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Between Two Fires
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May 2022 Group Read#1 Between Two Fires
I'm halfway through, wishing I could devote more time for the book. I love the attention to detail. I have to say, i've had my Webster's nearby for some of the more medieval terms.
I finished today. What a whirlwind of an ending. Some of those ending descriptions were straight out of medieval Bosch paintings! So vivid, and disgusting. I was only partially correct as to who Delphine is.
I loved the way this ended. Nice cap on it all.
I haven't posted a review yet, probably tomorrow.
FOUR STARS.
So, Michael-and whoever else wants to answer, please use spoiler tags so we won't ruin anything for those aren't yet finished, (view spoiler)
I just got to Part 2 late last night which is the first 100 pages (I had some personal things go on and took a full week off reading). I think I like it. I was initially concerned about reviews mentioning animal abuse but I don't find it too triggering or frankly inappropriate for the story.
He does a fantastic job really describing the desperate-ness of the plague, I feel. It's like you're really there, the characters are very human and not that sort of... unrelatable stuffy proper British aristocrat that so many books are about. I like that its gross, it's spot on.
I was also worried about the fantasty aspects which I don't like, but I find myself actually intrigued. I know there's a twist in here, but I've kept myself out of spoilers so far.
I'm glad that the author is winning you over. This was the second book from him that I read, when I read it the first time, and I then went on to read every single book he's written.
Char wrote: "So, Michael-and whoever else wants to answer, please use spoiler tags so we won't ruin anything for those aren't yet finished, [spoilers removed]"
I thought Delphine (view spoiler)
Char wrote: "I'm glad that the author is winning you over. This was the second book from him that I read, when I read it the first time, and I then went on to read every single book he's written."Char, which of his novels would you recommend next?
I just finished it! Here is my full review. No spoilers, of course! https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read this one recently and loved it. Actually, I went into it thinking it was going to be fantasy, not medieval horror. lol. I was not prepared!
Really smooth writing
I just finished this book today. I liked it a lot. I've never participated in a group read here and I was wondering, is there a, for lack of a better word, "formal" discussion at some point, like prompts to answer or things like that?
Nothing really formal in this group, Paige!Just post your thoughts and have fun. It's nice if you put in page numbers or chapters so we know where you are, and use spoiler tags as needed.
Mod
Just post your thoughts and have fun. It's nice if you put in page numbers or chapters so we know where you are, and use spoiler tags as needed."
Thank you, exactly :)
Mod
Hey hey :) nothing formal at all but if something is a spoiler we say what part of the book it was and use spoiler tags :)
some gr reading on spoiler tags :)
https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2...
@ Maura I don't know if it's just me but I didn't get a horror vibe from this at all. There were a couple scenes that were a little creepy but more like dark fantasy. Without giving away tooany details the creature reminded me of like old Testament depictions of the devil. I thought the book was decent but I didn't get much of a creature feature vibe from it.
Trista wrote: "I just finished it! Here is my full review. No spoilers, of course! https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
That's a great review, Trista!
Joey wrote: "@ Maura I don't know if it's just me but I didn't get a horror vibe from this at all. There were a couple scenes that were a little creepy but more like dark fantasy. Without giving away tooany det..."I also didn't get much horror vibe from it, but I think my husband definitely would have. He's much more susceptible to being scared of "demons" and those types of things. I thought it was kind of creature featurey, with all the iterations of different "dark" stuff, but that stuff wasn't necessarily the focus, so I can see why it wouldn't seem like one as well. It reminded me a little of The Fisherman, with a sort of "cosmic horror" bent.
Just finished the first part, and I'm really liking it so far. Medieval dark fantasy end-of-days!
I finished the book. My impressions are that it's well written and thoroughly researched. It's very atmospheric and envelopes the reader in the violent and turbulent dark times of the Black Death. Evolution from "The Black Company" is clear - there's the same gritty, dirty and violent mundane world with increasing eruptions of bizarre and fantastic.I didn't find it as much of a horror novel as a Grimdark fantasy with overlays of horror. It also read if you followed it closely, as a morality play.
It's an enjoyable read, though it's not true horror as some of his other novels - "Those Across the River" and "The Suicide Motor Club" come to mind. I'd classify it as an excellent of Grimdark fantasy and as a worthy descendant of "The Black Company." A very good read.
Just started this last night and plan to go the distance and finish it in a single day. LoL let's see how that goes and excited to read what this book is all about since it sounds like a wild ride...
@Paula - it is like Black Company! I didn’t make that connection but now that you point it out there are a lot of similarities even with the characterizations.
@FelinaHappy someone else picked that up. I love "The Black Company" - I've read the entire series three times - and I got the vibes from reading this. The soldier protagonist resembles Croaker a lot and the girl is The White Rose. There are also the supernatural and magical elements, but unfortunately no Lady.
I really enjoyed this book and I am amazed at his versatility as a writer. He's very accomplished.
I hope you've enjoyed reading the book as I have. It impressed me so much I read some of his other novels, all of them as well written as this one.
About to hit 10% and am really enjoying this one as well so far, I can't wait to see what awaits...
I've had The Black Company on my TBR for a while now....maybe it's time to move it on up . . . .
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a great mixture of Medieval history and Clive Barker/Hieronymus Bosch hellscape. I felt it was clearly a horror novel, it’s horror based partly on the terror of the Black Death but also the religious beliefs of the time. People believed in demons, angels and a god that seemed callously indifferent. Buehlman mixes these together and then throws in a trio of characters i genuinly cared about. No spoilers but I loved the ending.I probably would never have heard of this book without this group. A big thank-you to whoever initially suggested it.
whew! was worried i wouldn't be able to start this one until june, but i managed to get all my arcs for the month finished!i'm only 10% of the way in, but i'm being reminded of how much i love how christopher buehlman writes. so good!
@Rachel: Very awesome, my friend! I'm about to hit 50% and plan to hopefully finish this by tonight or tomorrow the latest and am absolutely loving it!
@ Paige That book sounds pretty cool. I honestly I think I'm a little biased against medieval stuff, some I have liked but it's like a barrier of entry for me. The creature aspect was cool but as you said not a focus. There were some scattered throughout the book and then of course climax of the book.
I've watched too many horror movies, that's my problem hahaha.
I'm not easily scared.
LTJ wrote: "@Rachel: Very awesome, my friend! I'm about to hit 50% and plan to hopefully finish this by tonight or tomorrow the latest and am absolutely loving it!"nice! looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :)
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@Rachel: Thanks, my friend! LoL hopefully tonight :-)
@Kasia: 14?!?!?! LoL I'm stacked with the 5 I have for May with 2 more to go...
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Overachiever! I only count 11 so far on mine to read at once. :P
ZOMG I LOVED THIS NOVEL!!! I just finished it and thought it was absolutely brilliant and gave it a 5/5. Loved the characters, setting, gore, and the truly scary demonic horror. Just checked all the boxes for me as I'm so glad I found this novel thanks to this amazing group :-)
I finished it a couple weeks ago, so granted it's not "fresh" in my mind. In a nutshell:There were parts of it I really liked. The characters, for one, were very well developed. Also, the writing style, at least in the beginning, was more reminiscent of a fairy tale rather than historical fiction. I haven't read anything else by Buehlman, so I don't know if this is typical of his prose or if he was going for something very specific. There were a lot of fairy tales written during this era, so it would make sense.
Eventually, however, the narrative style wore off on me. By the last quarter of the book I was ready for it to be over. Maybe it could have been a little shorter? I like long books -- hell, I've read Infinite Jest twice -- but not every book needs to be over five hundred pages or more.
I'll definitely give this writer another shot. I read a little about him and I see his later works tends to go down the avenue of horror and not historical fantasy.
I don't ordinarily rate books, but this one would probably get a 2.5 from me ... you know, if I did.
@Joseph: Makes sense and yeah, I know what you mean! LoL I also wish we could give half a Star to things but maybe one day. I hope your next read is better :-)
i'm about 33% of the way through, and i'm having feelings so i thought i'd come share.(view spoiler)
@Rachel: Awesome! LoL about your spoiler... SAME HERE!
Joseph wrote: "I finished it a couple weeks ago, so granted it's not "fresh" in my mind. In a nutshell:There were parts of it I really liked. The characters, for one, were very well developed. Also, the writing..."
I'm about 20 pages from the end and I agree on your point that it could have n=been a little shorter. Really enjoying it though.
@Lawrence: I agree, I think it had a few chapters that dragged on a bit that could have been trimmed but all in all, I still loved it. LoL I expect novels to have those slow, slugfest parts for balance, I guess!
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What can I saw, I overbooked myself and with the baby acting out his terrible 2's early ( hes 18 months) I legit have like 2 minutes of peace at a time, hard to get into ANY book lol.
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Overachiever! I only count 11 so far on ..."
I don't know how you do it Kimberly, hail to the queen :D
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If you read John Gwynne you really start to notice when other books have stuff that can be trimmed off, because his books have zero fat to shave off.. so yeah this one could have been little shorter but I'm about to jump back in to make some progress lol.
@Kasia: I've yet to read John Gwynne but I agree, I love books that just go right into it, have brilliant writing, and have me hooked from beginning to end. I loved this Between Two Fires novel regardless but yeah, I think tightening it up just a smidge would have made for an even better read. I definitely found some fluff here and there that I felt was getting a bit boring but nothing too crazy.
Kasia wrote: "If you read John Gwynne you really start to notice when other books have stuff that can be trimmed off, because his books have zero fat to shave off.. so yeah this one could have been little shorter but I'm about to jump back in to make some progress lol."Completely agree Kas! :D
LTJ wrote: "@Kasia: I've yet to read John Gwynne but I agree, I love books that just go right into it, have brilliant writing, and have me hooked from beginning to end. I loved this Between Two Fires novel reg..."I finally finished and enjoyed it immensely. To the point that it is a bit long, I usually don't mind and if it's written as lush and as beautifully as this was, nope, didn't mind. I will admit that I had to keep my dictionary on hand as there were many medieval references that I just didn't know, and I didn't mind that either. I'm looking at Buehlman's other work, he certainly had me throughout.
Michael wrote: "Char wrote: "I'm glad that the author is winning you over. This was the second book from him that I read, when I read it the first time, and I then went on to read every single book he's written."..."
The Lesser Dead! (I highly recommend the audio, which he narrates himself), but all of his books have been great as far as I'm concerned!
Mod
I still need to read this one!
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Who exactly is Delphine? Fantastic question, which your post started me thinking about. I also have a theory. It may be the same as your's, Charlene. But we can't spoil it for the others. Going to be patient and see if I'm right after this all plays out.