Earlier this year I picked up a copy of Between Two Fires and became an instant fan of Christopher Buehlman’s writing. In that book, the visceral nature of the prose, combined with the grittiness of the character work, made for a perfect blend. It was exactly the kind of story I enjoy. So, naturally, I reached for his 2021 offering, The Blacktongue Thief, and here’s my review of how I got on.
The set-up
For starters, this book is a different genre to Between Two Fires. It’s more fantasy than horror. The author himself even credits his agent for that, who asked him what genre—outside of horror—he’d most like to write.
The result is a brilliant, gritty fantasy adventure. We follow a single POV with the book’s likeable, rascal-type protagonist. Kinch Na Shannack is a thief with some minor magical abilities, trained by the imperious shadow-organisation The Takers Guild. When we join Kinch’s story, he’s deep in debt to the Guild (a situation that they readily engineer for many of their recruits) and is strong-armed into accompanying a mysterious warrior on her quest to the dangerous, giant-infested lands of the west.
This premise was already strong enough to pique my interest, but factor in a world ravaged by multiple wars with goblins (whispered about with equal parts terror and revulsion) and you’re set for a treat.
And the world-building doesn’t stop there, either. As the story progresses, we meet various factions whose stances are woven right into the storytelling. Direct exposition feels light, which is always good. Elements of the global landscape come into play as the story unfolds. This is a world without horses (the result of a devastating, magical plague brought on by the wars with the goblins) where humanity (or “kynd” as they’re referred to in the book) have instead turned to dangerous meld-beasts to help in their fight against goblins. Let me leave that part by simply saying two, unbelievably badass words: war corvids.
There’s also a big cast of characters, despite us only having that single, retrospective viewpoint. Galva is a blunt, straight-talking, wine-quaffing warrior of few words but many actions. Norrigal is an intriguing witch’s apprentice with a big secret. Bully Boy is a cat (also an author-cited influence for the story) with an even bigger secret. And then there are plenty of others we meet along the way, too. They are cleverly written and rounded just enough to make the world feel big and real and immersive.
All-in-all, this book was set up to be a winner.
A phenomenally fun, dark, gritty fantasy story that’s well worth your time
The review
And it was, mostly.
For the vast majority of this story, I had a lot of fun following the journey. Some readers don’t like “travel-based” fantasy stories, but this one has some great set pieces (krakens, anyone?) and plenty of great character work to support all of the journeying. So much so that it doesn’t, in any way, feel laborious or repetitive.
It’s also worth pointing out that the book is written in the first-person past tense, which at first felt like an odd choice. Kinch is recollecting and recounting the events of the story as the book’s narrator. Normally, this writing style isn’t for me – primarily because the stakes feel lower. However, I’m now fairly certain that if The Blacktongue Thief was written any other way then it wouldn’t be nearly as good as it is.
And it is good. Very good. If you’re a fan of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series, then you’ll get on extremely well with this book. It’s gritty and witty in equal measure, but there’s also a real darkness to parts of it that hints at the author’s roots in the horror genre. One particular scene, set in a city where goblins and kynd vaguely tolerate each other’s presence, was both wholly unexpected and gruesomely visceral. That chapter, in particular, blended and blurred the horror/fantasy genres in a way I’ve not seen done before. I’d even draw some parallels with the kind of style I went for when writing The Sins of Steel and Shadow.
But, despite all my praise for The Blacktongue Thief, I was left feeling disappointed by the ending. My concerns started when I realised I only had about a quarter of the book left to read, but it didn’t feel like events were coming to a head. I was still feeling that way with only 10% left to go, which then made the story’s climax feel quite rushed. Its impact muted. Yes there were some big twists—one of which is very clever—but it felt like the book fizzled out a bit.
However, this disappointment is offset by the fact that the author has confirmed there are sequels in the works (there is already a prequel, The Daughter’s War, which I intend to read next). If the promise of additional books comes good, then—as the start of a series—The Blacktongue Thief works very well. I will most definitely be grabbing any follow-ups!
Overall, a phenomenally fun, dark, gritty fantasy story that’s well worth your time, even if it doesn’t quite stick the landing.
📚✌🏻SP
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Steve Pannett is an author and designer based in Yorkshire, UK.
He writes primarily in the fantasy genre, combining character-led storytelling with epic, gritty world-building to create dark tales with plenty of action and lots of twists along the way.
He has self-published multiple books and is active online.
