Between Two Fires

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Historical Domain Character: Pope Clement VI, depicted as far more ruthless than he was in real life. This is revealed to be due to the real Pope being replaced by a demonic doppelganger, who the protagonists must face in the final act. Lo primero que me llamó la atención fue lo bien que Buehlman describe la Francia medieval arrasada por la Peste Negra. Sin llegar a convertirse en una novela histórica "pesada", es decir, llena de detalles acerca de las costumbres y edificios de la época, el autor logró reflejar la desesperación y el caos provocados por una de las mayores epidemias en la historia de la humanidad. Muchas descripciones resultan perturbadoras no solo por ser bastante gráficas, sino por cómo afectan a los diferentes personajes, que sienten impotencia ante la plaga que está aniquilando a todos sus seres queridos y su forma de vida. Reading List announced: Year's best in genre fiction for adult readers". American Library Association. 2015-02-02 . Retrieved 2016-08-03.

CHRISTOPHER BUEHLMAN CHRISTOPHER BUEHLMAN

This was very different from the author's first novel, Those Across the River. It's so different in style and pacing and plot that I would never have guessed that the same person wrote them if I didn't know better. It's the same horror/historical fiction genre bender, although where Those Across the River was a slow, steady build to a final conflagration, this followed the more cyclical style of most quests. Build, action, lull. Build, action, lull. There were brief bouts of horror that left me breathless and a little traumatized, then a short breather, and then once more into the breach. 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. 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. By combining modern horror dynamics with a convincing medieval setting, Christopher Buehlman secures his status among today’s leading dark fantasy authors.” 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 kind of wish we got a little more scenes with the angels towards the end. Don't get me wrong, I totally loved the balance between fantasy and realism and I was pretty happy with the conclusion. But what I missed was the unpredictability of the final showdown. I would've preferred if both sides were more evenly matched to make the battle more exciting. Humanoid Abomination: Numerous people the characters encounter are implied to be demons trying to tempt them off their path or just hinder them otherwise. They appear perfectly human, but they always give away some sign of their demonic nature, such as changing their coat of arms or suddenly disappearing the moment no one is watching. Buehlman makes France, as it is overrun by disease and demons alike, a sheerly awful place. There can be little doubt that Hell is making Europe over in its own image. What makes this effect all the more potent is how immersed the reader becomes in the worldview and mindset of its medieval Christian characters. The Church is central to their life, and in many ways it is the demons’ primary target.

Between Two Fires - Christopher Buehlman - Google Books

Foreshadowing: Before participating in the night tourney, the armorers refuse to touch Thomas' sword because of something it's covered in. Thomas believes they're repulsed by the blood of the eel monster he slew recently, but this ends up making little sense when one realizes that the denizens of the castle are minions of the Fallen Angel. It's later revealed that the thing that repulsed them was not the blood of the demon on the sword, but the blood of Delphine when she accidentally cut herself and bled on it. 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. Fiction Book Review: Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 2016-08-03.Anti-Hero: Thomas is a cynical, foul-mouthed ex-bandit who trusts almost no one and has no qualms about killing anyone who gets in his way. Somewhat justified given his surroundings. He becomes more noble over the course of the story. World Fantasy Convention". World Fantasy Award Ballot. World Fantasy Convention . Retrieved 8 August 2012. The plague years. Somewhere in France, a disgraced knight meets a girl and saves her from being raped. From then on, they travel the ravaged land where there is almost nothing to eat and other people are dangerous either due to them being ill or savage or greedy. And then there are the angels. Honest-to-God (excuse the pun) angels. Fallen and otherwise.

Between Two Fires (novel) - Wikipedia

Rugged Scar: Thomas has a very noticeable one on his cheek where he took an arrow to the face at Crécy.Christopher Buehlman (born 1969) is a novelist, comedian, playwright, and poet from St. Petersburg, Florida. 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! Heroic Bastard: Thomas's father wasn't married to his mother. His wife pointed out to him that he's almost certainly the Comte de Givras's son, but the Comte never said anything. Berserk Button: Making light of the Battle of Crécy and insulting the men who fought and died in it is a good way to earn the ire of Thomas. Heroic Sacrifice: Delphine only survives the stinging jellyfish-corpse monster in the river because Mathieu is carrying her and shields her with his body.

Between Two Fires: Buehlman, Christopher: 9780425256909 Between Two Fires: Buehlman, Christopher: 9780425256909

Demon Lords and Archdevils: The main antagonists of the story are Bel-Phegor, Ra'um and Baal'Zebuth, each Princes of Hell tasked by Lucifer to conquer the earth in his name. 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: Soon three of the bandits are dead and not lamented, and the girl has decided that their killer, an excommunicated knight named Thomas de Givras, should accompany her on the next certain-death mission served up by her voices. 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. Review: Howls from the Dark Ages: An Anthology of Medieval Horror edited by P L McMillan and Solomon Forse". Cemetery Dance Online. 2022-05-12 . Retrieved 2023-05-28.Hope Spot: Hell turns out to run on these. When the damned grow numb to their tortures, the devils either come up with one even worse, or grant the damned just enough relief or hope of rescue to make the pain start all over again. Doom Magnet: As more and more of Delphine's strange nature comes to the fore, the harder the fallen angels try to eliminate her, leading them to send servants to try and kill her outright or manipulate her two companions into doing it for them. Even Evil Has Standards: While the brigands Thomas allied with before the book begins are remorseless thieves and murderers, they don't approve of their leader, Godefroy's penchant for raping children. Godefroy's attempt on Delphine is what prompts Thomas to turn against and kill him, along with the rest of his cohorts.