Between Two Fires

WOW! This was definitely the best book I've read in AGES! Very close to perfection! The conceit of the story is that during the 1300s in France, when the Black Death is devastating Europe, the demons of hell think God has abandoned the world and use their chance to conquer earth. The only person who can stop them is a saintly young French girl named Delphine (no, not Joan of Arc), but Hell and its servants are after her, and the only person who can protect her as she travels through France to try and stop the demonic plots is a disgraced former knight reduced to brigandage, Thomas. But is she really an agent of God, or someone--or something--else? That's the mystery at the heart of this book, along the terrifying depictions of overtly supernatural monsters that gird much of its horror. I don't wanna give too much away, but though this was advertised to me as a horror novel, it also works very well as a sword and sorcery fantasy novel--it's not actually that different from a D&D plotline, in that a wandering swordsman with a good heart buried underneath his checked past/desire for revenge has to protect a young girl against giant demons, undead monsters, and other beasties as she travels the land searching for relics to stop the demonic plot and save the kingdom, assisted by a trusty cleric sidekick. However, Buehlman has really done his research, and despite the monsters you'll encounter, he treats medieval religion realistically (lots of corrupt clergymen) but also sympathetically ("true" faith is portrayed as a force for good and hope). The descriptions of the arms and armor, medieval life, and the big battles of the Hundred Years War like Crecy (given the novel's timeframe) are also very historically accurate and compellingly written. The combat scenes are nice and the characters are great, you'll come to love Thomas and Delphine and you wo't be able to keep yourself from grinning as Thomas grows attached to his young ward despite himself over the course of the story. And again, no spoilers, but the ending was one of the best I've read in a while, nearly brought me to tears. Absolute 5/5, I'm gonna get the rest of Buehlman's books to show my support for this author :D

Excellent novel. Well-paced, interesting, engaging. Worth reading.

A horror novel that takes place during during a bad time in human history. The author creates a gritty, realistic, medieval world with some memorable characters. There are some scary passages, but also some fun interaction between characters I ended up caring for. The book is easy to get into right away and the author's exposition is efficient. It makes me want to get back into reading again and away from the internet.

The hardcover for this novel is gorgeous. I love the end papers and the sprayed edges. The tale itself was truly something else. I found that I could not stop thinking of the book when I wasn’t able to read it. It is harrowing, gory, and hallucinogenic. One of my favorite reads of the year.

A truly medieval tale, dark and immersive, historical and fantastical, a beautifully macabre tale that’s a pleasure to have on my bookshelf.

This book is so good I bought it twice. I initially bought the paperback version a few months ago when it was recommended to me on TikTok. This book is amazingly good! Lots of gut wrenching scenes, that will make you scared and sad. I'm not much of a reader, but this book single handedly got me back into reading. When I found out the hardcover version was coming out, I knew I needed to get it to display on my shelf. My only complaint is that the hardcover is just a paper cover over the cardboard and because of that, the paper got slightly damaged in my shipment. Wish it was a true hardcover print, but overall I'm still glad to have this book as the first of a future collection of books.

This book is dark. I loved it. The characters are well created. It has been compared to being a “dark souls” book, and I would agree. Really cool monsters and evil characters, but a great balance between good and evil.

Exquisitely moving. Gorgeously written. This story will haunt me for many years.