Christopher Buehlman has made quite a respectable name for himself as a writer of horror novels, the two I’ve read I have thoroughly enjoyed (Those Across the River and the modern vampire classic, The Lesser Dead). I was very intrigued when I learned he was shifting gears slightly to epic fantasy since there’s often a dark undercurrent in many Epic Fantasy stories. The Blacktongue Thief is the first in a new series and Buehlman’s first foray into Epic/Secondary World fantasy.
Kinch Na Shannack owes the Takers Guild a small fortune for his education as a thief, which includes (but is not limited to) lock-picking, knife-fighting, wall-scaling, fall-breaking, lie-weaving, trap-making, plus a few small magics. His debt has driven him to lie in wait by the old forest road, planning to rob the next traveler that crosses his path.
But today, Kinch Na Shannack has picked the wrong mark.
Galva is a knight, a survivor of the brutal goblin wars, and handmaiden of the goddess of death. She is searching for her queen, missing since a distant northern city fell to giants.
Unsuccessful in his robbery and lucky to escape with his life, Kinch now finds his fate entangled with Galva’s. Common enemies and uncommon dangers force thief and knight on an epic journey where goblins hunger for human flesh, krakens hunt in dark waters, and honor is a luxury few can afford.
Kinch Na Shannack is the titular character and the novel is told through his voice in first person. He is a thief and still indebted to the Takers guild that trained him. He’s got a tattoo that marks him as such and because of this debt, Kinch is voluntold for a mission. This mission entails helping Galva, a knight, a veteran of the Goblin Wars, and oh handmaiden to goddess of death across the landscape of monsters and witches and dangers to rescue Mireya, the hostage queen of Ispanthia.
Through Kinch’s addictive voice, Buehlman reveals a world both a fascinating world and an endearing character. Kinch is sarcastic, mostly honest, intimate, cynical and full on matter of fact nature. We learn that his natural abilities of luck have helped him in his career as a thief, even if the Takers guild helped to refine his skills. Kinch is quite chatty, but his interactions with the full cast of characters is very enjoyable. With his sarcastic nature and the rather blunt nature of Galva, there’s almost a “buddy movie” feel to their interactions and adventure.
Buehlman has a great knack for evoking a sense of place and a giving off an immersive feel to the world. There’s a lot of hinted-at history to the world, especially the oft-mentioned Goblin Wars which seemed to have a profound affect on the milieu. There’s a gritty, dirtiness to the world that feels lived-in, which comes across through the characters themselves. They don’t recite the world’s history, but the manner in which they refer to events or historical figures gives the characters and the world a great sense of being. In other words, the “world-building” element of the novel works so well because the reader learns about the world from the characters who live in it, rather than big info dumps.
Some of Buehlman’s skills in the horror genre come through, like that evocative prose. He’s got a strong voice and I felt a sense of resonance one of his novels in particular, The Lesser Dead. That novel is a first-person vampire tale narrated by Buehlman himself. The protagonist of that novel is a sarcastic wise-ass who manages to dispense some actual wisdom. As a result of how much I enjoyed listening to that novel, I found it difficult NOT to hear Buehlman’s voice in my head as Kinch and helped me to enjoy the novel to a greater degree.
The obvious comparison for this novel is Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora and its sequels. It is a fair comparison and I’d be surprised if folks who enjoyed Lynch’s novels didn’t enjoy Buehlman’s fantasy novel. Both novels also share a very strong pacing, Buehlman makes it really tough to put the book down for any length of time. The tone of the novel, with the strong sarcasm and darkness, isn’t quite Grimdark, but I think it would appeal to readers who enjoy Grimdark novels. I also think folks who had a lot of fun with Nicholas Eames’s Kings of the Wyld and Bloody Rose as well Tyler Whiteside’s Ardor Benn novels will find a great deal to enjoy in Buehlman’s tale of sarcastic thief on a quest.
The Blacktongue Thief is a wonderful, immersive fantasy novel that immediately drew me into the story. I hope to read more of Kinch’s story in the future.
Highly recommended.
© 2021 Rob H. Bedford
Tor Books | May 2021
Trade Paperback | 544 pages
Excerpt: https://www.torforgeblog.com/2021/03/24/excerpt-the-blacktongue-thief-by-christopher-buehlman/
The Blacktongue Thief at the Tor/Forge Blog: https://www.torforgeblog.com/tag/the-blacktongue-thief/
Author Web site: http://www.christopherbuehlmanauthor.com/ | Twitter: @Buehlmeister
Review copy courtesy of the publisher
