Christopher Buehlman

In 1348, after a young girl left orphaned by the Black Death predicts a coming apocalypse, Thomas, a disgraced knight, finds himself in the middle of a second war on heaven as angels fight demon.

Between Two Fires

Incredible start and finish. Lost me a bit in the middle.  Gritty emotional with a healthy sprinkle of angels age demon fantasy. 

Truman M Halladay

Sade A

👍
Thank you Thomas Stacey for this absolutely amazing rec. Again! Truly amazing.

This book was me stepping way out of my comfort zone. Honestly i thought of jumping ship simply because, this book is historical fiction and had a religious theme. Two things that would definitely guarantee me to tell a book:



  
    
"We all fall short of perfection. You. Me. Pere Matthieu. We all disappoint. Can we forgive only those who sinned against others"

  


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The plot opens up in 14th Century France where Religion (read Catholic Church)is firmly entrenched in how society is governed. What impresses me about this book is that Buehlman doesn't try to instill bias against religion or even try to get preachy. It's simply a book that shows mythical creatures (for some) slagging it out, with earth and it's denziens caught in the middle. What epic fantasy doesn't have gods making humans pay for their squabbles i ask you.
So if you're not especially religious, you can read this book without fear that someone is trying to sway you over. If you are especially religious i would say, remeber that 14th century France was definitely way different from what what we have now and honestly, a physical manifestation of heaven and hell's denizens having a go at it would definitely be something people in that century would believe.

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That aside what finally settles this book for me as a favourite was definitely the prose and how Buehlman is able to make you care for the characters and their journey. The author weaves a story so compelling, so well written and out of the norm that honestly even you can't tell if heaven is going to win this.


  Would totally recommend this amazing novel.

Ewan

I was reticent to read this as I had issues with another of the author's books. I am glad I put those to one side , this is a great and dare i say Epic, adventure in the classic sense.

The setting of Plague ridden France during the 100 years war worked wonders and was excellently visualised, and the religious good vs evil themes just worked and kept the book going at a great pace.

And i may have almost cried at the end

B.H. Pitt

for fans of Dark Souls or The Green Knight

Russell Wolf

Unbelievable good book, dark plague-style horror with the main characters' humanity shining through despite their faults. Definitely gave me the feel of a Dark Souls game.

Cass Fox

Katie Berges 

Elizabeth Scott

Jules

Draculelle

Makana Champeau

The year is 1348. Thomas, a disgraced knight, has found a young girl alone in a dead Norman village. An orphan of the Black Death, and an almost unnerving picture of innocence, she tells Thomas that plague is only part of a larger cataclysm—that the fallen angels under Lucifer are rising in a second war on heaven, and that the world of men has fallen behind the lines of conflict. Is it delirium or is it faith? She believes she has seen the angels of God. She believes the righteous dead speak to her in dreams. And now she has convinced the faithless Thomas to shepherd her across a depraved landscape to Avignon. -Amazon

An Epic Tale of Medieval Horror

Nashy Danger

Stephen Parent

Pitch Black

Lorenzo Caputo

Rowan Myers

Hazel

Angelica W.

“Buehlman…slips effortlessly into a different kind of literary sensibility, one that doesn’t scrimp on earthy humor and lyrical writing in the face of unspeakable horrors.”* The year is 1348. Thomas, a disgraced knight, has found an orphan of the Black Death in a Norman village. An almost unnerving picture of innocence, she tells Thomas that the plague is only part of a larger cataclysm—that the fallen angels under Lucifer are rising in a second war on Heaven. But is it delirium or is it faith? She believes she has seen the angels of God. She believes the dead speak to her in dreams. And now she has convinced the faithless Thomas to shepherd her across an apocalyptic landscape to Avignon. There, she tells Thomas, she will fulfill her mission. There her true nature will be revealed. And there Thomas will confront an evil wrestling for the throne of Heaven, and which has poisoned his own soul. *Kirkus Reviews