Empire of the Dawn (Empire of the Vampire #3) by Jay Kristoff
Harper Voyager (UK)/St. Martin's Press (US)
Publication Date: November 4th, 2025
Hardcover. 800 pages.About Empire of the Dawn:
"From holy cup comes holy light;
The faithful hands sets world aright.
And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,
Mere man shall end this endless night.
Gabriel de León has lost his family, his faith, and the last hope of ending the endless night—his surrogate daughter, Dior. With no thought left but vengeance, he and a band of loyal brothers journey into the war-torn heart of Elidaen to claim the life of the Forever King.
Unbeknownst to the Last Silversaint, the Grail still lives—speeding towards the besieged capital of Augustin in the frail hope of ending Daysdeath. But deadly treachery awaits within the halls of power, and the Forever King’s legions march ever closer. Gabriel and Dior will be drawn into a final battle that will shape the very fate of the Empire, but as the sun sets for what may the last time, there will be no one left for them to trust.
Not even each other."
If there is one thing that Jay Kristoff never fails to do, it's deliver a story with an enormous emotional punch, and Empire of the Dawn is no exception. In fact, I'd say some aspects are even moreso given the fact that this is, indeed, a finale to an incredibly epic trilogy.
So many details about the plot of Empire of the Dawn book would count as some sort of spoiler for the series, so I'm going to have to do my best here to keep this as vague and spoiler-free as possible, which does mean that this review might end up being, unfortunately, just a little bit vague. Still, I think I'll be able to get the gist of what I'm trying to say across for all of you.
We are still hearing our story from both Gabe and Celene as they relay it to our resident historian, Jean Francois, and we really get to dive deep into both of their psyches and stories in this one. Celene, in particular, gets her deepest development yet, and I was actually surprised at how well Kristoff managed to make me interested in her story and narrative parts, as I wasn't fully on board with her for a majority of the time.
There's still a rather large cast of characters, and Kristoff continues to create a vibrant array of characters that draw you in with their sharp personalities and ever-shifting dynamics with other characters. Gabe has such dynamic and complex relationships with so many people, and it's really quite fascinating to see how these evolve and are created throughout the course of this entire series arc. There's also Dior, of course, and we continue to see her own narrative evolve in a lot of ways that also packed quite the punch.
I also have really appreciated how Kristoff has shaped the character and role of Jean Francois, as it's something that has been very unique and added a curious dynamic that's been really fascinating to see develop over these books. With all these characters and their heavy emotional backgrounds and experiences, it's easy to feel a bit overwhelmed at times with how intense everything constantly feels. The stakes feel relentlessly high at every twist and turn, so it feels like you as a reader never quite catch a break--but honestly, neither do the characters. There's a lot of trauma, and I wouldn't exactly ever consider calling this a feel-good story, but there is plenty of dark humor here and there to help balance all the darker and heavier moments.
As the final book, this is where all of our plot threads should be coming together, and do they ever. If you are someone who loves your finales to deliver big payoffs and bring things together, then you will most likely be very pleased. I actually feel really satisfied overall with how Kristoff managed to end everything and include plenty of twists and unexpected moments while still making it satisfying and not leaving readers feel shortchanged or confused. However, because this world and the plots have been wide and detailed, there's a lot to keep track of and it can be hard to keep everything straight at times--at least it was for me, though I'm sure some people have much better memories than I do! I'm not entirely sure how other readers are going to feel about the ending or how certain things wrap up, but I will be very curious to the reception once the book is out. I don't think it was necessarily perfect, but that's pretty rare, so I'm happy with what we got.
I have really enjoyed the world of this series and how expansive it feels, and I was excited by how much more it grew in EOTD. There are already so many vampire factions, layers of lore and background, intricate politics, etc., and yet somehow it felt like EOTD added even more. It's hard to keep everything straight sometimes, and I'll be honest in that I definitely forget some names or places here and there, but nothing so extreme that I ever felt really lost. Sometimes that feeling just makes the world feel more real and possible to get lost in--always better to have too much than too little, in my opinion. There's also a lot of focus on politics, religion, prophecy, loyalty, and more of that nature, and I really like how Kristoff tackles these. He's not afraid to make bold statements or take his characters' ideas and beliefs in strong directions, and I liked exploring these topics through their experiences.
The atmosphere also felt consistently on point throughout the book. It's grim and dark overall, but not relentlessly miserable to where it feels miserable or exhausting to get through the book. It matches the tense stakes and the terrifying vampires without going overboard and sets a perfect tone for the entire book.
This is a very hefty book, and I have to say that the pacing actually was quite a bit slower than the previous installments. And while there is plenty of action and many long, drawn-out action scenes, there are also a lot of areas where not as much happens and the writing did feel slightly bloated at times. But that's very Kristoff in his trademark style and how he likes to write freely and descriptively, so overall it works and doesn't feel out of place within the series.
As for pacing, I previously mentioned that this one is a bit slower than the other two installments. I would say this is especially noticeable in the beginning, and it actually took me longer than I expected to really feel reacquainted with this world and its characters. I always greatly appreciate Kristoff's inclusion of a recap of previous events at the beginning of his books, but they themselves are often quite long, which somehow made me feel like it took even longer to get into this installment. However, once things kick off, they really kick off. EOTD is somewhat back-half heavy, which isn't altogether surprising for a finale, but it does lead to everything feeling much more intense and relentless for the last bit when after a much slower start.
As someone who is not that interested in vampires and doesn't really consider themselves a fan of vampire stories, I have been constantly pleasantly surprised by how much I've enjoyed this series. While yes, I think Kristoff's writing can be a bit over the top at times and there are some aspects that can feel a bit silly, I think it all just fits his style and tone so well that I can't help but have a great time with it. And writing style aside, Kristoff truly excels at creating these incredibly complex, multi-faceted characters with so much depth, as well as worlds that feel authentic and full of history and plots that will constantly keep you guessing. It really makes for a genuinely exciting and highly entertaining--and meaningful--reading experience. Do I like it more than Nevernight? Still no, sorry, but that's a tough one to beat. Overall, I definitely recommend this series and am so grateful to have read it and to have received an early copy of EOTD to devour.
*I received a copy of Empire of the Dawn courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*
