One thing I feel I can count on with a Kristoff title, is the author does nothing at half-measure. Empire of the Vampire was a bloody, beast of a tale.. and from this massive sampler alone.. I can tell Empire of the Damned is going to be another of its kind.

This story pulls no punches, but that's really another Kristoff trait I've come to count on. The sampler doesn't just tease and leave you before you've grown invested. Honestly, it reads like a small novel in its own right.

The situations are dire, the action sequences are controlled chaos, and at the core of the story.. the beating heart remains ever true. I loved getting a glimpse at how Dior and Gabe's relationship has evolved.. and I really enjoyed the tension filled dynamic between Gabe and some of the other characters at play here.

I am definitely eager to continue reading.. and I know it's going to be a hell of a ride.

I will, unfortunately, be abstaining from sharing my thoughts about this title until St. Martin's Press adequately addresses the current boycott and its claims and questions.

For this only being a preview, I didn’t expect to have half the story already. What an incredible sequel; I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy.

Book starts right where the first one ends and oh man does it continue with the greatness that was the first book. They delve into the relationship between Gabriel and Dior even more. Kristoff's amazing writing and characterization continues. This is only a sample of the book but can not wait to continue where this story takes us. Definite recommend this book

Thank you for the amazing opportunity!

Bombastic sequel that took me dayss to read because i did not want it to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a sampler egalley of this title to give an honest review. The opinions here are my own.
I was excited to read Kristoff. I have heard many good things about his writing and stories and really wanted to be immersed in his fantasy world. Plus, it's compared to many things I have loved in the past: The Witcher, Interview with A Vampire,
I will say I love his writing. It's truly interesting. But the length of his stories leaves something to be desired. While this is only a sampler, I can see it will be just as long as the first. And while I understand this is often the case with fantasy books, I didn't feel like enough happened to move this forward, just as happened in the first book.
This sampler gives us more of that but we move on from only one POV to another POV which gives us more depth to the story. It continues with the dark post-apocolyptic fantasy world we learned about in the first book.
I'm doubtful I will pick this up when it is published as it just doesn't seem to be my thing despite my love of fantasy and all things paranormal. I think it's more the format of the book rather than anything else.

Just as dark and bloody as the first book. Also just as misogynistic.

I had the same issues as I did with the first book, sadly.

The humor falls flat for me. Snark is one thing, but this always just feels so juvenile and out of place. The name-calling while creative, really takes me out of the story that's so dark and atmospheric.

I still wish the time jumps were more spread out too. It's not confusing, it's just annoying.

I can't complain that it's too long like I did the first time, because this was just a sample. That would have been nice to know beforehand.

The art is still great, and at this point it's my favorite part.

I doubt I'll bother picking up the full version.

Picking up from where Empire of the Vampire left off, our favourite, foul mouthed last Silver Saint, Gabe, continues to find himself a prisoner at the hands of the Chastain. The tale he recounts on his quest with the grail to break the endless night is high fantasy at its best with well-choreographed action scenes, a talking sword , and a band of characters risking it all who cling to the threads of humanity in a perilous and treacherous fight against dark forces. Where humans are viewed as weak, it is these qualities: love, loyalty, and found family that draw them together and have us rooting for them.

Will Gabe live to tell the tail and see his quest through and what secrets will he learn about himself as he seeks his own answers to his identity?

After receiving an arc copy of this book I was disappointed to find out this was only the first couple hundred-ish pages of the book and not the full thing. However, other than not knowing this going into it, the part that I have read has been incredible. I loved the first book and so far this sequel is highly surpassing expectations. If the rest of this book is anything like the first part, this could easily be one of my top reads of the year. The ending has me highly anticipating the rest and I can’t wait until it comes out. I have a good feeling this will be an easy 5 star read.

Great horror/fantasy set in a vaguely French middle ages. This is a savior tale with a great grumpy warrior protector as the narrator. If you enjoyed Kvothe's tale in the Name of the Wind, you will most likely enjoy this one.

Was really disappointed that this was only a sampler. I have been looking forward to this book for almost two years! Empire of the Vampire was so fantastic! A true testament to Kristoff's talent and a writer. His world building is phenomenal and his characters are so likeable and full of emotion.

The first book was sooo big! The biggest book I have read in a while. This little taste of book two makes it a bit difficult to write a good review because we don't have everything to base it on, however I have written with less before. Though it is hard to get the big overall picture of the story, it is easy to see that Kristoff's second book is going to be as good as the first (at least from what I can tell).

Though a little confusing in the time line, the characters are still wonderful, the world building is clearly there, and the writing is beautiful.

A book as addicting as Sanctus itself…and not in a good way!

(I straight-up panicked when I finished the last sentence. It was extremely disappointing that NetGalley failed to disclose that this was only a 200-something page sample arc of the first two “books” of Empire of the Damned. This made a full review impossible and providing honest feedback challenging. I am still thankful for the opportunity to have read it, but knowing in advance that THIS WAS A SAMPLE may have shaped my initial thoughts into a more forgiving delineation.)

Everything that I loved about EotV–the three different timelines, interview as a framing device, the pacing and lore drops, the banter…In EotD, it all seemed to fall flat.
On its arse.
From the top of the battlements- or was it a bridge over a treacherous ravine?

I forgot, because honestly, the opening of this book was that repetitive. There’s only so much, “We are Running From Vampires! It is Snowing! We are Running out of Supplies and Gabe is Drunk! We are now Running From Vampires! It is Snowing MORE! We are Running out of Supplies and Gabe is Drunk AND out of Vodka–Oh Bless The Seven Martyrs, We Are Saved, Gabe Has Found Some Wine…” that a reader can take without making substantial headway in the overarching storyline.
This was a sample, but it shouldn’t take over 200 pages to amass, what is in total, a paragraph or two of world-building.

Like alcohol, new characters show up far too conveniently and are promptly shuffled off stage before we can wring any substance from them apart from an unresolved headache.

Orthwick’s illustrations are glorious, but portray no new information about the grimdark world Kristoff is weaving beyond expanding upon its population of Creepy Femme Fatales. There is nothing wrong with CFFs–I am particularly partial to this trope–but with so many highly cinematic, sweeping landscapes and viscerally-described scenes, I for one, was hoping for a touch more variety.

Overall, this read a lot like a sidequest: Fun, love the characters and the depravity, but the penultimate locked-chest-of-loot ended up being stuffed with cinnamon rolls. No one is going to say no to a chest full of cinnamon rolls, but when you’re going up against legions of the Damned, arming yourself with cream cheese frosting and cinnamon sugar may not yield the ending you’re looking for. A tentative three stars, and I desperately, hungrily hope that I am wrong. I will be saving my final thoughts until then.

Redeemer save us from another mid-series slump!

Great sampler. Iove when we get these and they're meaty enough to really give you a feel for the book and get excited for it

Jay Kristoff does not disappoint with this sequel. All the lore, gore, and drama from the first book have returned, which will please fans. Kristoff's way of conveying emotions is top notch and helps immerse the reader. Can't wait to read the whole sequel!

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the arc of this book!

Warning: Spoilers for the first book!! (Go read it now, then come back.)

There are only two timelines in this one, prisoner Gabe telling the story and the quest for the grail with Dior. Oddly enough, the part where we're being told the story is now told by Jean-François not Gabriel.

Gabriel’s old apprentice joins them for a while. I liked Lachlan and the relationship he had with Gabe. It's a sign of how good a writer he is that I really felt like these two had a history with inside jokes and a deep relationship, despite just meeting him. (I hated that Gabe had this huge terrible secret hanging over them. It made me nervous! I just know it's going to go badly once Lachlan finds out!)

Dior and Gabe's relationship is still the best part. I love how close they've gotten! They're too much alike though, so they often argue.

I don't like Celene. I wanted to because she's a strong kick butt vampire with awesome blood magic, but she's so immature! I lost count of how many times she told Gabe she hated him and blamed him for her death, and couldn't stand the sight of him…

There were only two battles (not counting the time Celene tried to kill Gabe and Dior saved him.) and neither was particularly spectacular. I enjoyed the action in the battle with the Dyvok, but I wish Gabe had killed one of the highbloods. Instead, he's saved by Celene. (Then he almost drowned and was saved by another girl.) I told you, he's a regular damsel, our Gabe. That was all in the beginning though. He's not so hopeless later on. In the battle against the Voss, they're hopelessly outnumbered and he has a really clever plan to get them out of it. Unfortunately, Gabe has the worst luck ever!

Same as the first book, this one was only a part of the story. But it felt way too short! Maybe the Netgalley arc is just part of the book? I hope so. I need more!!

Content: No sex in Gabe's parts, so we get a threesome with Jean-François. (I just realized how that sounds, Gabe wasn't a part of it.)
Lots of swearing.
No torture.
Gore and violence as usual. (The Dyvok kept people in cages for food and I found that whole situation really yucky.)

I absolutely love this sample!! I can't wait for my final copy to arrive. The writing, the characters, the story, are all incredible.

I am disappointed that this is only a sample of the book. And what's more it does not even indicate the page count. So I have absolutely no idea where I am in this 700+ page monster.

Gripes aside, this looks to be a promising start (third? half?) to Kristoff's newest book. I am so excited to read more on March 12th!

This gave a slightly edgier vibe than what was expected. I didn't expect such explicit scenes of violent tendencies, power dynamics, and dismissal of women from the main character. It came off a bit merciless at times. A bit too dark, but the writing style, character recap, and map illustrations made it easier to follow along.

It’s incredibly difficult to review a sampler, and I’m unclear on why the publisher chose to go that route! So for now, this decision left me wanting more & feeling frustrated with where it ended!

The fact that it was not disclosed that this was a sample and not the full novel is bullshit. I loved EoTV and the writing and characters are just as good here but how can I give full feedback on a quarter of a book. I can definitely recommend the book and Jay Kristoff generally but I can't recommend this bait and switch by the publisher and Netgalley.