Fans of Christopher Buehlman's first novel, Those Across the River, who were hoping for another chilling horror story will be caught off guard--and then likely delighted--by his followup, Between Two Fires.
France, 1348: A former knight, his land and family taken from him after he had the misfortune to be on the wrong side at the battle of Crécy, wanders with a pack of brigands across a countryside decimated by plague, where the ranks of the dead grow so quickly they are left to rot where they fall. When they come across one nearly adolescent girl still alive, Thomas feels compelled to save her from his colleagues, but his mood promptly sours when she insists on accompanying him. He doesn't even want to know her name; as she correctly guesses, that would just lead to having feelings for her. So he's even less thrilled once she tells him the dream she's had: "I have to go to Avignon. I'm not sure why. I have something I have to do. And you have to make sure I get there safely."
If you know your medieval history, you'll recognize the significance of their destination: Avignon was the home to a string of 14th-century popes, and the real-life pontiff Clement VI will eventually play a key role in Buehlman's drama. Long before we get to that point, however, the story has become increasingly dark and downright phantasmagoric. This comes as no surprise: From his opening lines, Buehlman suggests the Black Death, among other contemporaneous crises, is the devil's work. "It was the hour of the fallen angel," he warns. "And God had stopped the fountain of His love." Or so it must seem to those living through this terrible time....
And yet, while demonic forces throw one horrific obstacle after another at the unlikely partners--now accompanied by an alcoholic priest facing a severe crisis of conscience--Buehlman maintains a firm focus on Thomas and his inner turmoil. He's a classic anti-hero, in that his cynicism is intensified by the knowledge that good has existed in the world but is denied him, and his gruff (and profanity-laced) banter with the girl, and later with Père Matthieu, is easily recognized as a shield to protect his most intimate wounds. Though Buehlman sorely tests him along the way, we never doubt Thomas will rise to the occasion as the girl's holy mission becomes clearer.
By combining modern horror dynamics with a convincing medieval setting, Christopher Buehlman secures his status among today's leading dark fantasy authors. --Ron Hogan
Shelf Talker: Beuhlman's second novel starts out as a medieval variant of True Grit, but gradually transforms into a horror story with welcome echoes of early Stephen King.