Narrated by Damian Lynch & Shakira Shute, Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff is the second audiobook in the Empire of the Vampire series. It's an immersive tale that held me in its clutches from beginning to end. I cannot wait for the next audiobook.
Kristoff delivers a dark, twisted tale as he further fleshed out the world and characters. There are no sparkly vampires here, as Gabriel de León continues to provide the oral history of what occurred to the Vampire Empress's historian. In book two, his sister Celene, an Esani vampire, joins him in providing an her account.
We pick up where the Empire of the Vampire left off. Kristoff does a splendid job of recapping with help from the historian. The author further fleshes out the world, introducing new characters, battles, twists, history, death and suspense. The tale is dark, from the vampires to the gory battles that unfold. I found myself enthralled. The audiobook only heightened my experience because it is an experience. I laughed, cried, screamed and held my breath. We see suffering, wild chases, suffer unthinkable loss and with each revelation and advancement, I found myself unable to set the story down.
Empire of the Damned felt more like high fantasy than its predecessor as we learned of the different factions and demise of this world. We learned more of Celene's story and Dior's as events were retold. I don't think this suffered from second book syndrome, particularly because I never wanted to set it down. In fact, I lost many hours of much needed sleep and regret nothing. At almost thirty-two hours, it ended too quickly for me. Especially after the jaw-dropping ending that left me screaming for more.
Damian Lynch & Shakira Shute did such a stellar job of bringing these characters and world to life. They captured the character's personalities and emotions brilliantly. The audio enhanced the story and the characters. I highly recommend listening. Be sure to listen to the bonus at the end with actor/director Joseph Morgan (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Halo).
Amazon | Audible
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