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Between Two Fires
The year is 1348. Thomas, a disgraced knight, has found a young girl alone in a dead Norman village. An orphan of the Black Death, and an almost unnerving picture of innocence, she tells Thomas that plague is only part of a larger cataclysm—that the fallen angels under Lucifer are rising in a second war on heaven, and that the world of men has fallen behind the lines of conflict.
Is it delirium or is it faith? She believes she has seen the angels of God. She believes the righteous dead speak to her in dreams. And now she has convinced the faithless Thomas to shepherd her across a depraved landscape to Avignon. There, she tells Thomas, she will fulfill her mission to confront the evil that has devastated the earth, and to restore to this betrayed, murderous knight the nobility and hope of salvation he long abandoned.
As hell unleashes its wrath, and as the true nature of the girl is revealed, Thomas will find himself on a macabre battleground of angels and demons, saints, and the risen dead, and in the midst of a desperate struggle for nothing less than the soul of man.
Is it delirium or is it faith? She believes she has seen the angels of God. She believes the righteous dead speak to her in dreams. And now she has convinced the faithless Thomas to shepherd her across a depraved landscape to Avignon. There, she tells Thomas, she will fulfill her mission to confront the evil that has devastated the earth, and to restore to this betrayed, murderous knight the nobility and hope of salvation he long abandoned.
As hell unleashes its wrath, and as the true nature of the girl is revealed, Thomas will find himself on a macabre battleground of angels and demons, saints, and the risen dead, and in the midst of a desperate struggle for nothing less than the soul of man.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published October 2, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 8,204 reviews
January 8, 2025
Featuring some of the craziest scenes I've ever read, I don't know how this author has escaped my attention until recently.
I checked out this audio from my library, immediately after finishing Those Across the River. I knew nothing about it, except that it was written by Christopher Buehlman. I'm glad that I went into it that way, because otherwise I might have passed on this story altogether.
I feel I should warn people that no religion is free from mockery here, while at the same time, I feel like this is a religious, or at least a spiritual story. Being agnostic, I'm fine with that, but what I enjoyed most were the scenes of extremely imaginative horror-most times coming unexpectedly out of nowhere. I know I will be thinking about those scenes for some time to come.
Highly recommended, especially the audio version, narrated by Steve West. He and this book were both amazing!
*Thanks to my local public library for being awesome.*
I checked out this audio from my library, immediately after finishing Those Across the River. I knew nothing about it, except that it was written by Christopher Buehlman. I'm glad that I went into it that way, because otherwise I might have passed on this story altogether.
I feel I should warn people that no religion is free from mockery here, while at the same time, I feel like this is a religious, or at least a spiritual story. Being agnostic, I'm fine with that, but what I enjoyed most were the scenes of extremely imaginative horror-most times coming unexpectedly out of nowhere. I know I will be thinking about those scenes for some time to come.
Highly recommended, especially the audio version, narrated by Steve West. He and this book were both amazing!
*Thanks to my local public library for being awesome.*
February 23, 2023
This is my review space and my reading experience and this is a backlist title from 2012 so this is going to be less of traditional, critical review and more of a fucking essay on how hard I fell in love with this book.
First, how did Buehlman get on my radar?
Nobody told me about his work (shame on everyone I know who has read his books but never told me). In 2020, a popular, independent bookstore (I can't remember which one) was struggling due to pandemic closures. Buehlman hosted an online event to generate awareness and funds to support the bookstore owners in their financial crisis. Some of my favorite authors were guests at this event and they mentioned Buehlman's work. This is the first time I bumped into Christopher.
The seed was planted.
At some point, Christopher offered to send me a signed copy of Between Two Fires and I accepted this generous offer. When it arrived, the cover gave me this low-fantasy, medieval, "Game of Thrones" vibe (and I love that when I'm in the right mood, but I wasn't).
The book sat patiently for the better part of a year or more.
October 2021 I read classic horror for the Spooky Season and Buehlman and I discovered we were both reading, ROSEMARY'S BABY for the first time so we partnered up on it and then chatted about our experience for a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVzT9...
I decided after recording that video to read BETWEEN TWO FIRES in December as a Christmas present to myself along with Adam Nevill's CUNNING FOLK (serendipitously, Christopher was also reading that book and we just recorded another book discussion coming soon).
..
I read this book in December of 2021 and...
IT.
WAS.
A.
GAME CHANGER.
What the actual fuck? How had I never heard anyone talk about this book before?? I mean, maybe I have and I just didn't know to *look* for it? I'll probably see it everywhere now like when you buy a new car and suddenly everyone drives the same car. BUT
I have seen so many people do book stacks of their all-time favorite books and surely, SURELY this book would make people's lists because it will FOREVER grace my all-time favorites lists for the rest of my life. *shrugs* *takes a sip of coffee* *sighs thinking about this story*
I will say that I've been dicking around on Reddit lately and Christopher Buehlman is a big deal over there. He has many fans. Die-hard ones.
...
Okay, *deep breath* I can talk about this now.
Thomas is a disgraced knight traveling with some men during the plague and wartime. These are not good men. Our story begins with these guys raping and pillaging. They are eating some poor farmer's donkey when a girl walks right up to the men and asks them to help her bury her father.
*deep breath* I can't even. It's seriously difficult to talk about this book without being moved to tears.
Okay, she asks the men to help her bury her father and during an interesting turn of events, the girl winds up alone with Thomas who she credits for saving her life and sparing her from being violated, but like I said, he is a disgraced knight and he is pretty broken down; his countenance and self-worth is very low. The dialogue between Thomas and the girl won me over immediately. It's funny, heartwarming, endearing...it is here, in the first few chapters, I fell head over heels in love with Thomas the Knight. He is now a forever favorite character who lives in my reader's heart. For me, this story is really about him.
(FYI, in my mind, Tom Hardy played the role of Thomas quite convincingly-you're welcome)
Thomas and the girl (you don't learn her name until much later, so I'm leaving that out) eventually meet up with a priest who becomes a third character to fall in love with. I was so invested in the fictional lives of these three people my heart physically ached with worry for them.
On their journey, the Priest and the Knight learn more about the girl and how special she is. Thomas devotes his life to protecting her. AND I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS AMAZING BOOK.
Upon finishing, I basically curled up in a ball and cried and let my heart explode with a million emotions. Goddamn this book is beautiful.
A real treasure.
I immediately bought everything Buehlman has out there in the world and I'll read it all.
So there it is. My personal experience with BETWEEN TWO FIRES.
All the fucking stars.
First, how did Buehlman get on my radar?
Nobody told me about his work (shame on everyone I know who has read his books but never told me). In 2020, a popular, independent bookstore (I can't remember which one) was struggling due to pandemic closures. Buehlman hosted an online event to generate awareness and funds to support the bookstore owners in their financial crisis. Some of my favorite authors were guests at this event and they mentioned Buehlman's work. This is the first time I bumped into Christopher.
The seed was planted.
At some point, Christopher offered to send me a signed copy of Between Two Fires and I accepted this generous offer. When it arrived, the cover gave me this low-fantasy, medieval, "Game of Thrones" vibe (and I love that when I'm in the right mood, but I wasn't).
The book sat patiently for the better part of a year or more.
October 2021 I read classic horror for the Spooky Season and Buehlman and I discovered we were both reading, ROSEMARY'S BABY for the first time so we partnered up on it and then chatted about our experience for a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVzT9...
I decided after recording that video to read BETWEEN TWO FIRES in December as a Christmas present to myself along with Adam Nevill's CUNNING FOLK (serendipitously, Christopher was also reading that book and we just recorded another book discussion coming soon).
..
I read this book in December of 2021 and...
IT.
WAS.
A.
GAME CHANGER.
What the actual fuck? How had I never heard anyone talk about this book before?? I mean, maybe I have and I just didn't know to *look* for it? I'll probably see it everywhere now like when you buy a new car and suddenly everyone drives the same car. BUT
I have seen so many people do book stacks of their all-time favorite books and surely, SURELY this book would make people's lists because it will FOREVER grace my all-time favorites lists for the rest of my life. *shrugs* *takes a sip of coffee* *sighs thinking about this story*
I will say that I've been dicking around on Reddit lately and Christopher Buehlman is a big deal over there. He has many fans. Die-hard ones.
...
Okay, *deep breath* I can talk about this now.
Thomas is a disgraced knight traveling with some men during the plague and wartime. These are not good men. Our story begins with these guys raping and pillaging. They are eating some poor farmer's donkey when a girl walks right up to the men and asks them to help her bury her father.
*deep breath* I can't even. It's seriously difficult to talk about this book without being moved to tears.
Okay, she asks the men to help her bury her father and during an interesting turn of events, the girl winds up alone with Thomas who she credits for saving her life and sparing her from being violated, but like I said, he is a disgraced knight and he is pretty broken down; his countenance and self-worth is very low. The dialogue between Thomas and the girl won me over immediately. It's funny, heartwarming, endearing...it is here, in the first few chapters, I fell head over heels in love with Thomas the Knight. He is now a forever favorite character who lives in my reader's heart. For me, this story is really about him.
(FYI, in my mind, Tom Hardy played the role of Thomas quite convincingly-you're welcome)
Thomas and the girl (you don't learn her name until much later, so I'm leaving that out) eventually meet up with a priest who becomes a third character to fall in love with. I was so invested in the fictional lives of these three people my heart physically ached with worry for them.
On their journey, the Priest and the Knight learn more about the girl and how special she is. Thomas devotes his life to protecting her. AND I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS AMAZING BOOK.
Upon finishing, I basically curled up in a ball and cried and let my heart explode with a million emotions. Goddamn this book is beautiful.
A real treasure.
I immediately bought everything Buehlman has out there in the world and I'll read it all.
So there it is. My personal experience with BETWEEN TWO FIRES.
All the fucking stars.
October 23, 2021
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
3.5/5 stars
A bleak historical fantasy/horror about life, death, faith, and hope.
Christopher Buehlman is a new author to me this year. Unlike most of Buehlman’s fans, I found out about his work through reading his recently published book, The Blacktongue Thief, six months ago. Unlike his previous books, The Blacktongue Thief was his first epic fantasy book, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading it, especially after finding out that apparently, he has released plenty of horror novels before. Seeing how much I enjoyed his first adult fantasy book, I knew I had to give his previous books a try, even if they’re not essentially my favorite genre to read. I decided to start from Between Two Fires, and the author blessed me with a first edition of Between Two Fires to read and review. So what do I, a non-horror reader, think about this book?
First of all, Between Two Fires is a bit hard to categorize; it’s a blend of horror, fantasy, and historical fiction in one package. The story takes place in the year 1348, the years of the Black Death, and it follows Thomas, a disgraced knight who found a lone young girl alone in a dead Norman village. The girl tells Thomas that the plague is just the beginning of a bigger cataclysm, the fallen angels united by Lucifer are planning to wage their war on Heaven. Earth, unfortunately, is the battleground. She tells Thomas she needs to get to Avignon to fulfill her mission. And they’re not the only two main characters; they’re also joined by a priest. Whether they succeed or not, that’s for you to find out for yourself. Between Two Fires is a bleak tale; darkness, despair, and dread accompany these characters every step of their way. What made Between Two Fires a good book, though, is not solely because of the vivid setting and atmosphere, but it’s the theme of redemption.
I approached Between Two Fires expecting it will deliver me a dark story in a bleak setting, and Buehlman successfully delivered on that. Plus, several readers have also told me that this novel reminded them of Berserk by Kentaro Miura and Dark Souls video games; both are precious to me. And again, I could see why it’s interpreted that way, and I do—to a certain level—agree with them. However, I totally didn’t expect the great character development imbued into the narrative. Buehlman has mentioned that no matter the genre he writes, whether it’s horror or fantasy, plot or characters still need to work for readers. The narrative still has to be compelling, and I do enjoy reading Buehlman’s prose. This book is vastly different from The Blacktongue Thief, and I’m impressed by the range of Buehlman’s storytelling style.
Now, three reasons summed up why this book didn’t receive a higher rating from me. First, the allegorical style of the story took me longer than I expected to get used to. Secondly, there were many dream sequences, and although they were great on their own, as a whole though, they ended up confusing me. I could be wrong, but I think the characters were dragged through the seven deadly sins. The main story is linear, but the way to get to the conclusion meanders quite a lot more than I expected. In a way, they’re great for character development; finding out the main character’s regret were a good choice. Lastly, I wanted the climax sequences to be more explosive. I found that it ended too quickly after all their struggle.
Overall, although the execution of Between Two Fires didn’t fully click for me, I still think that this is a great book that you should try if you’re in the mood for a historical horror. One of my Booktube viewers told me that if you love reading Hellmouth by Giles Kristian, then this is worth taking a look. And yes, I do think that’s an accurate assessment. I’m mainly a fantasy reader, and that’s a huge reason why I loved The Blacktongue Thief more than Between Two Fires. Once again, I’m grateful to Buehlman for sending me this copy, and I will undoubtedly treasure it.
You can order the book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Andrew, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Element, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Jennifer, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Mike, Miracle, Neeraja, Nicholas, Oliver, ReignBro, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Shaad, Xero, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
3.5/5 stars
A bleak historical fantasy/horror about life, death, faith, and hope.
Christopher Buehlman is a new author to me this year. Unlike most of Buehlman’s fans, I found out about his work through reading his recently published book, The Blacktongue Thief, six months ago. Unlike his previous books, The Blacktongue Thief was his first epic fantasy book, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading it, especially after finding out that apparently, he has released plenty of horror novels before. Seeing how much I enjoyed his first adult fantasy book, I knew I had to give his previous books a try, even if they’re not essentially my favorite genre to read. I decided to start from Between Two Fires, and the author blessed me with a first edition of Between Two Fires to read and review. So what do I, a non-horror reader, think about this book?
“How did Heaven come into all of this? Heaven was life, not death. Heaven was a woman holding your head in the crook of her arm and looking down at you. Heaven was a warm hand on your cheek and the smell of soup with garlic on the fire.”
First of all, Between Two Fires is a bit hard to categorize; it’s a blend of horror, fantasy, and historical fiction in one package. The story takes place in the year 1348, the years of the Black Death, and it follows Thomas, a disgraced knight who found a lone young girl alone in a dead Norman village. The girl tells Thomas that the plague is just the beginning of a bigger cataclysm, the fallen angels united by Lucifer are planning to wage their war on Heaven. Earth, unfortunately, is the battleground. She tells Thomas she needs to get to Avignon to fulfill her mission. And they’re not the only two main characters; they’re also joined by a priest. Whether they succeed or not, that’s for you to find out for yourself. Between Two Fires is a bleak tale; darkness, despair, and dread accompany these characters every step of their way. What made Between Two Fires a good book, though, is not solely because of the vivid setting and atmosphere, but it’s the theme of redemption.
I approached Between Two Fires expecting it will deliver me a dark story in a bleak setting, and Buehlman successfully delivered on that. Plus, several readers have also told me that this novel reminded them of Berserk by Kentaro Miura and Dark Souls video games; both are precious to me. And again, I could see why it’s interpreted that way, and I do—to a certain level—agree with them. However, I totally didn’t expect the great character development imbued into the narrative. Buehlman has mentioned that no matter the genre he writes, whether it’s horror or fantasy, plot or characters still need to work for readers. The narrative still has to be compelling, and I do enjoy reading Buehlman’s prose. This book is vastly different from The Blacktongue Thief, and I’m impressed by the range of Buehlman’s storytelling style.
“Love is always harder. Love means weathering blows for another’s sake and not counting them. Love is loss of self, loss of other, and faith in the death of loss.”
Now, three reasons summed up why this book didn’t receive a higher rating from me. First, the allegorical style of the story took me longer than I expected to get used to. Secondly, there were many dream sequences, and although they were great on their own, as a whole though, they ended up confusing me. I could be wrong, but I think the characters were dragged through the seven deadly sins. The main story is linear, but the way to get to the conclusion meanders quite a lot more than I expected. In a way, they’re great for character development; finding out the main character’s regret were a good choice. Lastly, I wanted the climax sequences to be more explosive. I found that it ended too quickly after all their struggle.
Overall, although the execution of Between Two Fires didn’t fully click for me, I still think that this is a great book that you should try if you’re in the mood for a historical horror. One of my Booktube viewers told me that if you love reading Hellmouth by Giles Kristian, then this is worth taking a look. And yes, I do think that’s an accurate assessment. I’m mainly a fantasy reader, and that’s a huge reason why I loved The Blacktongue Thief more than Between Two Fires. Once again, I’m grateful to Buehlman for sending me this copy, and I will undoubtedly treasure it.
You can order the book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Andrew, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Element, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Jennifer, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Mike, Miracle, Neeraja, Nicholas, Oliver, ReignBro, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Shaad, Xero, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
May 27, 2022
“Between Two Fires” by Christopher Buehlman is a wonderful medieval horror that checks all the boxes for everything you’re looking for in such a novel. Even though there are many religious tones and references throughout this, it’s all meaningful and truly paints a diabolical picture of this era.
Besides the characters that were truly memorable, I’ve never read such horrific situations in a novel in quite some time. I won’t ruin anything for you but my goodness, Christopher Buehlman really took things to some very bizarre and creepy levels. I literally had to re-read several scenes a few times because they were that scary and freaked me out!
The atmosphere, setting, dialogue, and even descriptions during that era were all brilliantly written. Even the numerous fight scenes added a nice balance to this dark story and when you put it all together, you have an amazing read. Even the cover rocks as this was a great reading experience from beginning to end as it was a genuine page-turner and then some!
I give “Between Two Fires” by Christopher Buehlman a perfect 5/5 because this is easily a novel I will remember for many years to come. I look forward to reading some of his previous work and anything else he publishes in the future as I will gladly purchase because I was blown away by this one. I highly recommend this novel to anyone that loves horror with a dark, medieval, and religious twist that’s not overdone at all. The ending was perfect and even made me smile as I was in complete awe at the way this was wrapped up.
Besides the characters that were truly memorable, I’ve never read such horrific situations in a novel in quite some time. I won’t ruin anything for you but my goodness, Christopher Buehlman really took things to some very bizarre and creepy levels. I literally had to re-read several scenes a few times because they were that scary and freaked me out!
The atmosphere, setting, dialogue, and even descriptions during that era were all brilliantly written. Even the numerous fight scenes added a nice balance to this dark story and when you put it all together, you have an amazing read. Even the cover rocks as this was a great reading experience from beginning to end as it was a genuine page-turner and then some!
I give “Between Two Fires” by Christopher Buehlman a perfect 5/5 because this is easily a novel I will remember for many years to come. I look forward to reading some of his previous work and anything else he publishes in the future as I will gladly purchase because I was blown away by this one. I highly recommend this novel to anyone that loves horror with a dark, medieval, and religious twist that’s not overdone at all. The ending was perfect and even made me smile as I was in complete awe at the way this was wrapped up.
October 25, 2023
Re-Read 10/24/23:
Second read in as many years, and I'll just be honest here: it's still fucking brilliant. A roadtrip through plague-years hell, featuring demons with men's faces and souls and demons and angels of a very different sort.
This is a fantastic novel that's a Black Plague travelogue, epic fantasy, and gruesome religious horror. There are few tales that can match this one for sheer awesomeness.
Enjoy the feast!
Original Review:
So. That just happened.
I'm putting this book in my unofficial six-star rating because I was blown away.
I mean, after starting it, I was impressed enough with the depictions of the Black Plague in France, during the Hundred-Year's-War, the wealth of details, how religion and ignorance and fear permeated everything, but as I continued on, I was shocked at how much further we would go down the rabbit hole.
It felt like historical fiction, knee-deep in the muck, buboes, pathos, and the horror of reality. But then it got psychological, with nightmares that may or may not have been hallucinations, with fear, deviltry, and ignorance running rampant across the countryside. The empty towns, hucksters, the famine, plague, and death were barely held at bay by faith and willpower and just holding on to one or two pure things in a world that was a truly apocalyptic vision.
And that was just one of the fires.
For anyone who has studied medieval lithographs and descriptions of devils or who have studied the Book of Enoch's descriptions of angels, you know these things are WILD. Just imagine if all these old descriptions (and not our modern versions) were crawling this French apocalypse? Playing with bodies like puppeteers, grotesque visions of torture, hellish playthings, in a nightmare scenario of the end-times and the celestial battle, all right here on Earth? Well, that's another fire.
The details in this book, the depth of the absolutely terrifying scenarios, truly scared me. And I'm an old hand at horror. I am fine with gross-outs and thrillers. This one took me down another path. It gave me no escape and dragged me through hell.
I cannot recommend this enough. Or I can't recommend it at all. I'm pretty certain I'm going to have nightmares.
In other words, it's f***ing brilliant.
Second read in as many years, and I'll just be honest here: it's still fucking brilliant. A roadtrip through plague-years hell, featuring demons with men's faces and souls and demons and angels of a very different sort.
This is a fantastic novel that's a Black Plague travelogue, epic fantasy, and gruesome religious horror. There are few tales that can match this one for sheer awesomeness.
Enjoy the feast!
Original Review:
So. That just happened.
I'm putting this book in my unofficial six-star rating because I was blown away.
I mean, after starting it, I was impressed enough with the depictions of the Black Plague in France, during the Hundred-Year's-War, the wealth of details, how religion and ignorance and fear permeated everything, but as I continued on, I was shocked at how much further we would go down the rabbit hole.
It felt like historical fiction, knee-deep in the muck, buboes, pathos, and the horror of reality. But then it got psychological, with nightmares that may or may not have been hallucinations, with fear, deviltry, and ignorance running rampant across the countryside. The empty towns, hucksters, the famine, plague, and death were barely held at bay by faith and willpower and just holding on to one or two pure things in a world that was a truly apocalyptic vision.
And that was just one of the fires.
For anyone who has studied medieval lithographs and descriptions of devils or who have studied the Book of Enoch's descriptions of angels, you know these things are WILD. Just imagine if all these old descriptions (and not our modern versions) were crawling this French apocalypse? Playing with bodies like puppeteers, grotesque visions of torture, hellish playthings, in a nightmare scenario of the end-times and the celestial battle, all right here on Earth? Well, that's another fire.
The details in this book, the depth of the absolutely terrifying scenarios, truly scared me. And I'm an old hand at horror. I am fine with gross-outs and thrillers. This one took me down another path. It gave me no escape and dragged me through hell.
I cannot recommend this enough. Or I can't recommend it at all. I'm pretty certain I'm going to have nightmares.
In other words, it's f***ing brilliant.
October 17, 2025
AMAZING!! A new favorite of the year. More thoughts to come!
January 2, 2020
Warning: this review is a somewhat organized emotional blabbering and fan-girling over a book. As usual. Includes fanart done by me...again.
"RUN!"
Better resolution: http://gerynh.tumblr.com/post/1134336...
When I first read the synopsis for Between Two Fires I thought: “Hmmm, a dark historical fiction, mixed with horror and religious mumbo-jumbo". Not something I usually even consider checking up on. Then I looked at my pile of recently read books and saw way too many fairies, dragons and unicorns, so... yeah... this is what happened:
Summary of the Summary
The year is 1348, the Black Death has hit the majority of the populated areas in France, food is scarce and many people have given up on their faith. Amidst all the chaos, Thomas, a disgraced knight, a peculiar orphan girl he saved and an unorthodox monk, are trying to survive not just the plague and the worst of humanity, but something far more sinister as well.
What grabbed me (in order):
We all have different tastes, so I won't go into details. All I can say is Christopher Buehlman really knows how to pull you in! Since I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters in the beginning, it was the superb storytelling that kept me reading.
You think Katniss from Hunger Games had it hard?
MUAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!
Imagine a place where everything is dying: people, animals, crops, hope, reason. Each day, the world becomes emptier and lonelier at a frightening speed, family members are lost, none is left to tend the farms, to create music and art, to take care of the sick and the helpless. Food is the most precious commodity, but the only thing left in abundance is fear. It is what guides people to violence, to animosity, to greed and desperation. You cannot trust anyone, they'll either infect you with the plague or stab you in the back. And why even risk it, getting attached to people will only bring more pain when they die.
Let me get one thing clear - I like fairytales. Some of my favorite books are children books, books about fairies and other magical creatures. Basically, happy, magical and colourful is my preferred genre. NOT HORROR! So the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed the things that Buehlman's mind sprouted in this book is a completely new feeling for me.
My first impression of the three main characters: the girl annoyed me, the monk bored me and I damn-right despised Thomas. And yet, they grew on me! With all of their flaws and shortcomings, they felt so real, they faced their fears and desires, they changed and sacrificed so much for each other. I truly admired their character development which was perfectly paced and actually quite believable!
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Angels. If you grabbed this book, because you read this word in the synopsis, then let me warn you: these are not the dashing young winged men and women from your favorite YA novels (thank God!), or anything that might possess human mentality and desires. The Angels and the Demons are like an embodiment of what is respectively good and evil. So with this out of the way... THIS BOOK was so freaking magnificent! We don't get to see the angels or the devils that often, but once they appear, they mean business! Their scenes are breathtaking, you can feel their other-ness, the unfathomable proportions, their limitless nature...Honestly, I am running out of synonyms in Thesaurus, so let's just say - they are FREAKING EPIC!
Personal Theory
The Audiobook Narrator
Steve West = pure perfection! 10 out of 5 stars!
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
3 THINGS
A Very Personal Opinion, feel free to disagree.
Look at that cover! Isn't it absolutely beautiful and professional! But does it scream: READ ME NOW! Not to me, I'm afraid. If I didn't know better, I would've thought it's the cover of yet another 1000+ pages historical report of some unimportant war that happened long time ago and only a small group of people care about. Oh, if that was the case, this cover would definitely sell! But this book is about so much more: it has feelings, imagination, action, drama - it deserves a cover that will hint of its uniqueness and the adventure it will put you through. The current one is just too generic for my liking.
Plus, I acknowledge the fact that the artist might not have been given an accurate and detailed brief or a reasonable deadline (and payment? You never know)!
The other two are both Major spoilers, so no peaking if you haven't read the book yet!
Conclusion
I love you, book! I do not understand how come you're not as popular as The Da Vinci code, and yet I also don't want people to know about you so you can be special and discovered only by a few chosen ones and then we can all worship your awesomeness and glorify your existence in private...Uh-hum, yeah...check it out if you want.
"RUN!"
Better resolution: http://gerynh.tumblr.com/post/1134336...
When I first read the synopsis for Between Two Fires I thought: “Hmmm, a dark historical fiction, mixed with horror and religious mumbo-jumbo". Not something I usually even consider checking up on. Then I looked at my pile of recently read books and saw way too many fairies, dragons and unicorns, so... yeah... this is what happened:
Summary of the Summary
The year is 1348, the Black Death has hit the majority of the populated areas in France, food is scarce and many people have given up on their faith. Amidst all the chaos, Thomas, a disgraced knight, a peculiar orphan girl he saved and an unorthodox monk, are trying to survive not just the plague and the worst of humanity, but something far more sinister as well.
What grabbed me (in order):
We all have different tastes, so I won't go into details. All I can say is Christopher Buehlman really knows how to pull you in! Since I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters in the beginning, it was the superb storytelling that kept me reading.
You think Katniss from Hunger Games had it hard?
MUAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!
Imagine a place where everything is dying: people, animals, crops, hope, reason. Each day, the world becomes emptier and lonelier at a frightening speed, family members are lost, none is left to tend the farms, to create music and art, to take care of the sick and the helpless. Food is the most precious commodity, but the only thing left in abundance is fear. It is what guides people to violence, to animosity, to greed and desperation. You cannot trust anyone, they'll either infect you with the plague or stab you in the back. And why even risk it, getting attached to people will only bring more pain when they die.
Let me get one thing clear - I like fairytales. Some of my favorite books are children books, books about fairies and other magical creatures. Basically, happy, magical and colourful is my preferred genre. NOT HORROR! So the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed the things that Buehlman's mind sprouted in this book is a completely new feeling for me.
My first impression of the three main characters: the girl annoyed me, the monk bored me and I damn-right despised Thomas. And yet, they grew on me! With all of their flaws and shortcomings, they felt so real, they faced their fears and desires, they changed and sacrificed so much for each other. I truly admired their character development which was perfectly paced and actually quite believable!
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Angels. If you grabbed this book, because you read this word in the synopsis, then let me warn you: these are not the dashing young winged men and women from your favorite YA novels (thank God!), or anything that might possess human mentality and desires. The Angels and the Demons are like an embodiment of what is respectively good and evil. So with this out of the way... THIS BOOK was so freaking magnificent! We don't get to see the angels or the devils that often, but once they appear, they mean business! Their scenes are breathtaking, you can feel their other-ness, the unfathomable proportions, their limitless nature...Honestly, I am running out of synonyms in Thesaurus, so let's just say - they are FREAKING EPIC!
Personal Theory
The Audiobook Narrator
Steve West = pure perfection! 10 out of 5 stars!
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
3 THINGS
A Very Personal Opinion, feel free to disagree.
Look at that cover! Isn't it absolutely beautiful and professional! But does it scream: READ ME NOW! Not to me, I'm afraid. If I didn't know better, I would've thought it's the cover of yet another 1000+ pages historical report of some unimportant war that happened long time ago and only a small group of people care about. Oh, if that was the case, this cover would definitely sell! But this book is about so much more: it has feelings, imagination, action, drama - it deserves a cover that will hint of its uniqueness and the adventure it will put you through. The current one is just too generic for my liking.
Plus, I acknowledge the fact that the artist might not have been given an accurate and detailed brief or a reasonable deadline (and payment? You never know)!
The other two are both Major spoilers, so no peaking if you haven't read the book yet!
Conclusion
I love you, book! I do not understand how come you're not as popular as The Da Vinci code, and yet I also don't want people to know about you so you can be special and discovered only by a few chosen ones and then we can all worship your awesomeness and glorify your existence in private...Uh-hum, yeah...check it out if you want.
November 11, 2025
RAW. 💔 BLAZING. 🔥 UNFORGETTABLE. 💭
I plucked Between Two Fires off a dusty shelf at a used-book store a few months ago purely because the cover pulled me in (Bookstagram had been whispering good things too). I cracked it open right after finishing Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils (set in an alternate medieval Europe), and the transition felt weirdly seamless: two medieval road-trip stories, one about a priest escorting a poor soul through a broken kingdom, the other about a disgraced knight guarding a very peculiar girl (the bones of the plots rhyme, but the flesh is completely different... read them both.)
Which brings me to what Buehlman drops us into: Europe is choking on the Black Death. Thomas—once a knight, now a bitter, mud-smeared survivor—drifts from atrocity to atrocity with people he absolutely despises, doing whatever it takes to stay alive. While ransacking an abandoned hut, he and his scummy companions meet a small girl who calmly asks them to bury her father. In this world, a lone girl is meat for wolves, human or otherwise. Thomas’s split-second decision to protect this young girl yanks him onto a road littered with demons, monsters, angels, and the kind of human depravity that easily out-vile the fiends of hell.
"Let us wear their greatest men like skins, and when they speak, they will speak our words; they will speak of wars and purgings, and of dashing the babe's head. We will turn their understanding so they make their Christ a god of war, and we will cause them to set navies to the sea and armies under the moon with generals whose eyes glow like brands, and we will stir Turk and Christian alike to madness by our own deeds, and by our own hands we will hasten the death of men."
Before you charge in, content warnings first: Buehlman holds nothing back. Rape, child endangerment, torture, the religious violence of this era—it’s all here and is handled with brutal honesty. If any of that is too much, heed the warning. I found the darkness hard to swallow at times, but I respect that Buehlman never pretends history is cleaner than it is. He stares the rot dead in the eyes.
One facet of that darkness is Buehlman’s unflinching look at plague-era antisemitism: the novel confronts how 14th-century Europe scapegoated Jewish communities for the Black Death, weaving that hatred into the story through characters you’ll loathe (but need to hear) to grasp just how routine dehumanization became. It was intense to silently experience how accepted, how casually spoken, this kind of hatred was during such a chaotic time in the world (and I don’t say that out of naivety; I know this kind of rhetoric is still alive today, not just in antisemitism, but in the many forms hatred takes against other communities across the globe.)
Buehlman doesn’t dwell on this hatred or use it for shock; it just slips out of people’s mouths, unchallenged, like it’s normal. That’s what makes it hit so hard. He shows how deeply rooted the bigotry is, and how it can rival any demon walking the countryside. Readers who don’t usually venture into medieval horror—or who aren’t steeped in this slice of history (the Black Plague)—might be blindsided, so count it among the content warnings: the recurring slurs and persecutions, whether tossed off in passing or rendered in vivid detail, unsettle on purpose, illuminating the moral and spiritual rot coursing through a world on the brink. Buehlman’s use of historical realism, filtered through the lens of horror, offers a powerful commentary on the consequences of dehumanization and institutionalized hate.
"And now the rain fell, and fell, and fell.
On the third day of it, and their second day without food, the priest saw a stone barn and a cottage and hoped they would be deserted. What had things come to when a man of God wished misfortune on a family because he coveted their roof?"
Another part of what makes all of the darkness hit so hard is the book’s unapologetically biblical spine. I’m not a religious person, and when I realized how deeply biblical this book is, I worried it wouldn’t land... but I was wrong. Imagine a cosmic grudge match: fallen angels roaming plague-stricken France, whispering into minds, toying with mortals out of spite because “the Lord loves you more than us.” The lore will ring familiar if you grew up in church (names, hierarchies, snippets of scripture) yet Buehlman twists it into something wholly his own. I’ve personally never seen angels, demons, or hell painted like this. It felt, again, extremely honest.
"In the barley field, great beings, beings the sides of windmills, thrashed and rolled and gouged the earth. Two of them were as black as though holes had been cut into the fabric of the world; one shown like the full moon, just that heartbreaking in its beauty, casting mad shadows through the grain and the trees along the hills as it moved. Now it's light grew fainter as the six-winged one pinned it down and smothered it."
Of course, none of this lands without characters who feel like open wounds. Characters who bleed (and make you bleed). Thomas is all jagged edges, a man whose honor is in ruins but refuses to fully die. The girl—visionary, eerie, sometimes terrifying—digs under his armor and under ours. Side characters drift in and out, each leaving a scar. They’re all flawed, sometimes terrible, always human. You’ll love them, hate them, fear their choices. I cried more than once, felt genuine upset at their failures and trials, and rooted for a few of them through it all.
"The girl noticed her eyes. They seemed kind to her, despite the woman's rough look. Out of nowhere, she wanted the woman to hold her. It had been so long since she had smelled a woman's skin that even a dirty woman's embrace would have been welcome. She was still disturbed by the sight of the dead young nuns near the hospital and she wanted a woman to hold her and tell her that the whole world didn't yet belong to Death, masculine Death with his hourglass and his holes for eyes. Death with his bony arms that only embraced to take you away, like a lamb from market. Like the pig on La Butcherie. How did Heaven come into all of this? Heaven was life, not death. Heaven was a woman holding your head in the crook of her arm and looking down at you. Heaven was a warm hand on your cheek and the smell of soup with garlic on the fire.
How could people enjoy anything in Heaven with their noses rotted off and their ears full of mud and worms, and no cheeks, and no hands to lay on cheeks?"
Holding all that emotional shrapnel together is Buehlman’s language. The prose is lush without being purple, poetic without floating off the page. It’s visceral—you smell plague-swollen corpses and feel the stare of fallen angels. Moments of pure, sacred warmth sit shoulder-to-shoulder with abject horror, and the whiplash feels intentional: this is what a world on the brink between Heaven and Hell would feel like. For anyone intimidated by classics like The Divine Comedy, take heart: Buehlman’s language is lyrical and accessible.
"A great blackness against the sky.
It circled twice, then stopped. How unlike a bird it was, though it had wings, or at least explained itself with them; no bird could just hang in the sky like a still image of itself. It peered down into the fields, its face almost feline, but wrong, its teeth black in a sickly glowing mouth. It roared, and its roar was familiar, that lions roar in grotesque.
An angel of wrath
A lion tearing down an old man in an arena
It saw something that interested it, a great black limb, now an arm, now a sort of paw, reached down impossibly far and picked something up.
A girl."
All those pieces fuse into something larger than the sum of its screams. This novel made me rethink how I picture fallen angels and spiritual warfare. It punched straight through my secular armor and tapped something tender and archetypal about good, evil, and the terrifying gray in between. It’s medieval horror at its finest, yes, but it’s also a meditation on power, morality, and why humans so often outdo demons at being monsters.
Between Two Fires ripped my heart out, then tucked it back in, crooked but still beating. It’s beautiful, bleak, sacred, obscene, and unforgettable; and is easily a top contender for my book of the year. Just brace yourself... the apocalypse smells like smoke, roses, and rot, and Buehlman never blinks. He’ll gut you, then whisper a hymn in your ear while you’re bleeding out.
(I also wanted to mention that this is a dialogue heavy book. I found that reading along with the audiobook is a fantastic experience.)
Lastly, I adore Thomas:
"He threw his dagger to the floor and wedged the spear into the sheath at the back of his belt. He smiled to think he had just shoved a relic worth the whole of Avignon into a piece of greasy leather near his ass."
🖤🩶🖤🩶🖤🩶🖤
My original review:
(This is just a mini review placeholder while I collect my thoughts.) This book made me cry—more than once. It’s deeply beautiful, grounded in belief and faith, yet saturated with depravity and pure evil. True demons walk these pages, and Buehlman never shies away from showing what our world looks like when it’s plagued by evil, especially the evil of men. The story feels terrifying and raw, like standing in the middle of the apocalypse, and though it explores the impact of fictitious demons, its parallels to real human cruelty make it even more horrible at times. Yet, Buehlman never blinks at the darkness; he stares it down. He confronts it. He's honest about depravity, superiority, power, control and abuse. I found some of the themes hard to swallow, but I appreciate that he never pretends these things have not already happened in history, or that they do not continue to happen. He does not use his characters as a moral compass. They’re flawed and human and susceptible to the war being waged around them.
This tale ripped my heart out, then somehow consoled me—warm and sacred in places, chilling and horrifying in others. I'd never read angels and demons, nor Hell, written like this. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.
Full review to come, little moon. 🖤 🌙
I plucked Between Two Fires off a dusty shelf at a used-book store a few months ago purely because the cover pulled me in (Bookstagram had been whispering good things too). I cracked it open right after finishing Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils (set in an alternate medieval Europe), and the transition felt weirdly seamless: two medieval road-trip stories, one about a priest escorting a poor soul through a broken kingdom, the other about a disgraced knight guarding a very peculiar girl (the bones of the plots rhyme, but the flesh is completely different... read them both.)
Which brings me to what Buehlman drops us into: Europe is choking on the Black Death. Thomas—once a knight, now a bitter, mud-smeared survivor—drifts from atrocity to atrocity with people he absolutely despises, doing whatever it takes to stay alive. While ransacking an abandoned hut, he and his scummy companions meet a small girl who calmly asks them to bury her father. In this world, a lone girl is meat for wolves, human or otherwise. Thomas’s split-second decision to protect this young girl yanks him onto a road littered with demons, monsters, angels, and the kind of human depravity that easily out-vile the fiends of hell.
"Let us wear their greatest men like skins, and when they speak, they will speak our words; they will speak of wars and purgings, and of dashing the babe's head. We will turn their understanding so they make their Christ a god of war, and we will cause them to set navies to the sea and armies under the moon with generals whose eyes glow like brands, and we will stir Turk and Christian alike to madness by our own deeds, and by our own hands we will hasten the death of men."
Before you charge in, content warnings first: Buehlman holds nothing back. Rape, child endangerment, torture, the religious violence of this era—it’s all here and is handled with brutal honesty. If any of that is too much, heed the warning. I found the darkness hard to swallow at times, but I respect that Buehlman never pretends history is cleaner than it is. He stares the rot dead in the eyes.
One facet of that darkness is Buehlman’s unflinching look at plague-era antisemitism: the novel confronts how 14th-century Europe scapegoated Jewish communities for the Black Death, weaving that hatred into the story through characters you’ll loathe (but need to hear) to grasp just how routine dehumanization became. It was intense to silently experience how accepted, how casually spoken, this kind of hatred was during such a chaotic time in the world (and I don’t say that out of naivety; I know this kind of rhetoric is still alive today, not just in antisemitism, but in the many forms hatred takes against other communities across the globe.)
Buehlman doesn’t dwell on this hatred or use it for shock; it just slips out of people’s mouths, unchallenged, like it’s normal. That’s what makes it hit so hard. He shows how deeply rooted the bigotry is, and how it can rival any demon walking the countryside. Readers who don’t usually venture into medieval horror—or who aren’t steeped in this slice of history (the Black Plague)—might be blindsided, so count it among the content warnings: the recurring slurs and persecutions, whether tossed off in passing or rendered in vivid detail, unsettle on purpose, illuminating the moral and spiritual rot coursing through a world on the brink. Buehlman’s use of historical realism, filtered through the lens of horror, offers a powerful commentary on the consequences of dehumanization and institutionalized hate.
"And now the rain fell, and fell, and fell.
On the third day of it, and their second day without food, the priest saw a stone barn and a cottage and hoped they would be deserted. What had things come to when a man of God wished misfortune on a family because he coveted their roof?"
Another part of what makes all of the darkness hit so hard is the book’s unapologetically biblical spine. I’m not a religious person, and when I realized how deeply biblical this book is, I worried it wouldn’t land... but I was wrong. Imagine a cosmic grudge match: fallen angels roaming plague-stricken France, whispering into minds, toying with mortals out of spite because “the Lord loves you more than us.” The lore will ring familiar if you grew up in church (names, hierarchies, snippets of scripture) yet Buehlman twists it into something wholly his own. I’ve personally never seen angels, demons, or hell painted like this. It felt, again, extremely honest.
"In the barley field, great beings, beings the sides of windmills, thrashed and rolled and gouged the earth. Two of them were as black as though holes had been cut into the fabric of the world; one shown like the full moon, just that heartbreaking in its beauty, casting mad shadows through the grain and the trees along the hills as it moved. Now it's light grew fainter as the six-winged one pinned it down and smothered it."
Of course, none of this lands without characters who feel like open wounds. Characters who bleed (and make you bleed). Thomas is all jagged edges, a man whose honor is in ruins but refuses to fully die. The girl—visionary, eerie, sometimes terrifying—digs under his armor and under ours. Side characters drift in and out, each leaving a scar. They’re all flawed, sometimes terrible, always human. You’ll love them, hate them, fear their choices. I cried more than once, felt genuine upset at their failures and trials, and rooted for a few of them through it all.
"The girl noticed her eyes. They seemed kind to her, despite the woman's rough look. Out of nowhere, she wanted the woman to hold her. It had been so long since she had smelled a woman's skin that even a dirty woman's embrace would have been welcome. She was still disturbed by the sight of the dead young nuns near the hospital and she wanted a woman to hold her and tell her that the whole world didn't yet belong to Death, masculine Death with his hourglass and his holes for eyes. Death with his bony arms that only embraced to take you away, like a lamb from market. Like the pig on La Butcherie. How did Heaven come into all of this? Heaven was life, not death. Heaven was a woman holding your head in the crook of her arm and looking down at you. Heaven was a warm hand on your cheek and the smell of soup with garlic on the fire.
How could people enjoy anything in Heaven with their noses rotted off and their ears full of mud and worms, and no cheeks, and no hands to lay on cheeks?"
Holding all that emotional shrapnel together is Buehlman’s language. The prose is lush without being purple, poetic without floating off the page. It’s visceral—you smell plague-swollen corpses and feel the stare of fallen angels. Moments of pure, sacred warmth sit shoulder-to-shoulder with abject horror, and the whiplash feels intentional: this is what a world on the brink between Heaven and Hell would feel like. For anyone intimidated by classics like The Divine Comedy, take heart: Buehlman’s language is lyrical and accessible.
"A great blackness against the sky.
It circled twice, then stopped. How unlike a bird it was, though it had wings, or at least explained itself with them; no bird could just hang in the sky like a still image of itself. It peered down into the fields, its face almost feline, but wrong, its teeth black in a sickly glowing mouth. It roared, and its roar was familiar, that lions roar in grotesque.
An angel of wrath
A lion tearing down an old man in an arena
It saw something that interested it, a great black limb, now an arm, now a sort of paw, reached down impossibly far and picked something up.
A girl."
All those pieces fuse into something larger than the sum of its screams. This novel made me rethink how I picture fallen angels and spiritual warfare. It punched straight through my secular armor and tapped something tender and archetypal about good, evil, and the terrifying gray in between. It’s medieval horror at its finest, yes, but it’s also a meditation on power, morality, and why humans so often outdo demons at being monsters.
Between Two Fires ripped my heart out, then tucked it back in, crooked but still beating. It’s beautiful, bleak, sacred, obscene, and unforgettable; and is easily a top contender for my book of the year. Just brace yourself... the apocalypse smells like smoke, roses, and rot, and Buehlman never blinks. He’ll gut you, then whisper a hymn in your ear while you’re bleeding out.
(I also wanted to mention that this is a dialogue heavy book. I found that reading along with the audiobook is a fantastic experience.)
Lastly, I adore Thomas:
"He threw his dagger to the floor and wedged the spear into the sheath at the back of his belt. He smiled to think he had just shoved a relic worth the whole of Avignon into a piece of greasy leather near his ass."
🖤🩶🖤🩶🖤🩶🖤
My original review:
(This is just a mini review placeholder while I collect my thoughts.) This book made me cry—more than once. It’s deeply beautiful, grounded in belief and faith, yet saturated with depravity and pure evil. True demons walk these pages, and Buehlman never shies away from showing what our world looks like when it’s plagued by evil, especially the evil of men. The story feels terrifying and raw, like standing in the middle of the apocalypse, and though it explores the impact of fictitious demons, its parallels to real human cruelty make it even more horrible at times. Yet, Buehlman never blinks at the darkness; he stares it down. He confronts it. He's honest about depravity, superiority, power, control and abuse. I found some of the themes hard to swallow, but I appreciate that he never pretends these things have not already happened in history, or that they do not continue to happen. He does not use his characters as a moral compass. They’re flawed and human and susceptible to the war being waged around them.
This tale ripped my heart out, then somehow consoled me—warm and sacred in places, chilling and horrifying in others. I'd never read angels and demons, nor Hell, written like this. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.
Full review to come, little moon. 🖤 🌙
October 11, 2020
"Between Two Fires" was the first book I read by Christopher Buehlman, and I immediately went out and got all of his other work as soon as I was done with this one - but I think it is still my favorite. Set during the Black Plague, this is a strange blend of historical horror and fantasy that follows a knight turned brigand, and disgraced countryside priest and a very strange foundling who is not what she seems as they search for redemption in a hellish France.
Thomas used to have a comfortable enough life as a minor seigneur in Normandy, but the battle of Crécy changed everything: another lord stole his land and had him excommunicated, leaving him no choice but to scrap a living as a thief. While scrounging for food and shelter, he comes across Delphine, a young girl orphaned by the plague who tells him she must go to Paris and Avignon to see the Pope, as she has a mission to accomplish, though she cannot really explain what that means. Against his better judgement, Thomas decides to go with her, and along the road, they pick up Père Mathieu, a priest abandoned by his congregation because of certain proclivities. But the aforementioned road is fraught with perils, because they soon find out that whatever war and pestilence is taking place on Earth, it's merely a side effect of a much larger battle between angels and demons. And those demons will stop at nothing to prevent Delphine from reaching the Pope.
Buehlman did his homework, and I really appreciated that he doesn't sugarcoat just how gross the Middle Ages were and how truly brutal medieval warfare was. But while there is definitely some graphic gore, the unsettling nature of his demons are, as far as I am concerned, just as upsetting. But what truly makes this book special for me is that I found it unexpectedly moving. For all of his gruff, Thomas is a broken man, desperate to get back the honor he has unjustly lost - and whatever forces drives her, Delphine is still just a girl who needs a mother's love and who still wants to play and dance, regardless of the desolation she is surrounded with. The essence of those characters never waivers, even when they are caught in the middle of a battle between Heaven and Hell.
The ending beautifully wraps up the story, and left an unforgettable bittersweet tightness in my chest as I flipped the last page.
This is a very special book, and I was really happy to buddy-read it with my bestie this year!
Thomas used to have a comfortable enough life as a minor seigneur in Normandy, but the battle of Crécy changed everything: another lord stole his land and had him excommunicated, leaving him no choice but to scrap a living as a thief. While scrounging for food and shelter, he comes across Delphine, a young girl orphaned by the plague who tells him she must go to Paris and Avignon to see the Pope, as she has a mission to accomplish, though she cannot really explain what that means. Against his better judgement, Thomas decides to go with her, and along the road, they pick up Père Mathieu, a priest abandoned by his congregation because of certain proclivities. But the aforementioned road is fraught with perils, because they soon find out that whatever war and pestilence is taking place on Earth, it's merely a side effect of a much larger battle between angels and demons. And those demons will stop at nothing to prevent Delphine from reaching the Pope.
Buehlman did his homework, and I really appreciated that he doesn't sugarcoat just how gross the Middle Ages were and how truly brutal medieval warfare was. But while there is definitely some graphic gore, the unsettling nature of his demons are, as far as I am concerned, just as upsetting. But what truly makes this book special for me is that I found it unexpectedly moving. For all of his gruff, Thomas is a broken man, desperate to get back the honor he has unjustly lost - and whatever forces drives her, Delphine is still just a girl who needs a mother's love and who still wants to play and dance, regardless of the desolation she is surrounded with. The essence of those characters never waivers, even when they are caught in the middle of a battle between Heaven and Hell.
The ending beautifully wraps up the story, and left an unforgettable bittersweet tightness in my chest as I flipped the last page.
This is a very special book, and I was really happy to buddy-read it with my bestie this year!
February 15, 2025
For my thoughts on Between Two Fires have a look at my YouTube channel! The Brothers Gwynne
This has solidified Buehlman as one of my favourite authors. He brings something so unique to his writing, and you really care for his characters, even the ones who are so grey they are verging on charcoal. Between Two Fires is the medieval-fantasy-horror I have always wanted to read.
This has solidified Buehlman as one of my favourite authors. He brings something so unique to his writing, and you really care for his characters, even the ones who are so grey they are verging on charcoal. Between Two Fires is the medieval-fantasy-horror I have always wanted to read.
May 5, 2022
I finished my audio re-read of this book last night when I got home from work. I sat in the car and listened to the last 10 minutes. Not gonna lie, there were tears in my eyes.
My rating remains at 5 stars, but I'd give it 10 if I could.
My rating remains at 5 stars, but I'd give it 10 if I could.
December 10, 2024
As a child, I read once a book about a girl who time travels to the middle ages, to the time of the plague. You know how you sometimes read something as a kid that it rings in your mind years later? Well, what I read in that book made such a deep impression on me that my morbid fascination with the horrors of medieval times never really left me - and this one threw me right back in.
This book was everything I could possibly want from a medieval horror and more.
The horror element was perfectly done. It was gruesome in the exact way I imagined the Middle Ages to be (well, without the actual demons from hell and walking dead, I guess).
But what I loved most were the characters and the dynamic between them. The more the characters developed a bond in the book, the more they grew on me, too, to the point I cared so much about their fate I cried multiple times. Also their dialogue was absolutely hilarious.
The style of this book reminded me a little bit of Brom, one of my favourite horror authors (actually, it would be amazing to have his illustrations for this story).
Long story short, I loved this
This book was everything I could possibly want from a medieval horror and more.
The horror element was perfectly done. It was gruesome in the exact way I imagined the Middle Ages to be (well, without the actual demons from hell and walking dead, I guess).
But what I loved most were the characters and the dynamic between them. The more the characters developed a bond in the book, the more they grew on me, too, to the point I cared so much about their fate I cried multiple times. Also their dialogue was absolutely hilarious.
The style of this book reminded me a little bit of Brom, one of my favourite horror authors (actually, it would be amazing to have his illustrations for this story).
Long story short, I loved this
October 12, 2025
This wasn’t for me at all. I read and love a lot of dark stories, but when something feels dark purely for the sake of it, that’s not compelling storytelling to me, it’s lazy. This novel feels SO overly reliant on violence/sexual violence/violent thinking towards women and girls just to show you how bleak the world is, but I didn’t find it was done in a way that added any kind of depth or emotional weight to the narrative or to these flat characters. It’s just gratuitous and boring. This reminds me of the reasons I didn’t enjoy books like Eleventh Cycle and Promise of Blood. They’re dark without depth.
April 3, 2025
Buehlman is an excellent writer - in my opinion he's a cut above the great majority of successful writers out there. I love his prose and the way he animates his story. He's an efficient writer who leans into (wonderful) dialogue to do a lot of the heavy lifting. He can do in 10 words what many writers will waffle for a paragraph to do half as well.
This book is in large part the works of Hieronymus Bosch brought to life.
A compromised, world weary knight and a mysterious child cross plague-wracked France on a mission related to the newly expanded battle between heaven and hell.
That makes it sound rather familiar - the angels vs devils set up spans many eras in fantasy literature - I've just finished Sandman Slim which is exactly this in 2000's Los Angeles. And I've read an angels vs devils in medieval France fantasy before too - Son of the Morning. And of course, the combination of crusty old(ish) man and a child who slowly unwinds him, is pervasive in many genres.
HOWEVER, Buehlman made it something I was eager to read. This is allegedly horror, but could have been marketed as dark/grimdark fantasy. There's lots of dying, from plague, from devils, from chopping with swords, and it's gory. There are quite a few devils who are entertainingly scary, there are the tortures of Hell and the tortures men inflict on each other. Good, bad, and indifferent people die. It's not a gentle book.
But our two main characters have charisma and won me over swiftly. Along with the horror and the adrenaline, there are genuine moments of emotion - the final one hitting me hard.
It's an excellent book. I feel that The Blacktongue Thief is more excellent still, and The Daughters' War even better than that. But I had a blast reading this one.
Buehlman doesn't, in this book, keep a tight point of view, his writing wanders (against modern advice) from one head to another. But these "rules" are to help writers who need that help. Buehlman is good enough to twist them to his own ends.
Two tiny gripes:
(i) I felt they ran out of donkey meat way too quickly.
(ii) I personally find it hard to buy into worldbuilding where a benvolent god sanctions torture.
A fine book. Read it immediately!
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.
This book is in large part the works of Hieronymus Bosch brought to life.
A compromised, world weary knight and a mysterious child cross plague-wracked France on a mission related to the newly expanded battle between heaven and hell.
That makes it sound rather familiar - the angels vs devils set up spans many eras in fantasy literature - I've just finished Sandman Slim which is exactly this in 2000's Los Angeles. And I've read an angels vs devils in medieval France fantasy before too - Son of the Morning. And of course, the combination of crusty old(ish) man and a child who slowly unwinds him, is pervasive in many genres.
HOWEVER, Buehlman made it something I was eager to read. This is allegedly horror, but could have been marketed as dark/grimdark fantasy. There's lots of dying, from plague, from devils, from chopping with swords, and it's gory. There are quite a few devils who are entertainingly scary, there are the tortures of Hell and the tortures men inflict on each other. Good, bad, and indifferent people die. It's not a gentle book.
But our two main characters have charisma and won me over swiftly. Along with the horror and the adrenaline, there are genuine moments of emotion - the final one hitting me hard.
It's an excellent book. I feel that The Blacktongue Thief is more excellent still, and The Daughters' War even better than that. But I had a blast reading this one.
Buehlman doesn't, in this book, keep a tight point of view, his writing wanders (against modern advice) from one head to another. But these "rules" are to help writers who need that help. Buehlman is good enough to twist them to his own ends.
Two tiny gripes:
(i) I felt they ran out of donkey meat way too quickly.
(ii) I personally find it hard to buy into worldbuilding where a benvolent god sanctions torture.
A fine book. Read it immediately!
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
.
June 3, 2025
"Love is always harder. Love means weathering blows for another’s sake and not counting them. Love is loss of self, loss of other, and faith in the death of loss."
Initial Thoughts
What happens if you mix medieval fantasy with horror? Sounds like my idea of heaven. Fantasy is what got me into reading when I read JRR Tolkien's absolute classic The Hobbit and my absolute favourite genre, if I had to pick, is horror. So it literally is my dream combination. So when I found out there was a book out there that pretty much did that to perfection, I was a touch excited. Like the time I found a Playboy magazine in a bush on the way home from school!
But anyway, back on track. Christopher Buehlman is a new author to me. Although I have heard of him, and have a few books of his hidden away on my kindle, I haven't got round to actually reading him yet. His writing roots are without doubt in the horror genre, with books like The Lesser Dead and Those Across the River. So if I have a good time with this one I'll be definitely having a look at his back-catalogue.
Again, I'm going off on a side-tangent there. Let's concentrate on the book at hand. What was it again? Memory don't let me down...Between Two Fires! There you go. I surprise myself.
Let's go!
The Story
We kick off in 14th century France, at the time of the Black Death. Humanity is in disarray as demons run rampant and the mortals are reduced to wild animals. Behind all the destruction that is being caused by the plague sinister forces are at play. Yet there is hope...
Former and now disgraced knight, Thomas Givras, has teamed up with a group of bandits and is content with surviving in this harsh world. Forget morality! That left the show a long time ago. But when he meets Delphine, a young orphaned girl it looks like things might be about to change and there may just be a slice of redemption in store for him after all.
After saving Delphine from a fate worse than death, Thomas ructantly takes her into his care. There's voices whispering to the young girl in her dreams and she is convinced that she is on a holy mission. Is this the purpose the fallen knight needs to get him back on track? Well I guess you're going to have to read an find out fair reader.
The Writing
Buelhman's prose were a real treat. Subtle yet poetic, they created a dark and bleak atmosphere that still managed to be emotionally moving. Then when the scenes of horror rolled round they were pretty unsettling.
There was a definite shift in the second half of the novel though. By that I mean that it started out as a journey, both literally and in terms of character development. With the individual components of the main cast getting acquainted with one another. Then things became very chaotic very quickly. Being real here, it did shift a bit too quickly for me, coming across a little bit disjointed and the narrative did suffer.
The Characters
The character work ain't too shabby though. OK, they are a touch stereotypical. But that doesn't mean they're not well done. Buelhman definitely has a skill for crafting and developing his cast and this was particularly evident with Thomas.
There's three main players in Between Two Fires and their lives converge under some strange circumstances. You've got Thomas a disgraced, former knight with a grudge. Then a young orphan girl with supernatural powers called Delphine and finally Matthieu, a priest with hidden secrets.
As I've already said the character of Thomas was my favourite of the bunch. He's bitter, which you would be if you've lost everything. Like that time I tried to have a go at being a professional gambler. And his relationship with Delphine is the highlight of the book. As he allows himself to care for her things take a real turn for him. As the father of a pretty amazing daughter I could totally relate to it. Although Delphine was a bit annoying at times. Just like my daughter!
But the thing I did notice is that although the characters were very much of their time they did have a bit of a contemporary feel. I think it was the dialogue which was a medieval/modern hybrid. But this made them more relatable. Don't know if that's what Buelhman was going for but that's how it came across to me.
Final Thoughts
Overall, a really good bit of historical fantasy with a horror twist. I did enjoy it, although maybe not quite as much as I was expecting.
Still, completely worth your time if you're into this type of stuff. I'll definitely be checking out more from Buelhman. Probably the Blacktongue Thief. Let me know if you have any recommendations in the comments.
Thanks for reading and...cheers!
May 23, 2020
I want to use the word allegory even though I am not entirely sure of its meaning. This was an allegory of Satan's rebellion against the Heavens here on Earth, an explanation for the Great Plague, famine and war that swept France (and Europe) during the 14 th century. This is a Dante-esque version of Hell on Earth. It is fantastical, dark, violent. The demons and monsters were throughly creepy ( I'm glad there was no one to see the faces I caught myself pulling during certain scenes of this book!)
This was a work of wonderful historical fiction, set in brutal and violent times, which completely captures the medieval sensibility of superstition and fear of the supernatural embedded in the mindset of a world without science or education. It genuinely feels like the End of Days, captures exactly the mood of Revelations.
Strongly recommended, but be warned the language and images are quite blasphemous
This was a work of wonderful historical fiction, set in brutal and violent times, which completely captures the medieval sensibility of superstition and fear of the supernatural embedded in the mindset of a world without science or education. It genuinely feels like the End of Days, captures exactly the mood of Revelations.
Strongly recommended, but be warned the language and images are quite blasphemous
May 12, 2022
First off, thanks to Ginger for moving the fire from "between" to under my butt to read this. (I'll see myself out).
This book checked a ton of boxes I didn't realize I had; it's historical fiction, fantasy, and horror, and somehow it works wonderfully!
The author took the time to get a lot of the historical setting correct, and this went a long way for someone like me who, predominantly until last year, was solely a military history reader. In addition, the story itself is excellently told, with multiple perspectives without getting confusing and relatively original, in my opinion.
I also really enjoyed how the author blends actual historical things (Like Clement's call to the Crusades and the Plague) into the real story with how basically hell has free reign upon the earth. Almost like the horrible things humankind does to each other...is missing the greater purpose of life. Imagine that. I appreciated the subtle philosophical filter the story is told through.
The only charge I could level against it would be the ending is pretty predictable in terms of the main story, but besides costing it one star, this is not a detriment.
This book checked a ton of boxes I didn't realize I had; it's historical fiction, fantasy, and horror, and somehow it works wonderfully!
The author took the time to get a lot of the historical setting correct, and this went a long way for someone like me who, predominantly until last year, was solely a military history reader. In addition, the story itself is excellently told, with multiple perspectives without getting confusing and relatively original, in my opinion.
I also really enjoyed how the author blends actual historical things (Like Clement's call to the Crusades and the Plague) into the real story with how basically hell has free reign upon the earth. Almost like the horrible things humankind does to each other...is missing the greater purpose of life. Imagine that. I appreciated the subtle philosophical filter the story is told through.
The only charge I could level against it would be the ending is pretty predictable in terms of the main story, but besides costing it one star, this is not a detriment.
November 8, 2015
I'm in awe. Simply amazing. I experienced such a range of emotions reading this and almost wept at the end. Beautiful, lyrically and poetic but also scary, grimy and terrifying. An incredible writer with serious talent.
June 16, 2022
Judging every last one of you clowns who enjoyed this all male christian bummer fanfic
August 16, 2024
"Quella pestilenza strappava via la finzione e rivelava l'anima delle persone con la stessa sicurezza con cui alla fine rivelava le loro ossa"
Francia 1348.
La Grande Morte è giunta ed ha aperto le porte al Mietitore che raccoglie indisturbato il suo triste raccolto di anime e carne. L'Europa è allo sbando, la peste ricopre di morti le strade, la razza umana è degenerata agli istinti animali, tra paura, lotta per la sopravvivenza e attesa della fine dei tempi, mettendo in mostra le sue peggiori e squallide attitudini.
Preparate lo stomaco perché il signor Buehlman non ci va leggero, descrivendo il periodo storico senza riserve e strizzando l' occhio anche a situazioni ed elementi weird e horror proponendo un dark fantasy di tutto rispetto.
Tre sopravvissuti si trovano per caso e iniziano un viaggio, forse di speranza e redenzione, forse no, ormai nulla ha più importanza.
Seguiremo da vicino un brigante dal cuore tenero ma dai modi bruschi , un prete alcolista senza più un gregge e una giovane orfana che nasconde strane capacità. Tutti alla ricerca di una luce, perché è di speranza che ci si nutre quando tutto il resto va in malora. Tre individui molto diversi che creeranno durante il viaggio un rapporto di conforto e unità.
Il Paradiso è in guerra.
Una guerra tra Angeli e Demoni con un Dio silenzioso e assente che sembra aver abbandonato le sue creature alla follia e al male. E quando Dio non guarda, l'inferno apre le porte e lascia uscire i suoi demoni. Ed è per questo che il trio inizia ad affrontare eventi soprannaturali che li mineranno e li proveranno nel corpo e nell' anima. Formiche in un conflitto tra giganti.
Un romanzo forse non adatto a tutti a causa del tono prettamente dark e gretto che non fa sconti a nessuno e non devia mai. Un affresco nero di paura e fuga, eppure consigliato agli amanti del fantastico di qualità.
Una lettura da non perdere che mi ha ricordato, tra l'altro, "la Strada" di McCarthy e il "Berserk" di Miura. Vi sembra poco?
PS: peccato per l'edizione, stampata con troppi refusi, meritava di meglio.
--------------------------
"That plague tore away the fiction and revealed the souls of the people with the same certainty with which it finally revealed their bones"
France 1348.
The Great Death has arrived and opened the doors to the Reaper who undisturbed collects his sad harvest of flesh and souls. Europe is in disarray, the plague covers the streets with dead and the human race has degenerated to animal instincts, between fear, the fight for survival and waiting for the end of time, showing off its worst and squalid attitudes.
Prepare your stomachs because Mr. Buehlman does not go lightly, describing the historical period without reservations and winking at weird and horror situations and elements, proposing a dark fantasy of all respect.
Three survivors meet by chance and begin a journey, perhaps of hope and redemption, perhaps not, now nothing matters anymore.
We will closely follow the path of a bandit with a tender heart but brusque manners, an alcoholic priest without a flock and a young orphan who hides strange abilities. All in search of a light, because it is hope that we feed on when everything else goes to waste. Three individuals very distant from each other who will create a relationship of comfort and unity during the journey.
Heaven is at war.
A war between Angels and Demons with a silent and absent God who seems to have abandoned his creatures to madness and evil. And when God is not looking, hell opens its doors and lets its demons out. And that is why the trio begins to face supernatural events that will undermine them and test them in body and soul. Ants in a conflict between giants.
A novel perhaps not suitable for everyone due to the purely dark and narrow tone that does not give anyone discounts and never deviates. A black fresco of fear and escape, yet recommended to lovers of quality fantasy.
A must-read that reminded me, among other things, of "The Road" by McCarthy and "Berserk" by Miura. Does that seem like little to you?
PS: shame about the edition, printed with too many typos, it deserved better.
Francia 1348.
La Grande Morte è giunta ed ha aperto le porte al Mietitore che raccoglie indisturbato il suo triste raccolto di anime e carne. L'Europa è allo sbando, la peste ricopre di morti le strade, la razza umana è degenerata agli istinti animali, tra paura, lotta per la sopravvivenza e attesa della fine dei tempi, mettendo in mostra le sue peggiori e squallide attitudini.
Preparate lo stomaco perché il signor Buehlman non ci va leggero, descrivendo il periodo storico senza riserve e strizzando l' occhio anche a situazioni ed elementi weird e horror proponendo un dark fantasy di tutto rispetto.
Tre sopravvissuti si trovano per caso e iniziano un viaggio, forse di speranza e redenzione, forse no, ormai nulla ha più importanza.
Seguiremo da vicino un brigante dal cuore tenero ma dai modi bruschi , un prete alcolista senza più un gregge e una giovane orfana che nasconde strane capacità. Tutti alla ricerca di una luce, perché è di speranza che ci si nutre quando tutto il resto va in malora. Tre individui molto diversi che creeranno durante il viaggio un rapporto di conforto e unità.
Il Paradiso è in guerra.
Una guerra tra Angeli e Demoni con un Dio silenzioso e assente che sembra aver abbandonato le sue creature alla follia e al male. E quando Dio non guarda, l'inferno apre le porte e lascia uscire i suoi demoni. Ed è per questo che il trio inizia ad affrontare eventi soprannaturali che li mineranno e li proveranno nel corpo e nell' anima. Formiche in un conflitto tra giganti.
Un romanzo forse non adatto a tutti a causa del tono prettamente dark e gretto che non fa sconti a nessuno e non devia mai. Un affresco nero di paura e fuga, eppure consigliato agli amanti del fantastico di qualità.
Una lettura da non perdere che mi ha ricordato, tra l'altro, "la Strada" di McCarthy e il "Berserk" di Miura. Vi sembra poco?
PS: peccato per l'edizione, stampata con troppi refusi, meritava di meglio.
--------------------------
"That plague tore away the fiction and revealed the souls of the people with the same certainty with which it finally revealed their bones"
France 1348.
The Great Death has arrived and opened the doors to the Reaper who undisturbed collects his sad harvest of flesh and souls. Europe is in disarray, the plague covers the streets with dead and the human race has degenerated to animal instincts, between fear, the fight for survival and waiting for the end of time, showing off its worst and squalid attitudes.
Prepare your stomachs because Mr. Buehlman does not go lightly, describing the historical period without reservations and winking at weird and horror situations and elements, proposing a dark fantasy of all respect.
Three survivors meet by chance and begin a journey, perhaps of hope and redemption, perhaps not, now nothing matters anymore.
We will closely follow the path of a bandit with a tender heart but brusque manners, an alcoholic priest without a flock and a young orphan who hides strange abilities. All in search of a light, because it is hope that we feed on when everything else goes to waste. Three individuals very distant from each other who will create a relationship of comfort and unity during the journey.
Heaven is at war.
A war between Angels and Demons with a silent and absent God who seems to have abandoned his creatures to madness and evil. And when God is not looking, hell opens its doors and lets its demons out. And that is why the trio begins to face supernatural events that will undermine them and test them in body and soul. Ants in a conflict between giants.
A novel perhaps not suitable for everyone due to the purely dark and narrow tone that does not give anyone discounts and never deviates. A black fresco of fear and escape, yet recommended to lovers of quality fantasy.
A must-read that reminded me, among other things, of "The Road" by McCarthy and "Berserk" by Miura. Does that seem like little to you?
PS: shame about the edition, printed with too many typos, it deserved better.
April 4, 2025
Año 1348.
Thomas, un caballero caído en desgracia, se encuentra con una niña desamparada en una aldea normanda reducida a cenizas. La pequeña, huérfana de la muerte negra y viva imagen de la inocencia, haciendo gala de un candor tan extremo que resulta inquietante, le explica a Thomas que la peste no es sino una pequeña parte de un cataclismo aún mayor, pues, con Lucifer al frente, los ángeles desterrados planean lanzar una segunda ofensiva contra el paraíso y, si nadie logra evitarlo, el mundo de los hombres se verá atrapado entre los límites de ese sanguinario conflicto.
¿Fe o delirio? La niña dice haber recibido la visita de emisarios divinos, afirma que los muertos le hablan en sueños y consigue convencer al descreído de Thomas para que la acompañe por un paisaje depravado hasta Aviñón, donde, según ella, ha de cumplir su enfrentarse al mal que arrasa la tierra y devolverle a un caballero traicionado y asesino la nobleza y la esperanza de salvación a las que él ya había renunciado hacía tiempo.
Mientras el infierno desencadena su ira y la auténtica naturaleza de la pequeña sale a la luz, Thomas se encuentra en un macabro campo de batalla rodeado de ángeles y demonios, santos y muertos vivientes, inmerso en el seno de una lucha desesperada en la que lo que está en juego no es sino la mismísima alma de la humanidad.
Lo tenía todo para triunfar. Es un autor con mucho talento, me gustan sus historias y esta no es una excepción. De hecho es una trama de lo más interesante, bastante diferente y muy refrescante, macabro y reflexivo. Un juego de fe..
Ingredientes apetecibles que animan a su lectura conforme lo empiezas. Muy buenos personajes que tienen una gran evolución a lo largo de la novela conforme esta avanza.
Pero... 🪓
Su narrativa y estilo que nada tiene que ver con que esté mal escrito, todo lo contrario, se me ha hecho complicado de leer y meterme en la historia muchas veces. No es denso como tal pero no es de lectura ágil, al menos para mi no lo ha sido. La consecuencia de esto es que acabó costándome leerlo.
Acción muy explosiva, demasiado, prende y va con fuerza y potencial pero me hubiera gustado más duración. Llegaba a ser demasiado breve.
Demasiados sueños. Algo que se entenderá mejor si se lee. Fuera de la realidad hay sueños que no siempre me di cuenta hasta cierto punto que los eran. Juega para mi gusto demasiado con este elemento.
Una pena pero no he podido con el pese a que tenía todo para ser un libro para mi. Una faena para mi pero a ti puede no pasarte solo hay que ver la puntuación general que tiene..✍️🧐🎩
Thomas, un caballero caído en desgracia, se encuentra con una niña desamparada en una aldea normanda reducida a cenizas. La pequeña, huérfana de la muerte negra y viva imagen de la inocencia, haciendo gala de un candor tan extremo que resulta inquietante, le explica a Thomas que la peste no es sino una pequeña parte de un cataclismo aún mayor, pues, con Lucifer al frente, los ángeles desterrados planean lanzar una segunda ofensiva contra el paraíso y, si nadie logra evitarlo, el mundo de los hombres se verá atrapado entre los límites de ese sanguinario conflicto.
¿Fe o delirio? La niña dice haber recibido la visita de emisarios divinos, afirma que los muertos le hablan en sueños y consigue convencer al descreído de Thomas para que la acompañe por un paisaje depravado hasta Aviñón, donde, según ella, ha de cumplir su enfrentarse al mal que arrasa la tierra y devolverle a un caballero traicionado y asesino la nobleza y la esperanza de salvación a las que él ya había renunciado hacía tiempo.
Mientras el infierno desencadena su ira y la auténtica naturaleza de la pequeña sale a la luz, Thomas se encuentra en un macabro campo de batalla rodeado de ángeles y demonios, santos y muertos vivientes, inmerso en el seno de una lucha desesperada en la que lo que está en juego no es sino la mismísima alma de la humanidad.
Lo tenía todo para triunfar. Es un autor con mucho talento, me gustan sus historias y esta no es una excepción. De hecho es una trama de lo más interesante, bastante diferente y muy refrescante, macabro y reflexivo. Un juego de fe..
Ingredientes apetecibles que animan a su lectura conforme lo empiezas. Muy buenos personajes que tienen una gran evolución a lo largo de la novela conforme esta avanza.
Pero... 🪓
Su narrativa y estilo que nada tiene que ver con que esté mal escrito, todo lo contrario, se me ha hecho complicado de leer y meterme en la historia muchas veces. No es denso como tal pero no es de lectura ágil, al menos para mi no lo ha sido. La consecuencia de esto es que acabó costándome leerlo.
Acción muy explosiva, demasiado, prende y va con fuerza y potencial pero me hubiera gustado más duración. Llegaba a ser demasiado breve.
Demasiados sueños. Algo que se entenderá mejor si se lee. Fuera de la realidad hay sueños que no siempre me di cuenta hasta cierto punto que los eran. Juega para mi gusto demasiado con este elemento.
Una pena pero no he podido con el pese a que tenía todo para ser un libro para mi. Una faena para mi pero a ti puede no pasarte solo hay que ver la puntuación general que tiene..✍️🧐🎩
October 26, 2012
It's just that kind of book. And I mean that in the most positive, enthusiastic way possible. HOLY 'EFFING SHIT. THIS IS AN EPIC BOOK THAT LEAVES YOU SLACK-JAWED AND QUEASY.
Large disclaimer: Keep your kids away from this book. Like, away away. If you don't want them terrified to sleep, terrified to die, terrified of monsters, and using foul, foul, foul language, keep them AWAY away. Keep your faint of heart virginal readers away. Only start the quest if you intend to see it through. Because HOLY SHIT THIS BOOK WAS UNEXPECTEDLY, AMAZINGLY GREAT. Horror fans, medieval history fans, end-of-days fans, literary fans, hey - this book's for you.
Nightmare inducing dream sequences (leaving you and the characters of the book questioning reality). Dark, dark stuff. Hell unleashes the demons and Buehlman unleashes the suspense, horror and gore. A Knight-turned-theif/criminal meets a young girl orphaned by the plague. Together, they travel across a barren landscape filled with death and monsters of unbelievable proportions. A third man joins the quest, a wine-loving, disgraced Father who has homosexual proclivities. I really can't say anything further - because I went into the book with minimal knowledge and I was stunned by the quality of this tale. An instant re-read. Possibly one of my new favorites.
And this is coming from someone who doesn't have too much more than a minimal interest in the medieval genre. Or fantasy really. But horror - horror LITERARY fiction - THIS I CAN GET BEHIND.
...It's not often that I pull a three-lolcat review, but, this book was epic and deserves all the lolcats in the world to describe its awesomeness. I rarely type in all capital letters, but let's face it, the book was...
THANK YOU CHRISTOPHER BUEHLMAN AND ACE BOOKS. I've already added his first novel Those Across the River to my to-read list.
And finally. Goodreads friends - someone here read this book because we need to talk about the ending. Like, I have a desperate need to discuss this. So, hurry, scurry, go read. Then, WE DISCUSS.
April 9, 2024
Astoundingly vivid imagery, surprisingly emotional beats, morally grey characters, eldritch abominations, psychedelic sequences, and most of all, at one point there is someone who is between two fires. (This is of course the most important part)
This was SO GOOD!!! If you’re okay with a plot that is a bit meandering and that doesn’t do much in the way of explaining what’s happening but through context clues and suggestive dialogue, then this is for you. It’s dark, it’s brutal, it’s twisted - and it’s also got hints of hope and redemption. It’s got tenderness and kindness amidst the horror.
I’ve heard people compare this to Dark Souls and Bloodborne and I would agree - to the extent of the aesthetic and monster designs of the story. But this is a character driven book at its core, and that separates it somewhat from those stories.
Loved it. A number of scenes are ingrained in my brain already. I need to dive into the rest of Buehlmann’s work because he has such a refreshing voice and style!
This was SO GOOD!!! If you’re okay with a plot that is a bit meandering and that doesn’t do much in the way of explaining what’s happening but through context clues and suggestive dialogue, then this is for you. It’s dark, it’s brutal, it’s twisted - and it’s also got hints of hope and redemption. It’s got tenderness and kindness amidst the horror.
I’ve heard people compare this to Dark Souls and Bloodborne and I would agree - to the extent of the aesthetic and monster designs of the story. But this is a character driven book at its core, and that separates it somewhat from those stories.
Loved it. A number of scenes are ingrained in my brain already. I need to dive into the rest of Buehlmann’s work because he has such a refreshing voice and style!
May 23, 2022
4 stars of plague infested madness!
Between Two Fires is a blend of historical fiction with fantasy and horror elements thrown in. I enjoyed the bleak look into 1348 when a plague has destroyed most of Europe.
As the plague ransacks the population, communities and small towns are in utter despair as they believe God has turned his back on them. They believe Lucifer and his Demons are in full control and they're not exactly wrong on this assessment.
Sinister things are hunting the cobblestone streets at night, terrifying creatures are lurking in lakes and rivers, and people are not what they seem to be.
I think Christopher Buehlman really shines in character development and this book was another great example of that.
I would have rated this a bit higher but for a few reasons.
1. I wanted more tension at the end. The book is building and building for a final showdown of good vs evil and it didn’t deliver as much “epicness” as I would have liked.
2. I thought some of the dream sequences were a bit confusing and I wondered at times where this sequence was really taking me.
Overall, I still enjoyed this one and loved the horror elements in Paris and along the countryside.
There is some fantastic imagery going on in Between Two Fires and I'm very glad to finally read this one!
Between Two Fires is a blend of historical fiction with fantasy and horror elements thrown in. I enjoyed the bleak look into 1348 when a plague has destroyed most of Europe.
As the plague ransacks the population, communities and small towns are in utter despair as they believe God has turned his back on them. They believe Lucifer and his Demons are in full control and they're not exactly wrong on this assessment.
Sinister things are hunting the cobblestone streets at night, terrifying creatures are lurking in lakes and rivers, and people are not what they seem to be.
I think Christopher Buehlman really shines in character development and this book was another great example of that.
I would have rated this a bit higher but for a few reasons.
1. I wanted more tension at the end. The book is building and building for a final showdown of good vs evil and it didn’t deliver as much “epicness” as I would have liked.
2. I thought some of the dream sequences were a bit confusing and I wondered at times where this sequence was really taking me.
Overall, I still enjoyed this one and loved the horror elements in Paris and along the countryside.
There is some fantastic imagery going on in Between Two Fires and I'm very glad to finally read this one!
September 22, 2024
The story of Between Two Fires is told from the perspective of a somewhat reluctant hero chevalier Sir Thomas, shepherding a young orphan survivor of the Black Death across a desolate landscape ravaged by death accompanied by a clueless priest and their adventures.
"Now the great plague had stilled the hearths in the countryside, and darkened the windows of the cities of man; Death’s hand sat upon the brow of the king and also the farmer; Death took the beggar and the cardinal, the money changer and the milkmaid. The babe died on the breast, and sailors brought their ships to port with dead hands. And the wickedness of man was laid bare, so great was his fear of this pestilence; for the mother fled her children and the son nailed shut his father’s door, and the priest betrayed his flock. Still other men said, “God is gone from us, or never was at all; let us do as we will, and take pleasure as we may, for all is lost.” And so the wicked went in bands and took the daughter’s maidenhead, and killed others for their sport. And some shut themselves away in walled towns, and let none pass; when the bread was gone, they drew lots, and some were given to the butcher that the rest might live. Some righteous men and women yet held faith, but they were scattered so far that none could see the other’s light, and it seemed the darkness had no end."
2022 Read
"Thomas shoved his sword into the face of what used to be Théobald de Barentin, and it shuddered and stopped moving. Thomas yanked the sword out of it but fell on his side. The lion-devil roared, standing over Thomas.The Knight's backstory is told in snippets here and there and it was quite brutal and savage being a life of theivery, banditry and even rape (though not at his hands). It added a certain human horror to the tale.
The crowd of finely dressed corpses moved closer. One of the monkey-things tugged the armor off his foot and bit it.
Thomas held his sword up.
The sun’s crown came over the edge of the land, just one brilliant orange diamond’s worth.
And it was all gone.
Everything.
Thomas was lying in a cow field, holding up his sword, dressed in his rusty armor. Neither his arm nor his rib nor his jaw were broken. A rusted plow stood where the lion-devil had been, one of its spars hanging at the angle of the axe it had just been holding. A dead sheep lay in exactly the position the corpse of Sir Théobald had assumed when he collapsed. A small Norman tower, long abandoned and crumbling, stood where the mighty castle had been when they first saw it at dusk. The priest, lying facedown in his robes, was breathing heavily in sleep.
“A whoring dream,” he said."
In February, they robbed another farmhouse, and this time the men fought. Pepin was killed. As were the men. Godefroy ordered the house burned. A dark-haired little boy just in pants stood bewildered near the blaze, saying, as if there had been some mistake, “We live here. We live here.”This has been a very good piece of historical fiction with a tinting of dark fantasy and surreal horror. The world-building was remarkable and not at all overwhelming. The knight battles all sorts of monsters and dreamy abominations as he travels along...
Not six months later the plague had come, killing most of the thieves.
And everybody else.
Nothing matters anymore.
Thomas shook away his ghosts and turned his eyes now to Paris. Her walls were the faintly yellowed white of bones, and her turrets stood proudly, each a lazy bowshot from its neighbor. He could see what must have been the Louvre, the king’s fortress, strong and white, cut from the same stone as the city walls. The spires of cathedrals poked at the sky, and the roofs of the shops and houses tumbled against one another. Even dead, if she was dead, Paris made a lovely corpse.
He froze when something moved in the water near the pilings of the collapsed bridge, something like an oily black arm, but the width of a draft horse’s chest. He wasn’t entirely sure he had seen it.The pacing is excellent and the humor made the telling less bleak and lots of fun. Recommended.
Then all of them said some variant of “My God” when its head broke the water’s surface.
White-eyed and flat-headed, like some giant cross between eel, newt, and frog, it laid its head on the bank and felt the ground with long whiskers around its mouth and eyes until it found the woman’s leg. Its tongue darted out and latched onto the leg with a thatch of evil little hooks at its tip, pulling it under the water with it, bending a growth of sweetflag rushes. They sprang back up. The water foamed and then flowed gently again, as if none of it had happened.
Those white eyes, a grandfather’s blind eyes.
The small, beardy man dropped his boar spear and ran so fast his hat blew off him.
"He lashed out with the blade again and caught Théobald across the side of the head. Seawater, not blood, gushed from the wound. It stank. Théobald looked amused. He opened his mouth and a scream came out, but it was not his scream. It was the scream of the fat peasant who had died in the river. It was the scream the thing in the river had mimicked."
"Now the great plague had stilled the hearths in the countryside, and darkened the windows of the cities of man; Death’s hand sat upon the brow of the king and also the farmer; Death took the beggar and the cardinal, the money changer and the milkmaid. The babe died on the breast, and sailors brought their ships to port with dead hands. And the wickedness of man was laid bare, so great was his fear of this pestilence; for the mother fled her children and the son nailed shut his father’s door, and the priest betrayed his flock. Still other men said, “God is gone from us, or never was at all; let us do as we will, and take pleasure as we may, for all is lost.” And so the wicked went in bands and took the daughter’s maidenhead, and killed others for their sport. And some shut themselves away in walled towns, and let none pass; when the bread was gone, they drew lots, and some were given to the butcher that the rest might live. Some righteous men and women yet held faith, but they were scattered so far that none could see the other’s light, and it seemed the darkness had no end."
2022 Read
January 14, 2025
Well it definitely was a book…definitely one written by a man….
Can we maybe not describe a teenage girls breasts? Or maybe not have so many rape attempts thrown her way? Can we maybe not have her see “the good” in irredeemable men? I hated everything about this, the crudeness, the plot, the writing, the pacing, and the characters.
This book lies between the two fires of my chronic heartburn and active fiery diarrhea.
Can we maybe not describe a teenage girls breasts? Or maybe not have so many rape attempts thrown her way? Can we maybe not have her see “the good” in irredeemable men? I hated everything about this, the crudeness, the plot, the writing, the pacing, and the characters.
This book lies between the two fires of my chronic heartburn and active fiery diarrhea.
November 18, 2017
Never has it been made more clear than in 'Between Two Fires' the genre category of apocalyptic religious literature is at its heart nothing but a fantastically imaginative horror story waiting to be shaped for modern readers. The myths of historical (maybe that should be 'hysterical') Christianity were simply needing the right storyteller to reveal the true face of the Apocalypse in all its gory glory! He is here! Have you been looking for another writer who is a satisfying successor to Stephen King's glorious horror writing in his early years in his career? I am happy to introduce author Christopher Buehlman!
What is the plot of 'Between Two Fires'? Steal the hallucinatory imagery and tone of the King James Bible Version of the book of Revelation, stir in the story of the tremendous war between angels lifted from The Book of Enoch, and synthesize all with the vivid imaginative hellish additions by the Catholic artists and Church functionaries of the Middle Ages along with the satirical scripts by coke-fueled writers of 1980's Hollywood horror movies. Put all of those centuries of prior apocalyptic scriptwriting through Christopher Buehlman's (playfully devilish, I have no doubt about it) high-end literary cuisinart of a brain. Voila! 'Between Two Fires' is created - a dark Christian fairy tale of 1348 with so much Good and Evil comeuppance it will literally throttle all objections the most morally punitive of us need to be happy in our relationships (particularly Protestant evangelicals), as well as yet somehow tickle the fancy of those of us with more cynical atheist leanings, at least those of us atheists with literary tastes.
Christopher Buehlman is now one of my favorite authors. Clearly he is a dark-myth specialist of the highest caliber, specializing in remixing common First World horror genre tropes and stereotypes into literary writers' territory, like King's American nightmare stories and Neil Gaiman's Anglicized Norse horrors. He is molding these ancient European monster myths into something awfully wonderful - if demons, bloody graphic (medium graphic - um, well, mostly) violence and zombie hunts satisfy you, gentle reader. He plays it straight on the page, honoring the horror, yet I can sense the delighted grin of the author behind every word!
A real apocalypse did occur in 1348 - the Black Death. Buehlman did not need to exaggerate the historical effects of this plague on cities, French farmers or the European economy very much in his book. In the very real world of the late Middle Ages at least a third of the population In Europe died from the plague, if not more. I suggest reading The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time for further information.
For those of you who have read this novel, my favorite character was the knight Thomas de Givras because all of his sins were caused by despair and outrage. He did not take any pleasure from his worst debauches; instead, he felt more and more worthless. He was vividly aware each step into depravity brought him more feelings of hopelessness. He was the most complex, yet most easily diagnosed, character in the novel. It was his soul that was representing humanity's general plight and psychology most of all.
The homosexual priest, the character Matthieu Hanicotte, was another example of a Good many in society refuse to have; many people in the book would rather damn themselves than to recognize Hanicotte as a good man. Hanicotte was a favorite of mine, too.
In the real world, the Great Death of 1347 actually did serve to loosen the more rigid structures of religion and rituals that held almost everyone tightly to faith. The Great Death was indiscriminate in killing people. It killed the righteous along with those who refused to live in godly ways. Christianity was no longer felt to be the dependable safe harbor it had been believed to be after the plague ran its course. Something obviously was wrong with the teachings of the Church; the talismans which supposedly protected people (holy water, Saints' bones, priest blessings, etc.) did not seem to have any power after all. For some, the question of what was the point of being SO religious if people died anyway suffering horribly no matter what? It was a time of much internal and external doubt in Christianity, which has continued ever since.
What is the plot of 'Between Two Fires'? Steal the hallucinatory imagery and tone of the King James Bible Version of the book of Revelation, stir in the story of the tremendous war between angels lifted from The Book of Enoch, and synthesize all with the vivid imaginative hellish additions by the Catholic artists and Church functionaries of the Middle Ages along with the satirical scripts by coke-fueled writers of 1980's Hollywood horror movies. Put all of those centuries of prior apocalyptic scriptwriting through Christopher Buehlman's (playfully devilish, I have no doubt about it) high-end literary cuisinart of a brain. Voila! 'Between Two Fires' is created - a dark Christian fairy tale of 1348 with so much Good and Evil comeuppance it will literally throttle all objections the most morally punitive of us need to be happy in our relationships (particularly Protestant evangelicals), as well as yet somehow tickle the fancy of those of us with more cynical atheist leanings, at least those of us atheists with literary tastes.
Christopher Buehlman is now one of my favorite authors. Clearly he is a dark-myth specialist of the highest caliber, specializing in remixing common First World horror genre tropes and stereotypes into literary writers' territory, like King's American nightmare stories and Neil Gaiman's Anglicized Norse horrors. He is molding these ancient European monster myths into something awfully wonderful - if demons, bloody graphic (medium graphic - um, well, mostly) violence and zombie hunts satisfy you, gentle reader. He plays it straight on the page, honoring the horror, yet I can sense the delighted grin of the author behind every word!
A real apocalypse did occur in 1348 - the Black Death. Buehlman did not need to exaggerate the historical effects of this plague on cities, French farmers or the European economy very much in his book. In the very real world of the late Middle Ages at least a third of the population In Europe died from the plague, if not more. I suggest reading The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time for further information.
For those of you who have read this novel, my favorite character was the knight Thomas de Givras because all of his sins were caused by despair and outrage. He did not take any pleasure from his worst debauches; instead, he felt more and more worthless. He was vividly aware each step into depravity brought him more feelings of hopelessness. He was the most complex, yet most easily diagnosed, character in the novel. It was his soul that was representing humanity's general plight and psychology most of all.
The homosexual priest, the character Matthieu Hanicotte, was another example of a Good many in society refuse to have; many people in the book would rather damn themselves than to recognize Hanicotte as a good man. Hanicotte was a favorite of mine, too.
In the real world, the Great Death of 1347 actually did serve to loosen the more rigid structures of religion and rituals that held almost everyone tightly to faith. The Great Death was indiscriminate in killing people. It killed the righteous along with those who refused to live in godly ways. Christianity was no longer felt to be the dependable safe harbor it had been believed to be after the plague ran its course. Something obviously was wrong with the teachings of the Church; the talismans which supposedly protected people (holy water, Saints' bones, priest blessings, etc.) did not seem to have any power after all. For some, the question of what was the point of being SO religious if people died anyway suffering horribly no matter what? It was a time of much internal and external doubt in Christianity, which has continued ever since.
October 24, 2024
This was a wild ride. 😮
Watch my BookTube video featuring books with Satan & demons .😈
The year is 1348 and fallen angels have projected their ire for God onto humankind, causing famine, war, and the Black Plague. In a world that’s ravaged with blight and full of corpses, we meet a disgraced knight named Thomas.
Thomas crosses paths with a girl orphaned by the plague, but she’s no ordinary girl. She has visions and prophetic dreams. She says the plague is only part of a larger cataclysm, and she insists that the fallen angels under Lucifer are preparing for a war on heaven, and humankind will be caught in the crossfire.
She needs to travel across a depraved medieval landscape to a place where she believes she can stop the evil that threatens the earth, and the faithless Thomas reluctantly agrees to escort her.
Along the way, they meet an alcoholic priest who joins their party. And the three of them embark on a quest filled with monsters of mythic proportions, hellish creatures, risen corpses, horrifying temptresses, and angels and demons.
What presents as an epic tale of medieval horror proves to be an increasingly surprising and deeply symbolic story of searching for the soul and aspiring for redemption amid hell on earth.
Watch my BookTube video featuring books with Satan & demons .😈
The year is 1348 and fallen angels have projected their ire for God onto humankind, causing famine, war, and the Black Plague. In a world that’s ravaged with blight and full of corpses, we meet a disgraced knight named Thomas.
Thomas crosses paths with a girl orphaned by the plague, but she’s no ordinary girl. She has visions and prophetic dreams. She says the plague is only part of a larger cataclysm, and she insists that the fallen angels under Lucifer are preparing for a war on heaven, and humankind will be caught in the crossfire.
She needs to travel across a depraved medieval landscape to a place where she believes she can stop the evil that threatens the earth, and the faithless Thomas reluctantly agrees to escort her.
Along the way, they meet an alcoholic priest who joins their party. And the three of them embark on a quest filled with monsters of mythic proportions, hellish creatures, risen corpses, horrifying temptresses, and angels and demons.
What presents as an epic tale of medieval horror proves to be an increasingly surprising and deeply symbolic story of searching for the soul and aspiring for redemption amid hell on earth.
December 28, 2024
This is terrifying. Gory, fantastical, immersive. I loved it.
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