Empire of the Damned Audiobook By Jay Kristoff, Bon Orthwick - illustrator cover art

Empire of the Damned

Book Two

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Empire of the Damned

By: Jay Kristoff, Bon Orthwick - illustrator
Narrated by: Damian Lynch, Shakira Shute
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About this listen

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
Action & Adventure Epic Fantasy Paranormal Paranormal & Urban
Captivating Plot Twists • Rich Worldbuilding • Masterful Male Narration • Emotional Depth • Immersive Storytelling
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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!!!

Extraordinary Writing Style

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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.

Even better than book one

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loved the performance of the narrators great pace . wonderful characters great hook if you like dark fantasy this is a good read

wonderful book

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This was a really great time. The dialog peppered with crude insults was 100 % pure joy for me. Although I'm someine who appreciates a great side characters (and there are a few here) I love Gabriel as a main character. He's flawed, and crude, and often brutal, but family... especially found family is worth fighting for and that ending... I'm already highly anticipating the 3rd book.

wooo!

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"Empire of the Damned" is yet another high fantasy book in Jay Kristoff's incredible repertoire. The buildup was a bit slow, but this allowed for the impressive building up of the world. Kristoff's attention to detail and furnishing of the fantasy setting with so much depth is remarkable.

The character development in this book is exemplary. Their growth together as individuals, as well as the growth of their relationship, was so well done. Their evolving dynamic and eventual downfall felt real and compelling; the final scene in which their fight leaves Dior undefended encapsulates the complex sibling love, hate, and rivalry beautifully.

However, some parts weren't very successful with me. Some of the plotlines seemed a little hokey and went in more of a romantic direction that I wasn't quite expecting after reading the first book in the series. Another point that bothered me is when Lachlan supposedly appeared out of nowhere in the final battle. There was no indication of why or how he even got there with the children if previously he abandoned them.

There were a couple of kind of hot scenes that I could have done without, but that is just me. The beginning of the book, how it started with Gabriel and his fighting the Silver Order, was so powerful and sad simultaneously. That's what I like in a story, to be so captivatingly sad right from the get-go. Still, the whole "trial after trial after trial" repetitive structure has bugged me in other series as well. Yet it was all balanced out by Kristoff's stellar writing, creative world-building, and innovative old vampire-based fantasy novel.

To sum up, despite some clichés and personal dislikes, "Empire of the Damned" is an excellent entry into the series and superb for characterization and world-building. I look forward to what direction the plot takes from here on. Would I recommend this book? Oh, absolutely. Particularly if you are a fan of high fantasy in which there is wonderfully elaborated world-building and good character work.

wonderfully elaborated world-building and good character work

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If you love Castlevania and the way it treats vampires then you're going to love this story. The sequel is fantastic and I honestly could not put it down. The graphic detail in which this world was created was so well done, I felt like I was there the whole time. Both narrators do their characters well. I can't wait for the next book!

Vampire fiction at its finest.

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Absolutely in love with this Epic Dark Fantasy! The writing is immaculate! The journeys, the brotherhood, the love and lost. Highly recommend! Five star read for me! Love it!!!

Fantastic!!!

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I listened to the first book again the week before this dropped. So I could try to be ready to just jump into this one. Needless to say I was still not prepared. But in the best ways. Woven together so neatly even with all that's going on. Thank you!!

F*ck......My......Face

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I happened to pick up Empire of the Vampire on a whim and it was the best whim I've ever had. The first book was so great that I couldn't wait for the 2nd. Now that I've finished Empire Of The Damned, I am impatiently waiting (lol) for the 3rd book. The story line, the characters, the world, the Writing. . . all of is is done so well. even the narration is perfection. the way he does Gabe and all the other characters are just so amazing. I was a Llittle surprised that this was a duel narration at first. though I prefer a duet narration where the females are all done by the female narrator and vice versa for the males but that didn't really bother me in this book since they were both so well done.
I definitely cannot wait for the 3rd book and I'm glad we got that little bit at the end, so that we at least know what he is working on it haha.

!!!SPOILERS!!!

I had my heart in my throat the whole time over Aaron. lol if anything happens to those two, I may riot lol

also, the part where Gabe is singing that lullaby to Dior. . . wrecked. Absolutely wrecked me. So good!

Another amazing book!

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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.

Empire of the Damned

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