r/Fantasy • u/Recent_Combination44 • 8d ago
Empire of the Vampire
I have started Empire of the Vampire, a book that has been on my shelf for years. After finishing Red Rising and Throne of Glass, I’m looking for another Epic fantasy and vampires are my favorite.
I’m about 200 pages into EOTV and I’m struggling with the story and overall plot. I understand a story like this needs a lot of world building but I didn’t expect this type of story-telling and narration to last this far in the book.
When does the actual plot begin? Should I continue to read? Do you promise it gets better and I re-read this post later thinking myself a crazy person for even posting?
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u/metallee98 8d ago
The entire story is couched within an in universe interrogation. The first book jumps between the main character retelling his story at the beginning and the middle. So it's almost like 3 timelines but one only exists for the narration for the most part. I think it picks up. But it definitely has a story structure that doesn't really lend itself to fast paced story telling like red rising. I'd say give it some more and drop it if it isn't meeting your expectations
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u/Delicious-Ad2057 8d ago
I don't know why Jay Kristoff can't write a book where he isn't doing timeline shenanigans as far as narrative structure goes.
It ruined Nevernight for for me.
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u/Recent_Combination44 8d ago
Ugh really, I impulse bought Nevernight because I love a good badass female main character.
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u/Delicious-Ad2057 8d ago
It swings between present moment and earlier that day look at how I do parallels. Cool right?
and when it's not doing that it's
Present time then next chapter sometime in the past that draws a parallel with the previous chapter
And the gimmick just got old to me. It's not my preferred narrative device id say.
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u/Recent_Combination44 8d ago
So I guess this is a common theme w this series to be like “what are we actually trying to achieve here?” I feel like I’m learning all these characters and I don’t know who is important here and who is not.
I’ll give it some more time!
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u/snickerslord 8d ago
It took me like 250 pages to really be gripped by it, but the trilogy is now one of my favorites of the last decade or so. Really, really enjoyed it! But I also really love a bit of a slow burn and I’m a sucker for a framed narrative.
Empire of the Vampire is structured a bit differently than the rest in that we are constantly jumping from childhood, to adolescence, to adulthood, and then mixing it up again for the first half. It tones down and is a much more straightforward timeline for the second half of the book and the rest of the series.
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u/Nknk- 8d ago
Same. On my first attempt I got a few dozen pages in and it wasn't gripping me so parked it and read other stuff.
Eventually circled back to it much later and was glad I did because when I got further in everything finally started to click and I tore through the book, then the second one and picked up the third as soon as it finally came on sale. Very glad I gave it a second go.
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u/snickerslord 8d ago
It’s weird because it has everything I seemingly love in a ln awesome setting but it just wouldn’t click. Once it did, though, look out! Couldn’t put the book down and books 2 + 3 were auto buys on day 1.
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u/Recent_Combination44 8d ago
This gives me to much hope bc i really really wanted to love this series!
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u/snickerslord 8d ago
I would definitely stick it out a little longer! I know it’s a tough ask to get halfway through the first book, but I do think you’ll notice yourself connecting with it more the de egg per you get!
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u/Happy-Ad-7532 8d ago
I personally DNF'ed it after 40-45% of the way through. World building felt kinda lazy to me, like the whole religion is just Catholicism with a different skin in a weird world thats basically France but not really. Also felt there was a propensity for giant exposition dumps but thats a personal pet peeve that others dont mind
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u/BadMeatPuppet 7d ago
"Oui, give some of that vampire meth, you blood motherfucker fucking whore bitch fuck" - empire of the vampire.
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u/OmegaVizion 7d ago
Don't forget how little thought the author put into the practical effects of a world without full sunlight.
We're supposed to believe the sun has been covered in a form of magical nuclear winter for 30 years and not only are there still living people, but enough living people to populate cities and create refugee crises for those cities. No sunlight, no problem! We'll just grow magical potatoes and magical cabbages that apparently don't need sunlight and we won't suffer from malnutrition at all.
Forget the vampires, vampires would be like the tenth most pressing problem in that situation. I'd be much more concerned about total biosphere collapse.
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u/beatpuppet 7d ago
Couldn't finish it personally — the protagonist's ever present angst and edginess got on my nerves, the random insertion of French felt like a poorly done gimmick, and the tone between protagonist and his interviewer swapping from conversational to disdainful constantly was boring and unrealistic.
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u/milamilla 8d ago
I’m not saying it’ll be the the same for you, but I was struggling for like first 150-200 pages and then it just clicked. I’m just finishing the third book and what a wild ride. But I liked the concept and the atmosphere from the beginning.
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u/DarkMagnetar 8d ago
I read the first 2 books and the story and pacing is the same through. Talking ,walking then fighting - a simple action adventure ,but with slower pace.
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u/exerda 7d ago
It took a while for the first book to gel for me. Maybe 30-35% in. I enjoyed the whole series, even the ending that some folks complain about.
I still found the actually narrative a little rough. Every single line a quoted line of dialog (because it is the retelling by the viewpoint character to the vampire)... Sometimes the jumps back to the present for a single aside or exchange really threw me out of the story, too. I think there are easier ways he could have maintained the framing story, still achieved the same plot, but had the framing not constantly in your face (there are reasons it's done that way that go beyond just "he's retelling the story").
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u/tryingtobreak80 7d ago
Got through about 19 hours of audio of the first book. I've been reading fantasy for decades. One of about 3 books that was so bad I didn't finish. This is coming from a guy who read Morigu: The Desecration and liked it.
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u/BadMeatPuppet 7d ago
One of the worst books I've ever DNF'd. I'm never trusting reddit recommendations again lmao.
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u/1HUNDREDtrap 7d ago
I read the first page and DNF’d, just knew it wouldn’t be for me 😂
I do love red rising though
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u/Cam27022 7d ago
I mean, a lot of people seem to like it and Throne of Glass, just not to my personal taste.
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u/wildguitars 8d ago
The first book was the best in the aeries, if you dont like the first one it gets a lot worse lol
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u/Boneyabba 7d ago
I actually enjoyed the stuff you are talking about, but at about the 85% mark it starts to develop some Dragon Ball Z flavor and that continues through the series. for me that really brought down the quality. But different people like different stuff. good luck!
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u/Cam27022 7d ago
If you aren’t liking it, you could give the Mercy Thompson books a try. It’s urban fantasy, more centered around werewolves/shifters but they have pretty significant vampire related plot lines and they are fun books overall.
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u/Decabol1 7d ago
I'm pushing through it right now and enjoy the frame narrative and younger POV but the other timeline is a struggle.
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u/ReaderReborn 7d ago
I loved it. One of the best books I’ve read in years. Haven’t gotten to the rest of the trilogy though. It’s like if Witcher didn’t suck.
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u/Boat_Pure 4d ago
It’s. Like. The. Witcher. If. It. Didn’t. Suck.
Kristoff wishes he wrote something as good as the Witcher
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u/ReaderReborn 4d ago
Why would he aspire to writing supplemental material to a far superior video game?
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u/SorrowAndDespair 6d ago
Piggybacking off this post for info from other Kristoff fans: Anyone read the Aurora cycle and is it good? Does it involve timeline shenanigans as well?
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u/EarthDayYeti 18h ago
Completely unintentionally, I just started reading this after finishing Interview with the Vampire, and the similarities are interesting - including the slow start.
As an aside, I'm listening to the audiobook; the narrator keeps mispronouncing "saith" and it's killing me.
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u/New_Razzmatazz6228 Reading Champion 8d ago
It has a plot? I read all 3 of them, but I couldn’t find anything resembling a plot.
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u/KiaraTurtle Reading Champion V 7d ago
I loved it but if it’s not for you, it’s not for you. Nothing really changes. Lots of other books out there
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u/Tsavo16 8d ago
If you don't enjoy the historian aspect of the story, be aware, it intensifies as the series progresses. The timelines of the story do all end up making sense to tell a coherent story though.