Scan barcode
A review by hamstringy
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Unexpectedly really emotionally resonant! Pitched via Twitter as medieval Black Plague horror, and it’s definitely horror but a much quieter and disturbing horror rather than a nonstop onslaught of Big Events. Also somehow still very vulnerable and three-dimensional when approaching characters who have lived some contradictory and not-so-great choices.
It’s also a particularly humanizing portrayal of a pandemic & a deeply religious response to that pandemic. It’s interesting to me that a lot of the attitudes around *somehow still living during horrible times* match very closely with the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s also a particularly humanizing portrayal of a pandemic & a deeply religious response to that pandemic. It’s interesting to me that a lot of the attitudes around *somehow still living during horrible times* match very closely with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Grief