Tag Archives: Horror

Review of Empire of the Dawn by Jay Kristoff

Leave a reply

For me a five-star book is something that either I want to read again or something that is so profound it makes an immediate impact. There are lots of ways that books can be compelling: a unique idea, an interesting set of characters, a complex plot, an artistic use of the English language and more. Reading is also a subjective experience, so what appeals to me as a reader may be very different for you. I read a lot for both pleasure and work, but these short reviews are a way for me to show my appreciation for the work and the craft of the author of the reviewed work.

Jay Kristoff quickly became one of my favorite authors with both the Nevernight trilogy and this worthy conclusion to the Empire of the Vampire trilogy. This narrative journey through Empire of the Vampire, Empire of the Damned and now Empire of the Dawn has been phenomenal. Gabriel de Leon, the last Silversaint (vampire hunter), Celene Castia, Gabriel’s sister and the last Liathe, and Dior le Chance, the young woman who is believed to have the power to end the eternal darkness of their world form the central characters in this final volume. The story is dark, the narration of the conflict scenes so rich I could imagine them as a manga or anime (I think that is the only way you could faithfully replicate the speed and damage of these vampire vs Silversaint fights). The world cloaked in darkness, the place of religion and mysticism, the rich imagery in a perilous world, there is so much to love in this long but engaging story of a world where vampires are no longer consigned to the night and humanity hangs on the precipice. But beyond the incredible plot, worldbuilding, and hard driving action are the characters and their interactions with one another. There were so many times the dialogue between the characters echoed the pattern of conversations I had with people in the army, the way men rib each other to show they care, the language, and verbal duels that went along with the physical trials. There were countless times I would look up from the page and say, “Damn. Jay Kristoff can write.”

Each of the volumes of this trilogy were the best read of the year they were released and there is some regret in coming to the end of this massive journey. Jay Kristoff will not be for every reader: his language is the language of fighting men which includes frequent swearing (and he has some really interesting ways of utilizing the coarser parts of the English language) and there are several very spicy erotic scenes throughout the books. It is a dark world (literally and metaphorically) where no human character or animal character is safe. It is fantasy with horror and romantic elements set in a beautifully imagined (and illustrated if you buy a physical copy) world. It is a poignantly human story of characters who walk through the hell of war, betrayal, death, and times that seem hopeless. People will be divided on the ending of the book, but I thought it was masterful use of a plot device that breaks the fourth wall with a pair of narrators who have their own motivations for why they tell the story they are spinning. I did not want to put this almost eight-hundred-page book down, each time I picked it up it hooked me. I loved this dark gothic story of faith and fighting in a world struggling against four vampiric armies. The symbology and the myth, the conversations and the combat, the characters and the plot all come together to form the favorite trilogy I have ever read.

Review of The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Leave a reply

Five Star Book Review

Stephen Graham Jones, The Only Good Indians

For me a five-star book is something that either I want to read again or something that is so profound it makes an immediate impact. There are lots of ways that books can be compelling: a unique idea, an interesting set of characters, a complex plot, an artistic use of the English language and more. Reading is also a subjective experience, so what appeals to me as a reader may be very different for you. I read a lot for both pleasure and work but these short reviews are a way for me to show my appreciation for the work and the craft of the author of the reviewed work.

The Only Good Indians is a very interesting read. When you read something where the protagonists are from a different cultural world than the reader, a good author will make you feel the environment and worldview of the characters. The Only Good Indians is the story of four Blackfeet who while hunting elk on restricted land awaken a vengeful spirit determined to avenge the death of its herd. The story from the opening page grabs the reader with these four characters caught between the reservation and the world outside two characters attempt to leave the reservation for. It does a phenomenal job of putting you into experiences and minds of Ricky, Lewis, Cass and Gabe as well as the characters brought into their story. The Po’noka, the vengeful spirit, is an unrelenting monster with an animalistic desire to inflict pain and death on the ones who caused death to its herd a decade earlier. This is horror that transcends the normal tropes that the genre operates in.

Stephen Graham Jones uses the words of the story to manipulate the mood and feel of the story. Even when the characters act in self-destructive ways you understand and empathize with them. The reservation becomes its own character in the story, a home that seems impossible to leave behind. There is no escaping a past that still holds onto the present or the forces that seem to lead to the early death of too many Indian men. Yet, even as the novel confronts the dark forces that bind the four main protagonists it also has a hopeful note in another character that emerges from these broken men.