Art – Quality of the cover and interior art if applicable
Prose – How much I enjoy the choice of wording and the style of writing
Efficiency – How little it feels like the story meanders
Depth – The quality of the worldbuilding and the degree to which I want to explore more of it
Characterization – The quality of the character development, for those who do get that development
Cast Strength – The quality of the characters as a whole, beyond the main character(s)
Synopsis:
This is the story of Gabriel De Leon. However, it is told in a slightly unorthodox way. You may be familiar with this style if you’ve read the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. The book begins with the main character, Gabriel, in a prison cell. He isn’t exactly being treated well: he’s tired, he’s hungry, he’s uncomfortable, but he’s not being tortured. In enters the chronicler of the court, (insert name here). He’s been tasked by the ruler of said court to acquire this man’s story as the last of an order of vampire hunters.
That is where the story truly begins. There are momentary interruptions that bring us back to the original scene and remind the reader that the story is being told from the perspective of a mid 30’s Gabriel who has already been captured and is the last of his people, but for the most part, it involves Gabriel telling his own story from birth up to the present.
He begins with his adolescence in Lawson, with his mother Auriel De Leon: a daughter of a baron, his war veteran father Rafael Castia, and his two sisters: Amilee and Selen. They live in a time during which a blight of some kind has denied them the sun, and thus enabled daywalking by vampires and their sanguine progeny. Ultimately, it is one of the very same who claim the souls of Amilee and their neighbor, Julietta. They weren’t just taken and killed, but driven to return by their undeath and the hunger it generates before being fought off by Gabriel and later the townsfolk.
From this point, the family begins to change. The parents are driven apart, emotionally, by Amilee’s loss, Selen turns to acting out, and we begin to see a seeding of hatred in Gabriel for the creatures of the night as well as a fixation on blood. His mother seems to be aware of some hunger that she advises Gabriel to resist but remains vague. That fixation continues to the point that, as a young man in love with the daughter of the local lord, goes a bit to far with some cunnilingus on her night of the full moon if that makes sense.
After drinking more than his fill, he’s accosted by the townsfolk, only to be saved by some sort of vampire hunter there to recruit the young man with strange powers he doesn’t understand. Being taken to the monastery of the silver (name), Gabriel learns that he is a paleblood: half human, half vampire. He learns that the silver order exists to fight back against their would-be rulers for the sake of humanity and their own souls.
We’re introduced to a supporting cast and what it means to operate in this world: potential love interest, rivals and allies in the context of the order along with four primary bloodlines that most vampires will fall into. Through the trials Gabriel bears to join the order, he’s discovered that he has no special traits. However, I have a lot of doubts about that. It’s clear that he’s crafted a legacy for himself, and his mother does mention that he carries the blood of lions. I wouldn’t overlook language like that.
It seems that there are very much class differences among vampires, just as there are with humans and between the races as well. With humans who see Vampires as monsters and Vampires who see humans as prey, the palebloods stand between: looked down upon by both.
When evaluating books, I’d like to give them grades in terms of Prose, Characterization, worldbuilding, entertainment, and depth.
So far, it’s been a fun but also engaging experience. The world is grim, dark and gritty but the context of telling the story from the main character’s recollection gives it a levity that comes with knowing the end-result of the tale. There’s an interesting framework for a power system that allows for variety within the vampiric world, and a weaving of French and Nordic influences into the fictional culture that provides a pre-built backdrop to the universe. Kristoff brings all of this together with a prose that is effective, elegant and often times foreboding. The first ten chapters of the series establish the main character, Gabriel and the scope of the primary antagonist, Fabienne Voss. There are secondary and ancillary characters as well, but the story is single threaded and doesn’t explore them with nearly the same level of depth. That said, there seems to be a lot more to learn and explore and I’m left with an eagerness to
Prose 9/10 - “thick as a baker’s wife”
Characterization 9/10 – Great for those who receive it
Worldbuilding 8/10 – Good foundation, could be explored more broadly. I love of multithreaded story
Efficiency 10/10 – I never felt like the story lagged
Entertainment 9/10 – Familiar school like framework, child discovers hidden heritage and powers, underdog narrative
Depth 6/10 – Not a deep exploration of the human condition or existential consideration of god, lots of room for more though
Cast Strength 7/10 – Some interesting potential in non main characters, but they aren’t explored deeply enough
Art 8/10 – Good, effectively communicates core story components.