Book Review: BETWEEN TWO FIRES by Christopher Buehlman

Title: Between Two Fires

Author: Christopher Buehlman

Publisher: Tor Nightfire

Length: 448 Pages (Hardcover)

Publication Date/Year: 2012 (Original) / 2026 (Reissue Edition)

Extract

Genre: Historical Horror/Dark Fantasy/Grimdark

Thanks to the good folks at Tor/Tor Nightfire for this review copy!

Christopher Buehlman is one of the unique voices in dark fiction. He brings a wealth of storytelling experience to the novels he writes and those novels often blend elements of horror and fantasy, touches of grimdark and often with a dark and wry sense of humor. Given he spent significant time as an infamous insult performer at Renaissance Faires, this makes complete sense. I’ve read a few of his novels and enjoyed all of them, but honestly, I was still a little unprepared for Between Two Fires. 

In the late 14th Century, a disgraced knight, Thomas de Givras, is traveling with a band of highwaymen (brigands and rogues, unsavory men) when they happen upon a young girl who just wants to bury her father who succumbed to the Black Plague. When Thomas’s traveling companions set their lusty sights onto this young girl named Delphine*, Thomas’s knightly virtue returns and he saves the girl. She then becomes his traveling companion, much to his chagrin. The young girl is a hopeful counter to Thomas’s cynicism and despair and because he has no real destination in mind, the young girl convinces Thomas to escort her to Avignon. You see, this young girl hears voices and has had visions telling her she must go to Avignon. The two are soon joined by an excommunicated priest, Frere Matthieu of Saint Martin le Preux as he hopes to meet his brother Robert. 

* It is quite late in the narrative when readers – and Thomas – learn her name. 

Hilarity ensues. 

Of course, the definition of hilarity here means nothing short of a war between angels and demons… a Biblical war a new or reinvigorated war between Heaven and Hell.

The trio’s journey to Avignon is beset by some of the most monstrous of demons, straight out of a Bosch painting or Giotto’s Hell. The demons are described in terrifying detail conjuring imagery that, were those images to come to life, the person seeing these creatures might be driven insane. Are our three protagonists on a journey across France or are they traversing levels of Hell? 

These demons manifest as mangled bodies, as bodies mashed together, things that seem just “left” of the animals and lifeforms people know. Plagues are beset upon the populace as a way for Hell to conquer the world. Men are driven to inflict heinous acts. Were these things a result of Hell’s plans to overcome the earth? Possibly.

The demons and plagues are horrific and as I’ve suggested, the acts of violence are equally hideous. Buehlman paints an unvarnished picture of a time when things were filthy, people were dirty, and very little was pleasant. I felt dirty at times when I was reading this novel, so incredible is Buehlman’s evocative power in this novel.

Despite these horrors the young girl manages to be a brightness in the onslaught of Hellish, horrific assaults. She tries to bring Thomas out of his emotional quagmire, she tries to give him hope or ate least convince him to keep traveling towards Avignon. Complicating matters is that even if the trio is attacked, Delphine forbids Thomas from killing their enemies. Delphine also makes it clear they should eat very little… they must arrive as close to “pure” as possible.

As grim as this novel is (and yes, it very much fits into Grimdark), there is humor. The hopeful young girl and bitter older man naturally conflict because of their differences. The dialogue between them feels naturalistic, kind of what one might expect from two people with a similar goal, but with such a gulf of differences between them.

I can’t say this was a pleasant read… which is of course the point, but it was extremely compelling and fascinating. Life in 1348 was not easy, it was unclean, and unless you were of the highest and richest class, life was unimaginably difficult. Buehlman conveys these things very well, life was a trudge.

Is there hope? Well, it is not all grim and horror and although the Demons and monsters are unrelenting, the angels do appear now and again. These angels are equally unsettling, thought not quite as horrific. 

This new edition (2026, Tor Nightfire) does the novel justice. The cover, a skull-faced knight on a bold red background, catches the eye and nicely encapsulates what the story tells under its covers. Tor went an extra mile adorn the book with black, sprayed edges, a popular effect these days, but it gives the book as artifact some weight. This edition has an introduction by no less than Joe Hill, one of the most prominent horror writers of this time.

Between Two Fires is a powerful novel, it leaves its marks in you long after you close its cover and put it back on the shelf. At times, I felt the pacing was a tad uneven, but that’s about the only slight I can level against the novel. Buehlman has a wonderful authorial voice, a wry sense of humor, a street-level grittiness that is very infectious. His stories get inside of you, they pull you along and make you feel and empathize with his characters. This novel does all of that, but goddamn does it drag you through the mud while doing so.

Recommended

Review © 2026 Rob H. Bedford

Book Review: Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry

Title: Son of the Poison Rose

Author: Jonathan Maberry

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Page Count: 687 Pages (including appendix/glossary)

Publication Date/Year: January 2023

Genre: Epic Fantasy / Epic Horror / Grimdark

I was a big fan of Jonathan Maberry’s first foray into Epic Fantasy last year, Kagen the Damned; which was one of my favorite fantasy novels I read in 2022, so I was looking forward to diving into Son of the Poison Rose, the second installment of the Epic Horror-Fantasy.

I was not disappointed.

Son of the Poison Rose picks up almost immediately after the events of Kagen the Damned. Kagen is on the run, mentally, physically, and emotionally scarred as a result of the events of the first novel. He’s got a pair of trusted companions, Filia and Tuke, at the start of the novel with whom he is attempting to take down the Witch King who has conquered the Silver Kingdom, Kagen’s hope.

The first book is required reading before jumping into Son of the Poison Rose and there may be spoilers below.

Kagen is a great study in dealing with dread and post-traumatic stress … he witnessed his parents killed, his kingdom conquered, felt his gods abandon him, and learned the identity of the Witch King. He blames himself for many things that have befallen the world. A good chunk of the early narrative focused on Kagen’s self-doubt, fears, and not-so-positive coping mechanisms. He “recovers” and gains more focus. He comes to realize he was drugged so he couldn’t fulfill his duties of protecting the youngest children and heirs to the throne and also learns they were not actually killed.

I appreciated that Maberry devoted a significant amount of the narrative to the Witch King as he tries to cement his rule. That is proving quite difficult for the man once known as Herepath since his coronation was interrupted, thus throwing into question how powerful he truly is. His “children,” the aforementioned heirs of the empire twins Alleyn and Desalyn (whom the Witch King renamed Gavran and Foscor respectively, and has passed off as his own), are demonstrating a strength that is making it difficult for Herepath the Witch King to keep under his spell. Plus Herepath is obsessed with finding Kagen.

Maberry sets these two personalities at odds with each other along with the supporting characters for each. I’ve mentioned Tuke and Filia for Kagen already. Herepath has a mysterious, powerful, being with Lovecraftian roots join as advisor – The Prince of Games, who may be Nyarlathotep, but lists off other possible names he’s had in the past including Flagg (yes, Randall Flag, The Walkin Dude) and one very familiar to fans of Maberry’s Joe Ledger novels – Nicodemus. Remember, this book is set in “our world” but about 50,000 years in the future (A conceit I love) and fits in with how Maberry likes to link his stories together. The Prince of Games here comes across far more mischievous than I remember Nicodemus being in the Joe Ledger novels

Maberry also introduces readers to Kagen’s siblings, the twins Jheklan and Faulker , brings back Rissa from the first volume somewhat briefly, Mother Frey (another great character) as well as what I’d call a guest appearance from the vampire sorcerer Lady Maralina.

While Maberry established a fantastic, deep, mythology through smart world-building in The Sword of Kagen, more depth and richness is elaborated upon in Son of the Poison Rose. The Cthulhu/Lovecraftian elements become even more prominent and I loved it. I said about the first volume how well Maberry interwove horror elements into Epic Fantasy framework. That intermingling worked to an even greater degree in Son of the Poison Rose because he was enhancing and building upon a strong foundation with intriguing details.

The only criticism I can level at the novel is that there was a bit of a repetitive nature to some of Kagen’s self-doubt. It felt like he was going through the same conversations with himself more than a couple of times in maybe the first third of the novel. Granted, depression and self-doubt drive that kind of internal dialogue in reality. In the novel, it slowed the pacing just a bit for me. Thankfully, that is just a minor criticism because I was glued to the pages and loved how Maberry structured his chapters.

Son of the Poison Rose is a wonderful follow-up that sets things in motion for what I hope will be a thrilling conclusion in Dragons in Winter.

This series provides for a dark and intriguing take on the Epic Fantasy genre and will appeal to horror fans as well. Great stuff and Highly Recommended.