Empire of the Dawn

At a Glance: An Emotionally Charged End

Empire of the Dawn is the final book in the Empire of the Vampire series, delivering upon promises made by Jay Kristoff from the beginning of the series. Empire of the Dawn is equal parts despair, suspense, dread, triumph, action, humor, hope, love, and ultimately a fitting conclusion the Empire of the Vampire series. In my opinion what Jay Kristoff has created here is truly unparalleled and will appeal to fans of the Fantasy, Romance, and Grimdark genres.

Empire of the Dawn picks up right where Empire of the Damned left off, Gabriel still believes he has once again lost one of the most important people in his life. With nothing left but revenge, Gabriel sets out to finally kill the forever king, with only his horse and Ashdrinker at his hip. All is not as it seems though, and as we know from the end of Empire of the Damned, Gabriel ends up together again with old friends who all want to see the forever king finally meet his end.

Daysdeath still casts the land in perpetual darkness, where we explore new territories, meet new and old friends along the way, all while sitting in that room with our Historian.

Expanding Territory: All Roads Lead to Augustin

Empire of the Dawn manages to showcase more of Kristoff’s incredibly bleak world as we travel with Gabriel and crew as they make their final preparations for the epic face off with Fabien Voss. Augustin—the capital—is under siege as Fabien’s army of the dead attempts to finally take control of the last human stronghold.

While more of the key players in the game of politics are gone, Empire of the Dawn doesn’t fail to scratch that itch, from territories’ internal conflicts and struggles to the Vampire bloodlines who are always vying for control. There are also ancient vampires who have long been in the shadows that have re-emerged to stake their claim to territories now that Voss has thrown the realm into full chaos.

We get a bit more of a showcase of the different blood powers each Vampire bloodline has, including how it manifests in the Palebloods like Gabriel. We also get a much deeper look at the thirst that has threatened to take Gabriel since Empire of the Vampire, as he wars internally with the thirst that even heavy doses of Sanctus can barely keep at bay.

But then I remember I’m not an infant. Hiding under a soft blanket for fear of the dark. Only a coward raises a fist to a child and calls it love. 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

Friends Are the Hill I Die On: Character Bonds Pushed to Breaking

Kristoff doesn’t pull any punches in this one and I’d be lying if I said I saw some of the things that happened to our characters coming. There are some that are foreshadowed if you’re paying attention, but some left me absolutely gutted in the moment.

Gabriel has been our protagonist from the very start, from a young man recruited into the Silver Order, to husband, friend, lover, and failed savior, I feel deep connection with him. That is what makes Empire of the Dawn such a great conclusion to this epic saga, as Gabriel’s arc is concluded and we get to finally see the end of his long journey. Still the crass, brooding, and fairly drunk most of the time, the charm of Gabriel is his willingness to always put his friends first. Even if he doesn’t always seem like he is between decisions that seem insane in the moment, they are always focused on protecting the ones he loves deeply. His relationship with Dior is one of my favorite in all of Fantasy, its raw and real, and I truly could feel the hope and love between the two as they face the impossible together.

Celen has been one of my favorite additions since Empire of the Damned and she certainly doesn’t disappoint in this book either. Full of piss and vinegar as we’d expect, she’s still arrogant, and any time her and Gabriel are on the page together I can’t stop reading. That vengeful nature she has clashing with Gabriel’s deep seeded anger for all the lies makes for an incredibly compelling and visceral scene ever single time. She’s also a perfect exploration of how far you can push family before they break, testing the limits of love before it becomes hatred.

Jean-François Chastain is our faithful historian serving the Empress to get the story of Dior from Gabriel and Celen. He was the biggest surprise in Damned and had such an incredible personality that just made every introspective moment with them during the narration so much fun. His constant eluding to the sexual tension between him and Gabriel always makes for a lighter moment and adds a good “will they wont they” vibe to the story. I didn’t expect to care about or feel for Jean-François but somehow he became as important to me in this series as all the other main characters.

The support characters don’t disappoint either, they all have incredible depth, feel purposeful, and are used by Kristoff to explore some devastating but beautiful moments throughout Empire of the Dawn. The stand out for me was Aaron and Baptiste trying to navigate how their love is supposed to transcend Aaron being turned into a vampire. This also gives great introspection to the theme of self hatred that Aaron has to now struggle with between what he’s done and what has been done to him.

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Quieter Before the Storm: Deliberate Pacing Builds to Devastation

Kristoff made the clear choice here to ease off the gas a little in Empire of the Dawn after the wild breakneck pace of Empire of the Damned. The beginning of the book has some action and tense moments, but allows for some more deliberate intimate scenes between the characters. This allows us to get some thematic exploration through various different situations, and build a deeper connection with the characters on the page as they navigate what feels like the end of days.

Empire of the Dawn leverages the framed narrative to allow for breaks in the action and sometimes a little bit of levity to what could feel like prolonged despair. It was paced well, it never felt slow even though it allows for the quieter moments to shine a bit brighter and get more page time than the previous books.

This book also managed to have one moment that left me totally slack jawed about half way through. I truly didn’t expect it and didn’t see it coming, though in retrospect the signs were there, and it was a turning point for the book and series. It’s a perfect story beat as we head into the final battle that decides the fate of not only our characters but the series as a whole.

Between the Sheets: Chef’s Kiss

Jay Kristoff recently confirmed in an interview with Pete Reviews Books Good clip that most of his beta readers are women and I think it shows in the way he writes spice. Unlike the two former books, this was actually a little toned down, but still delivered some well done intimate scenes earning it a 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (3) on our spice scale.

Kristoff really flexes his ability to write character bonds in Empire of the Dawn, bringing closure to them even if it’s not always in the happiest of ways. Gabriel from the start has been a romantic in both the literal and metaphorical sense, that carries over into his platonic relationships as well. From the start the quote that stuck with me and solidified Gabriel as the character I love was “My friends are the hill I die on.”

Were I a fool, I would kiss you as fire does tinder, no heed for the ashes I'd leave behind!

Bro Reading Comfort: Bookstore Blues

Empire of the Dawn is the most emotionally destructive of the entire series, I haven’t had this much of an empathetic reaction to characters in a while. This book will truly eviscerate your heart while also leaving you incredibly happy, which is amazing as you read it, but could get weird in the bookstore if you’re in the corner sobbing earning this a 😳😳😳 (3.0) on our comfort scale.

The cover follows suit with all the former books and is absolutely stunning, a true showpiece and probably my favorite of the three. Dawn also keeps true to form and has full page artwork throughout just enhancing the reading experience. If you’re an audiobook lover, I highly suggest picking it up just to check out the incredibly detailed artwork inside.

Darkness Factor: Intensity on Another Level

Empire of the Dawn really turns up the volume on the grim and the dark as Jay Kristoff almost doesn’t give you a break from the relentless trials of Gabe and his friends. While it’s visceral and descriptive, it’s never gratuitous but does solidify why Kristoff is hailed among the greats in the Grimdark space earning this a 💀💀💀💀 (4.5) on the darkness scale.

Torture, addiction, death, and gore are all on the table as to be expected for the genre and the series. All the themes are explored in ways that feel fitting and never over the top, Kristoff writes in a way to make the scenes feel authentic without ever crossing the line into unnecessary.

To roam endless fields of shallow graves and say He loves us still. To stare into the face of brutality, unchecked, unavenged, and to excuse it all with a wave of my hand and the answer for every hard question I ever asked a holy man: The Lord moves in mysterious ways.

Book Battlefield: Grimdark Royalty

Empire of the Dawn is the crowning jewel on top of the series solidifying it as a new staple in multiple genres. It’s a perfect blend of Grimdark, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, and has that perfect Gothic vibe that I think anyone who is a fan of similar works will love.

It’s a unique take on the overly saturated Vampire genre, exploring themes outside of the typical Horror books, and allowing the Vampires to not only be in the public eye, but rule the kingdom essentially makes this a stellar experience. The framed narrative that the story is told in adds another layer of mystery, suspense, and levity in it’s darkest moments that take these books from being depressing to overwhelmingly entertaining.

If you love Joe Abercrombie’s character work then you will feel right at home with this series. Gabe is morally gray as they come, and while he may be difficult to connect with at first and just a down right shitty person, it just elevates his arc to a different level. The found family aspects alone will be enough for any fantasy fans on the fence to pick this one up and give it a try.

Should You Bother?

For Fans of Joe Abercrombe: The character work comes to a perfect culmination even if it’s not a happy ending in this that will resonate with anyone who is a fan of Lord Grimdark.

Fans of Romantic Subplots: Kristoff does an beautiful job of seamlessly blending the romance into this otherwise gritty and emotionally devastating series.

Fans of the Framed Narrative: I think this is one of the most interesting versions of the style I’ve read, and that is fully because of the narrator Jean-François. While he’s a footnote in book one, he becomes what feels like another main character in Empire of the Damned and one I even rooted for in Empire of the Dawn.

Final BroMantasy Verdict

Empire of the Dawn was undoubtedly the conclusion that this series deserved, even if things didn’t go the way I wanted them to in some instances. The culmination of all aspects from character arcs, plot lines, and early narrated promises come together in a masterful way to cement Jay Kristoff as not only a staple in the Grimdark genre, but as one of my favorite authors. It’s always impressive when I can be shocked even though I know whats coming in a framed narrative, and this book floored me at the midpoint. Empire of the Dawn also delivered those quieter character moments I love and has unquestionably caused me emotional damage earning the finale a 4.75/5.

Jay Kristoff has clearly honed his craft over years of writing, but even just through the progression of the Empire of the Vampire series I could feel how much he poured into these words. Creating a world that felt familiar yet different enough to be interesting, taking a new approach on a classic topic such as Vampires, and willingly taking the risk to add detailed intimacy all has paid off. Empire of the Dawn doesn’t pull any punches, and doesn’t deliver everything in a nice happy package, the triumph of this book is delivering an ending that it needed and not an ending that would make you feel good.

This was one of my favorite series before I read Empire of the Dawn and Kristoff manages to stick the landing all while keeping you engaged throughout. It doesn’t miss a single plotline, leaves just the right amount of thought provoking questions, and ensures that your heart will be broken but you will walk away with it full. If you’re reading this on release, Empire of the Dawn releases everywhere on November 4th, 2025.