Reviews: Between Two Fires (14)

I’m so pleased to see Between Two Fires finally get a UK release! I’ve loved reading Christopher Buehlman’s Blacktongue Thief series, and jumped at the chance to read Between Two Fires having heard so much praise online - it’s safe to say that it was worth the wait!

This novel sets out its stall straight out of the gate as a dark and gritty landscape, based in the midst of a terrible plague in medieval France. This is book is peak bleak, and does a great job at showing ordinary people desperate to survive, deciding whether to listen to their morals or their stomachs. There is a little humour to the story; its not quite the wittiness of the Blacktongue Thief, but you can see snatches of the same style of gallows humour here and there. It puts me in mind of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy, going for the circumstantial comedy rather than quips and punchlines.

What I particularly loved about this book was how the fantasy elements were teased and dished out in careful measures, like a worrying shape just on the edge of your vision. Large chunks of the book read as historical fiction, following the lead characters on a voyage through the French countryside following the direction of a young girl who seems to have an otherworldly predilection to her actions. This is undoubtedly a fantasy novel, but it reads the same as an embellished medieval tale of foul beasts, angels and demons, with the unsettling realisation that none of the monsters in this tale are being exaggerated.

Buehlman is an absolute master at writing the most enthralling and horrifying battle sequences. This is a known fact for any fans of 2024’s The Daughters War, but there’s a scene in Between Two Fires that’s one of the grittiest and morbid war scenes I’ve come across in fantasy fiction!

Brilliant, thrilling, and skin-crawling. Lovable and flawed characters with horrific creatures that remind me of Bloodborne. Dialogue between characters feels natural, the bonds that form are beautiful, the little inserts of internal thought are great.If you like Abercrombie's works, Father-Daughter found relationships, and the nightmare creatures of a FromSoftware creation then I'd recommend this.

Thank you to Orion Publishing Group - Gollancz for the opportunity to read this ARC

The grimmest of historical horror/fantasy. If you are a fan of Joe Abercrombie, this one is for you.

The writing makes you feel every dirt covered shoe, dried blood stain, puss filled boil and festering character. A mix of biblical fantasy and real world horrors where you aren’t too sure which is worse.

You might need a bath once you finished reading this!

This book is an experiance.It opens as a dark historical road movie that slowly circles into the apocalypse. Its captivating and horrifying in equal measure.I won't spoil this - just take the leap and buy it

An absolutely outstanding work of fiction, and I am so, so pleased that it has finally got its UK release after originally being self-published. Buehlman is an immensely talented writer, and I cannot recommend him enough to anyone who enjoys grimdark fantasy or horror. I will be pressing a copy into everyone's hands, just as I have been doing with The Blacktongue Thief. I love a horrible man, and Buehlman is brilliant at writing people who have done terrible things to survive but still try to do right by the people they care about, even in truly bleak scenarios. Thomas might have done awful things, but he still has standards.

As a historical horror fan, this book felt perfectly tailored to my interests, and I went in fully expecting to love it. Set in plague-ravaged 14th-century France, Between Two Fires follows a disgraced knight and a mysterious young girl through a world seemingly caught in a literal war between Heaven and Hell.

Unfortunately, it never quite clicked for me. The novel is very dialogue-heavy, and while I understood the moral and theological questions being explored, the good versus evil, faith, redemption etc. none of it really hit. The bleakness of the setting is clear, but the story began to feel very similar throughout the 400+pages, cycling through grim encounters without much impact. I can appreciate what the author was aiming for, and I understand why this book resonates with so many readers, but the writing style ultimately just wasn’t for me.

A book I respected more than enjoyed unfortunately.

Between Two Fires is exactly what I want from historical horror. Set in medieval France, the story follows knight-turned-brigand Thomas as he struggles to survive the plague-ravaged country. His life changes course when he meets a young girl recently orphaned by the Black Plague, a girl who convinces him to safely shepherd her across France for a holy purpose.

The writing style is incredibly readable and the plot is propulsive, so I found myself flying through this book. I would have been happy enough with the horror coming from the descriptions of the plague only, but Christopher Buehlman went a step farther by adding in many fantastical, creative, and hellish threats for our protagonists to encounter.

This was my first book by Buehlman, but it certainly won’t be my last.

Between Two Fires is a slice of grimdark fantasy set in medieval France during the Black Death. You would think that its setting would lead it into historical fiction, but no.It features angels and demons, horrors beyond comprehension that Thomas, our morally grey knight, must manoeuvre alongside the young girl who rides beside him and claims to be able to see angels. This was excellent, with great characters and awesome body horror. The only thing which let it down somewhat was a personal preference against the prose, as I felt it was too choppy. Beyond that, I have no complaints.

I literally don't even know what to do with this book.I tried to find this book for so long but could not find it. When I saw it was being republished I ran to netgalley.Having said I waited to long to pick this up. What a damn fever dream this was.I have absolutely no idea how I feel but I know I had a great time.People were dead, not dead and dying. I just have no idea how to explain how I enjoyed this book.The allegory, the use of religion, the depth of historical knowledge all made this so fantastic.I absolutely loved this book and I actually cannot wait to reread this.

Bosch’s ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ has taken to the page in Buehlman’s novel! Plague runs rampant through Europe and more than disease is hurting the people. Devils, angels, witches and more. A knight who’s lost himself, a failed priest and a prophet girl venture across France in hopes of stopping Revelations from manifesting and swallowing the world of Adam whole. Brilliant read! I couldn’t recommend it more. 10/10!

In this medieval tale, God has turned his back on mankind. To regain his attention, fallen angels on Earth unleash hunger upon the mightiest kingdoms. Still, God doesn’t answer. To test him once more, they unleash a Great Plague. It is after these events, in plague-torn France, that we meet Thomas, a knight, who rescues a young girl and is later joined by a wine-loving priest.

The band of three journey across the land, encountering all manner of horrors that have manifested while God is absent. As they travel through villages and cities, the heavy atmosphere is written so vividly that I found myself becoming nervous of the threat of contagion, as though plague was in the very air around me. The pacing is wonderfully smooth with no dull moments and slower, more reflective scenes between characters feel appropriate and earned amongst the thrilling action.

Despite the grittiness, genuinely scary encounters with monsters and the fantastical demons & angels element of the novel, I was pleasantly surprised by tender moments peppered throughout that grounded the story in humanity and real human connection. These were written beautifully and full of heart.

I am very happy to have discovered this book, thanks to its re-publication in the UK. It is as original and relevant now as it must’ve been back in 2012 when it was first released.

This book is definitely a contender for my personal read/book of the year.

An excommunicated knight, a divine orphan and an alcoholic priest vying for redemption. They're in 14th century France during the first wave of Black Death and Hell has
decided to wage war on Heaven, and humans are some of the chess pieces.

This book takes readers on an incredible journey. It is dark and disgusting, it is grotesque and uncomfortable. But while it is all of those things, it is also a piece of art in every aspect, it is incredibly Bosch-ian in the way it captivates and engulfs you. The emotional investment I had in this novel was otherworldly, I felt like I was on the path with each character, wishing I could bare some of their load.

Buehlman is truly a talented author and this book is worth every moment you'll spend with it. I still have not stopped thinking about it and I don't think I ever will. I cannot recommend this book enough.