against a foe that can't be conquered. The sun never truly lights up the day; the nights are dark and cold. However, Gabriel is on a mission to protect what could be the world's last hope. He has no idea how the grail will free this world from its dark prison, but he has faith in the grail, and he will fight to the death to protect her.

The only thing I did not enjoy in this second book is the sexual content. The first book had its share of sexual content, but the author went too far in the second book.

The second narrator has a beautiful voice. However, it just didn't fit this story and undermined its grandeur.

All that being said, I finished the book and immediately hit replay!!!

Even better than book one

I hated to see it end. The vampire world Kristoff has plunged us in to, is exactly what vampires should be, some are lovely, but all are terrifying. The narrators did a fantastic job of bringing that persona to life.

Narration Format/Mispronunciation/Voices

Narration Format:
While the male narrator's performance was what I had become accustomed to and expected, the addition of the female narrator felt unnecessary. The transition from a familiar voice to a new one threw off the rhythm and consistency of the storytelling. This shift disrupted the connection I had established with the male narrator's interpretation of the characters and their journeys, making it challenging to fully engage with the narrative as it progressed.

Mispronunciation of "Marquis":
The mispronunciation of the term "marquis" by the female narrator added another layer of disappointment to the listening experience. This misinterpretation of a central word in the plot not only disrupted the flow of the narrative for me but also took away from the authenticity of the story. The repeated mispronunciation created a discordant note, making it difficult to fully immerse myself.
Character Voice Differentiation:
The execution of character voice differentiation by the female narrator did not meet my expectations. While the male narrator had successfully brought the characters to life, the female narrator's portrayal, for me, lacked the depth and consistency necessary to maintain the emotional resonance of the story. This inconsistency further contributed to the sense of detachment I experienced throughout her performance.

Every bit as good as book 1

Jay Kristoff has improved on an excellent first book. I am not a vampire genre loving guy and yet this series has me quite enthralled. His characters and their dialog is top notch. The world is very dreary and grimdark and yet he has kept enough hope and wry humor in it to keep my interest and the world is very well realized.

Bloody good

Jay Kristoff writes epic shit. Makes me cry every single time. I can’t wait for the conclusion.

Already anticipating the next book.

Jay killed it again. Along with Damien and Shakira doing great jobs on the voices.

At least as great as book one

This book is the real deal. I keep imagining how it would make a great tv show or movie. It hit the right levels of darkness, action, adventure, and character development for me.

Adding a second narration

Loved the extra narration from Celene’s POV. Can't wait for Book 3 of this masterpiece.

Still listening but I had to give my two cents

I loved listening to the first part as Damian Lynch's narration was excellent, pronunciation of French words were authentic (at least to a non-French-speaking person). The female narrator though ruined it for me. Mispronunciations (makes it feel like I'm listening to an amateur production in a school presentation), not enough differentiation in the voicing of different characters and a lot of times, not giving enough time/pauses when switching to another character' voice. This leads to a lot of confusion as to which character is speaking. Its like she did not listen to the first book prior to recording the second book.

I am sure she is a good narrator (certainly a lot better than me) but she is just not a good fit for this book.

I'm only in the first chapter of the female narration now because I had to restart over and over again hoping I could get myself immersed in the story but I just couldn't.

And so I ended up buying the kindle book. I will be reading this myself knowing that I am missing out on how wonderful this would have been had I been listening to Damian Lynch's narration instead.

Empire of the Damned

After a long wait the book did not disappoint. A superbly well written story. Fantastic characters, flawed, with murderous intents and purposes and yet all the same extremely lovable. Steamy at times, stressful at others, often sad this story bring all the elements one can find in real life to the forefront. Gabe, the man one should hate but oh so lovable. The Empire stories contain a certain element of humanity and redemption… I cannot wait for the third book. Damian Lynch is amazing. His voice is one of my favorites. His style of narration very, very good. And I liked Shakira for the female voices. I hope she will be back with Damian.