Great book, great performance

The performance made it very easy to listen to. the only complaint I have is that there isn't more book to listen to.

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relentlessly dark

but a worthwhile emotional endeavor. reads fast, has more than a handful of surprisingly genuine laughs considering the subject matter. just deserves to be read.

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Killer reader, harrowing story

Between Two Fires did a great job of ingraining the listener/reader in its seemingly hopeless world. There were great characters throughout and I found myself desperately hoping they could persevere.

The narration was excellent. Not overly complicated, but consistently earnest and well delivered.

The story is equal parts devastating, depressing, horrific, hopeful, and amazing. I absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for more well-crafted dread in their lives.

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Dark. Bleak. Brilliant.

Christopher Buehlman relates a thoroughly entertaining tale about a young girl in Medieval France in the midst of the Black Death pandemic with a terrifying insight into the violence, pestilence, and death ripping the world apart: it's being driven by Lucifer and his demonic hordes. A fallen Seigneur/Knight and an excommunicated priest accompany her on a harrowing paranormal-infused journey to Avignon to warn the Church/Pope.
The plot is well-paced, the characters are flawed & interesting, and the writing is of the highest quality. I was engrossed with the book from Page One.

Legitimately outstanding narration from Steve West contributes to the excellence of the audiobook, too. True, some of his character portrayals border on the cartoonish.. but I would listen to more from Mr. West any day of the week.

I have an extensive audiobook library (close to 1500 titles) and I don't know where to put this one. It's not quite Dark Fantasy, it's not quite Historical Fiction, it's not quite Horror. It reads like "Literature" - loaded with imagery, symbolism, and allegory - but also tells a conventional fantasy story (introduction->worldbuilding/plot development->climax->denouement) with impeccable mind's-eye vivid description.
I rate it 9.5 stars out of 10. It's an incredibly thoughtful story that begs to be consumed more than once (my reading list is huuuge.. but this one will get another listen). I am thrilled that I found this book in the 'Plus' catalogue.. because it would easily merit a Credit.

[Note: Buehlman's fascination with graphic realism (hinting at gang rape & pedophilic desire/defloration, documenting drunken debauchery & necrophilia, and including sadomasochistic violence, etc.) is a little overdone at times. If you try the book, be prepared for quasi-pornographic "grittiness" and keep your young kids AWAY from it]

[Note 2: I am unlikely to ever forget the image of a Tavern Wench making out with Thomas the Knight.. then getting up to serve other customers -leaving a wriggling maggot on his thigh]

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Shockingly entertaining and bewildering

What is this book?? I want to meet the author. It’s Greek Mythology meets Dante’s Inferno. The performance is amazing. I was captivated by the story until the final chapters. They became quite surreal.

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1 person found this helpful

Like Dark Souls Video Games

When someone suggested this book to be similar to Soulsborne game I was surprised...honestly it does not disappoint!

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3 people found this helpful

Beautiful story

Truly a really beautiful story with interesting characters and a good arc. Highly recommended if you’re interested in a journey type story with a good mix of fantastic and real situations. Definitely not horror (as I’ve seen it described), but an overall incredible book from an author that’s quickly becoming one of my favourites!

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5/5

Loved this from start to finish, like a medieval tapestry turned into a horror/adventure story.

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A real good read

This is a rare good book, kept me captivated the entire listen. My only critique is it finished a little out of pace with the beginning of the story. Still, overall a great story.

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Suffering and Salvation

Buehlman draws from real life history to craft a dark thought provoking tale of both mundane and supernatural horror. What hope can there be in a world abandoned by God? One that the devil and all his ilk have mad their play thing? In the face of such a nightmare do we abandon all virtue all righteous and lastly all Hope? What do such things serve us before the Powers of Hell?

The Book tackles these questions in a subtly powerful way displaying the most horrific of circumstances navigated by Broken individuals pushed to the limits of their faith strength and reason.

A must read for any fans of historical fiction/Fantasy and Horror.

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