Fri Mar 4: what we talked about

Empire of the Vampire cover

Club news:

What we've been reading:

  • Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
    • Genre: supernatural
    • Summary: It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness. Gabriel de León is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order could not stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains. Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope: The Holy Grail.
    • Mrs. Herbrand shared with us the unique copy she WON!
      • 2 dust jackets - one from US edition, and one from UK edition (and that one has a very obvious typo which may make it more valuable?)
      • author signature
  • Gallant by V. E. Schwab
    • Genre: mystery
    • Summary: Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways. Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from. Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?
  • Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
    • Genre: non-fiction
    • Summary: Wilkerson [presents] . . . a portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people's lives and behavior and the nation's fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more, . . . shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day, . . . [and] points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.
    • Ashleigh is enjoying this book that she got in our "We <3 Books" book swap.