The Blacktongue Thief

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The Scandinavian accent is hilarious to me, but that's because I'm swedish, no doubt. Perhaps others will find it very accurate? The fantasy world depicted leans towards the magic-heavy end of the spectrum. The peasants aren't magically lighting their fires or levitating to high shelves, but many of the better placed individuals have access to magic through items and tattoos even if they themselves may not be magically skilled. In short, we see a lot of enchantments and spells. Kinch’s voice is immediately impactful, hitting the right darkly humorous note from the outset. There’s nothing contrived about it, it’s natural and consistent, with more than an edge of snark. It works well with the pace of the novel, which is more like UF, but the scope of the worldbuilding is nothing less than epic. While I haven’t read his other works, it seemed to me that the author’s horror past is evident throughout, and especially in his depiction of the Goblin Wars. There’s a brutal reality to these wars, and to the goblins themselves, devastating in their effects both personal and worldwide. They intrude upon the narrative in surprising ways, in terror filled battles and silly diversions. A horrifyingly high stakes game of tug-of-war remains on my mind as I'm writing this ... months after reading. But just because its a pitch dark world doesn’t mean it can’t also be funny. If you like your humour crude as hell, that is. It's clear that this won't work for everyone, but Kinch is worth all the gutter talk. And of course, like most of the best fantasies, we have magic-magic that shows up in all sorts of unexpected ways and in unexpected things...like cats or tattoos.

Still, it was quite the throw of the dice to add a cute little blind cat into the mix. I was instantly in love and observed each of Kinch’s intentions towards said floof with an eagle eye, ready to jump on any hint of a negative possibility. I won’t tell you how that turned out- if I had to suffer through it, so do you. I will say that the fact that the author finishing the book with a picture of Luther - the cat who made him fall in love with cats - was pure purrfection. I know I can trust an author who freely admits such strong feelings for his feline companion. Probably. It’s these moments where he reveals this kinder side that make him relatable and more than a crass criminal who desperately wants to get out of his debt to the Taker’s Guild. Kinch, though he’d likely hem and haw about it if you asked him, cares about other people (and cats). That’s not to say that Kinch isn’t above killing someone who has done him wrong, but it’s his moments of mercy that may make readers care about him as well, making the novel more than just a fun, swear-laden read (not that there’s anything wrong with fun, swear-laden reads).Kinch survives the fray, but then receives a surprising assignment when he reports to his Guild masters: he must accompany this scary, humorless and deadly woman, Galva, to the far province of Wostrim, where she intends to rescue a captured princess of her homeland, Ispanthia. The Takers want a part of the action resulting from this mission. Dark, gritty, lightning-fast, intelligent, irreverent . . . I loved it.”—Anna Smith Spark, author of The Court of Broken Knives Christopher Buehlman is a very effective writer, with accessible prose that is smooth and easy to glide through. It was one of the strongest points of the tale. This also enforced the strength of our main character, and also those around him, as the gradual crafting of the surrounding cast was natural and very well done. Whilst reading my main desire is to feel attached to characters and feel that they are distinctive, and I definitely found that here. Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing! And, given time, these characters will definitely grow on you—thought you might not want to get too attached to some of them. . .

Al tiempo que describe los lugares de nota que la fuerza de Buehlman como narrador es muy sobresaliente. Lo que es más importante, fue un placer leerlo. Sarcasmo de asesinos que os harán reír a veces a carcajadas con momentos agridulces que os dejarán sin aliento. Deberán luchar contra goblins hambrientos de carne humana y krakens al acecho en las siniestras profundidades. En este mundo, como comprobarán en el transcurso de sus aventuras, el honor es un lujo que no está al alcance de todos. Dazzling. I heartily recommend this one.”—Robin Hobb, New York Times bestselling author of the Farseer Trilogy A delight from start to finish. Buehlman takes the well-worn tropes of fantasy and weaves them into a new and vibrant tapestry.”—Anthony Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of Blood SongAfter a botched robbery causes most of the band of thieves he was working with to flee or worse, our man finds himself receiving instructions from the guild. The book ends with a sense of closure of a sort, but also promises that it can deliver on sequels. I certainly want to read another one if it comes (which I assume it will)