'Empire of the Dawn (Empire of the Vampire #3)' by Jay Kristoff - review

   "I name no one my Father who never loved me as a son. And I would scorn to lie meek upon the block and smile up at he who lifts the axe and tells me he has a fucking plan." 


   'Empire of the Dawn' is the final installment in the 'Empire of the Vampire' series by Jay Kristoff. 

With the end of his tale looming near, Gabe recounts the last steps leading him to his current captivity. All the failures and betrayals that find him in the bosom of his enemies.. laid bare. His heartbreaks spilling forth with every drop from his goblet.. his regrets.. his self-criticisms.


   "To be without blame is not always to be without shame." 


I feel like I can't say too much without spoiling everything, so if my words seem tentative or vague.. you know why.

As with the rest of the series, the fights are bloodied legends.. rife with a combination of graceful movements and graphic violent imagery. Never overdone, always just enough to immerse the reader in the moment. Kristoff excels at knowing when and where to focus his literary lens and when to show us the true scale of battle, managing our hope and hopelessness as if on a pendulum, never letting us get too far from either.

Through it all, he weaves a gallows humor. Not just amongst Gabriel and the male characters strewn throughout the story either. I love that he doesn't automatically save the best lines for his lead. Instead, it's often Dior or a less present character that delivers them.. pulling laughter from me in unexpected moments.


   "You've the look of a bad dog in want of a good leash." 


There had been a detail bugging me since book two, that I was pleased to see led to exactly what I expected in the last of the story. But for the most part, Kristoff managed to pull off one hell of a surprise.. and I couldn't have been happier about it. 

Anyway, that is all I will say for the last book as I really want you all to get the most out of it you can. I loved it. I cried at the most unexpected times and didn't feel moved at all when I thought I should have.. which I suspect was also intentional. Less of a writer's tell and more of a hint.

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