Jay Kristoff

Jay Kristoff is one crafty bastard. And a master storyteller. EMPIRE OF THE DAWN ends one of the best series I have ever read. No one book of the trilogy fumbles the narrative. Instead, the story keeps improving the further along you get. The ending is as explosive and emotional as you can imagine times 1000.

As one of two new releases about which I was absolutely giddy with excitement, when I finally obtained my first copy of EMPIRE OF THE DAWN, I hesitated to start it. For months, Mr. show more Kristoff was warning fans that we were not ready for what was to come. His warning didn't concern me about the book's excellence, but it did make me wonder if I was willing to have my heart torn out again, after he tore it out in each of the two previous books.

Also, I didn't want the story to end. Gabriel de Leon and his endless plight have all but consumed me since the release of the first book. I've reread the first two books multiple times, even though it is one of the rare series where I did not forget a single detail. The characters are larger than life, and the world of Elidaen is so vivid that it makes it difficult to forget them. Plus, never have I read a novel that is so quotable or even relatable. Sure, the series may be about vampires and half-vampires, but each of the characters manages to impart some wisdom or bon mot worth remembering.

I eventually opened EMPIRE OF THE DAWN and treated it as I would a glass of fine wine or two fingers of the best bourbon. I enjoyed it slowly, over the course of a month. I savored each sentence and let the story build around me. Doing this, I was able to catch a few things I know I would have missed had I sped through the story in an effort to get to the end. Also, the slow absorption of the story meant I felt Gabe's emotions much more deeply because I wasn't reading superficially this time. I was reading to consume it in its entirety.

There is no doubt EMPIRE OF THE DAWN is a brutal journey. Gabe has never been able to catch a break, and it seems that any inkling of luck he had in the previous two books has completely left him alone in the finale. The sheer weight of burden and loss he suffers, driven forward only by the thought of a promise of revenge for one loved one and a promise of safety and support for another, is staggering. Mr. Kristoff warned everyone that we were not ready, and even though I had an inkling of what the finale would entail, he was right. I wasn't ready, not by a long shot.

There is a point where you can no longer savor Gabe's tale and can only strap in for the ride. And what a ride it is! The grand finale is indescribable. To say that it exceeded my expectations isn't lauding it enough. There is no other way the story could end, and yet you are still surprised. Plus, Mr. Kristoff has a few more tricks up his sleeve for his audience that will have you gasping in shock. EMPIRE OF THE DAWN, and the entirety of the Empire of the Vampire series, is brilliant. Masterful storytelling with unbelievable world-building, even better characters, and a story that sticks with you for years. Bravo, Mr. Kristoff. Bravo. show less

HELL. YES.

Talk about blood-pumping action, jeez. I was legit full-on sweating toward the end, and I think my blood pressure was through the roof. That ending blew my mind and made my want to claw my face, but, like, in a good way.

Also, I want to note, that one particular scene made me so excited I started to literally pace while reading. Since it’s a spoiler I’m gonna put it under the cut.

Hanna and Kali’s confrontation was THE BEST. I’m a huge fan of the main hero having a nemesis, show more and then beating them in a dramatic fashion, but in the majority of media I consume this type of situation is always reserved for a man. Two women squaring off in the no-holds-barred fight? YES PLEASE AND THANK YOU. Also, this quote is amazing.

And at last, all the jibes, the quick talk and the subterfuge melt away, and Donnelly finally understands who she’s facing. A woman born to this. Bred for it. A woman who, after a few questionable choices and ten or so more years of hard training, Donnelly could find herself staring at in the mirror.

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It is no secret I adore Jay Kristoff’s novels. I have two different tattoos containing his words, and his books remain among my all-time favorites. The final book in the LIFEL1K3 series ranked among my most anticipated books of 2020. Except, while TRUEL1F3 is a perfectly satisfactory ending to a fantastic series, I did not love it like I thought I would.

In many ways, it is a typical novel by Mr. Kristoff. He is not afraid to jump right to the worst-case scenario in any scene and does so show more here many times. He does this to show his characters’ true motivations and personalities, for it is within conflict a person’s true nature comes to the fore. In that regard, the series morphs from being about Eve, as in books one and two, to being about Lemon Fresh as a sidekick turned heroine in her own right. Frankly, I like her character more anyway, so this was a welcome change.

Still, I didn’t LOVE TRUEL1F3. The ending was a bit too…pat…for my taste. While there are battles and apocalyptic explosions, it is not as dark and therefore as emotionally wrought as his other novels. In his adult novels, his characters fight for every ounce of happiness. That isn’t quite true in his standalone young adult work. Even with his collaborations, you know that he is not afraid to sacrifice a character for a storyline. I never felt that any of the characters were in danger, and therein lies my issue with this final book. It is almost as if Mr. Kristoff played things too safe. I missed that edge, that fear that your favorite character might die on any page, and while you would mourn, you know the story is stronger because of that death. There was none of that here.

That being said, any Jay Kristoff novel is better than most of the other stuff published these days. He is probably the only author these days willing to place his novel in the middle of a radiation zone with easy access to nuclear weapons. I also love his sly criticism of modern-day priorities where in his world, they have the ability to build AI with the ability to feel emotions and genetically modify any living thing on the planet but cannot do anything about cleaning up and repairing the environment. Maybe it isn’t such a departure for him after all. show less

Mia Corvere is the privileged daughter of the Justicus in the Itreyan Republic, but unfortunately her father was hanged as a traitor, her family incarcerated, the Corvere estate confiscated, and now Mia is on the run after escaping her captors with the help of a mysterious shadow cat. Eventually she is taken in by an old man who trains her so that she may be admitted to the Red Church – a religion dedicated to the Mother, the Lady of Blessed Murder, which trains the most feared assassins show more in the land – to avenge her family. At only sixteen years of age, eager to become a Blade, Mia will be lucky if she makes it through the selection process of the Church alive …

This is the first offering in a fantasy trilogy that's epic in scope and tells a very dark and thrilling tale full of blood, murder, revenge, intrigue and betrayal; the parallels to Game of Thrones are obvious. I was doubtful at first whether I should order the book when it was offered up for review, but because I very much enjoyed the first two volumes Jay Kristoff's Lotus War series (the third volume yet to be read), with a strong heroine and an engaging and imaginative plot, and because the cover art of Nevernight looked intriguing, to say the least, I ordered it, even though the synopsis gave me the distinct impression that this wasn't something I'd normally pick up from the shelf. After reading the opening chapter, I really thought I had made a serious mistake and that I wouldn't be able to finish the book if it continued in very much the same vein. To be clear: if you can get past the detailed descriptions of a murder being committed that almost glorify the violence, and scenes of a sexual nature that appear almost pornographic, then there is much to enjoy in this door stopper of a novel with its nearly 650 pages.

Kristoff's world building is phenomenal: not only does he create a physical world from scratch with its different lands, inhabitants, cities and landscapes, but an entire belief system, along with philosophy and history, cultures and traditions. A lot of this achieved through the use of footnotes, which at times are rather extensive and in danger of disrupting the narrative. This device, along with the rather sarcastic voice of the narrator, reminded me heavily of the Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud, and I'm sure that a lot of readers will just skip over them; to me they added to the rich tapestry that was being woven by the author. To avoid too close comparisons with the medieval world created by George R.R. Martin in his epic series A Song of Ice and Fire, Kristoff has chosen to place his setting in a version of the Roman Empire, which, because of the struggle between loyalists true to the king and supporters of the Senate, at the heart of the enfolding plot, works very well. Throw in a bit of magik, a mysterious origin myth and shadow creatures, and you have a recipe for success. I found the amount of violence, and the detailed descriptions, a little hard to take – but then what do you expect when you have a novel set in a school for assassins? – along with a romantic storyline that wasn't always convincing; to me highlights were a thrilling pursuit in the Whisperwastes and the trials the apprentices of the Red Church were subjected to in order to find those who are most worthy of becoming a Blade in the service of the Mother, and I enjoyed the power plays, betrayals and intrigues more than the gut-wrenching violence. Once a certain stage in the novel has been reached, the tension almost never lets up, and there are some genuine surprises and a few well-delivered shocks in store. The only point in the novel where I truly questioned the story's credibility comes fairly late in the book and involves Mia meeting an old acquaintance in a place where one would never expect it – a real 'What the ... ?' moment. It didn't ruin the book, but I truly hope the following two volumes won't feature any more clunkiness on this scale.

Several questions arising throughout the length of the novel remain unanswered, and the ending throws up a few new ones, both of which serve to whet the appetite for volume no. 2. A word of warning, though: if you have an aversion to blood, I would advise staying clear of this book as there is a lot of it, and the author skilfully manages to evoke both the taste and smell of it, so that even I as a former nurse felt slightly nauseated at the descriptions.

(This review was written for Amazon's Vine programme.) show less