TL;DR Review: A climax bigger, bloodier, darker, and more messed up than I could have expected—and I loved every minute of it!
Synopsis:
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.
Gabriel de León has lost his family, his faith, and his last hope of ending the endless night―the Holy Grail, Dior. With no desire left but vengeance, he and a band of loyal brothers journey into the war-torn heart of the Augustin Empire to claim the life of the Forever King.
Unbeknownst to the Last Silversaint, the Grail still lives―speeding towards Augustin’s besieged capital in the frail hope of ending Daysdeath forever. But deadly treachery awaits within the halls of power, and the Forever King’s legions march ever closer. Gabriel and Dior will be drawn into a final battle that will shape the very fate of the Empire, but as the sun sets for what may be the last time, there will be no-one left for them to trust.
Not even each other.
Full Review:
I’m calling it now: Empire of the Dawn is my #1 read OF THE YEAR!
I was already fully invested in the story after the events of Empire of the Damned, but I was utterly unprepared for just how dark, bloody, and insane this one would go.
The story opens with Gabriel de Leon fleeing the city where his beloved sort-of-adoptive-daughter lies dead at the hands of the vampires he defeated in Book 2. From that first scene, we feel the raw anguish, the heartbreak, and the soul-deep grief that drives him to race out into the winter snows alone and with little in the way of supplies. He’s escaping the pain of loss, but like the vampiric hunger gnawing at his soul, the farther he runs, the worse it will get.
Fortunately, he has the company of his brothers-at-arms: Laclan, a fellow silversaint; Aaron, a former silversaint turned to vampire; and Jean-Baptiste, Aaron’s husband and a renowned blackthumb (blacksmith). Together, the four are fleeing Gabriel’s grief and setting off to hunt down the last great vampire, Fabien Voss.
Only, he doesn’t realize Dior isn’t truly dead. As Gabriel’s Part One ends, we are treated to the words: “SHE IS RISEN”. The ending of Empire of the Damned set that up, but now we get to see it play out as Dior resurrects—and in so doing, proves herself the Redeemer the world believes her to be. What follows is a very Messiah-meets-Joan-of-Arc crusade where her followers are gathering in armed hordes to take on the vampiric army marching on the Imperial capital. And when battle is joined…well, this is Jay Kristoff’s writing, so you know things are going to get bloody and dark and painful.
But I promise you, you are not ready for just HOW bloody and dark and painful it’ll get. Even after reading the first two books in this series and Nevernight, I was not prepared for just how twisty and depraved the author’s mind can go, how much he will relish ripping away from us all the characters that we know and love.
Because, as you know from the beginning, the story ends with Gabriel de Leon trapped, imprisoned, and alone in the vampiric castle being interrogated by the historian. The Grail is broken, the armies of man are decimated, and vampires rule the night for real. So how the heck is he going to get us out of there?
Read it, and I promise you will be satisfied!
Make no mistake, this is a dark journey that had me tearing up, swearing, and nearly throwing the book across the room—on MULTIPLE occasions. But I swear the ending will be worth it. It may not be the happy ending you had hoped for—again, this is a Jay Kristoff novel—but it is immensely satisfying and wraps up the experience in a way that leaves my heart hurting but full.
Empire of the Dawn delivers the closure we deserve, though it rips our hearts out and stomps on them repeatedly along the way. It’s a must-read for anyone who is looking for a dark, twisty, gut-wrenching, tear-jerking, action-packed adventure.
Leave a Reply