Christopher Buehlman

Set in a world of goblin wars, stag-sized battle ravens, and assassins who kill with deadly tattoos, Christopher Buehlman's The Blacktongue Thief begins a 'dazzling' (Robin Hobb) fantasy adventure unlike any other. 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. “The Blacktongue Thief is fast and fun and filled with crazy magic. I can't wait to see what Christopher Buehlman does next." - Brent Weeks, New York Times bestselling author of the Lightbringer series

The Blacktongue Thief

altlovesbooks

"The thing about a crown though -- if you lay it down too long, someone else'll pick it up."

This book was such a fun read in a genre that's been kind of a letdown for me in recent years. After giving this the cautious "is this another YA fantasy" sniff test, I can tell you this is decidedly not a YA fantasy book, and if you like dark, gritty fantasy with a healthy layer of gallows humor along the way, this would probably be up your alley as well.

A down-on-his-luck thief (er, Taker) named Kinch Na Shannack is just trying to scrape enough cash together to pay back his debts when he runs into Galva, a knight on a quest to save a queen, on the road. He gets swept up in guild politics, gets sent on a secret quest to follow Galva, and has a host of misadventures along the way. Oh, and there's a cat. Don't forget Bully Boy. Rao.

There's lots, lots of worldbuilding in this book, from different races, different languages, different sayings, phrases, mannerisms, and a whole host of historical events and god/goddess stories. I never felt bogged down in any of it either, which I sometimes do when you're beat over the head with infodumps of lore in some books. There's also quite a bit of irreverent humor since this book is from the point of view of a thief, but not so much that it feels like you're going from quippy one-liner to quippy one-liner. Finally, there's some interesting magic here involving tattoos that I thought was a neat touch. And war crows.

I guess if I had to put my finger on why this isn't a 5-star book (because I really enjoyed this one), I think it's because there's very little change in the characters along the way. Things feel a little flat to me when there's no character development, and who these guys are at the beginning of the book is exactly who they are at the end of it. So while the entire thing felt an inch deep in terms of depth, the worldbuilding, humor, and overall style of the book made it a mile wide and incredibly engaging.

Highly recommend this one if you're looking for a little something different in the fantasy genre today, a little something grimdark, a little something gallows humor.

Apiecalypse Jen

AMAZING. A perfect blend of fantasy, thrill, action and humor. This book gives you the best romance of a thief and his squeaky tale. 

Lakshit Furia

Jeff James

Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book - Buehlman is an excellent narrator of his own work. I loved the general tone of dark, wry, humor, and was caught up enough in the events that I listened to it very quickly. I would definitely pick up another of his books, and look forward to future installments in this series.

My only real criticism is that the female character felt like a bit of a cipher because we never see the world from her perspective. It does makes sense from a story perspective because she is meant to be a bit mysterious, and the book is also very much from the main character's perspective.

However, it still seemed like an omission because I'm used to authors like Joe Abercrombie who jump around between viewpoints and help us understand every character.

Danny Engström

Deborah Kerr

So… that happened.

What a waste of such a beautiful cover.

I liked the voice of the narrator, and I’m always down for a riotous romp/quest that isn’t too high stakes/grim.

Unfortunately, this book fell short in every way imaginable. The characters fell flat, the plot rambled along like a tumbleweed, and I could not be assed to care about ANYTHING past the 45% mark because there was no emotional investment to do so.

Set in a world of goblin wars, stag-sized battle ravens, and assassins who kill with deadly tattoos, Christopher Buehlman's The Blacktongue Thief begins a 'dazzling' (Robin Hobb) fantasy adventure unlike any other. 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. 'The Blacktongue Thief is fast and fun and filled with crazy magic. I can't wait to see what Christopher Buehlman does next' - Brent Weeks, New York Times bestselling author of the Lightbringer series

Sarah Escorsa

💀 DNF at 33%. 

I decided to be brave and bold and audacious and picked up this book again last night. It didn't go well. (For the book, obviously. I'm quite alright, thank thee very much.) The problem with this story is that it reminds me of my boyfriend Gar the Pitiless. Only that instead of being the hilarious, darkly delicious, fast-paced tale Evil Overlord is, The Blacktongue Thief is boring as fish, packed with useless blah blah blah blah, and slow-paced as shrimp. Also, I don't give a squid about the characters and they can die a slightly excruciating death for all I care. So here we are and stuff. 






[January 7, 2022]

Putting this one on the back burner of doom for now. Because I don't really give a fish about the story or the characters right now 🤷‍♀️ reasons.

Return I shall and stuff.

Heather Harrington

I'd heard a lot of good things about this book, so I was excited to dive in, but I thought it was just okay. I found the story itself slow and a little dull at times. It took me a while to get my bearings, and even then, I wasn't all that interested. There was just a lot going on, and I didn't care all that much. I did enjoy the characters, though. Kinch had this air of self-deprecation about him that kept me chuckling the entire time. He was cheeky and sarcastic, and I loved how that played off Galva and her stoicism. His humor is quite juvenile, but I didn't mind so much, but I can see how it would grate on people. The magic system was also interesting, and some bits were gorier than I'd expected. All in all, it wasn't a bad book, but it also wasn't the greatest.

Sunyi Dean

Finished last night. Punchy, dark, incredibly well written. The very definition of a "voicey" narrative. I've been told the audio is fantastic and I can certainly imagine how it is. The ending was dark and unexpected with a whisper of hope. Also used a highly unusual structure? Reminded me a bit of botns where every chapter was nearly a self contained mini adventure.

Suliman ahmed

It could've done with a prologue but it was only after I pushed through the first couple chapters that I actually found this an addictive read.

Chelsey

2.5 stars. 

I was so hyped for this book and ultimately it was just disappointing. It felt like a prequel, it meandered in places, and overall just didn’t hit quite how I wanted it to.

The Blacktongue Thief

Reviews