July 24, 2026
I am genuinely ashamed it took me this long to pick this one up, and the only reason I did was that this was a buddy read. Christopher Buehlman’s Between Two Fires was originally published in 2012, which didn’t gain as much traction at the time. In 2019, Buehlman bought the rights to it, and that was when it began to rise in popularity. The book centers on a plague-ridden France, which certainly piqued interest, especially during the COVID pandemic. Fueled by word of mouth, it quickly captured the internet’s imagination as a rare, brilliant example of grimdark fantasy done right.
Genre: historical, horror, dark fantasy
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. There, she tells Thomas, she will fulfill her mission to confront the evil that has devastated the earth, and to restore to this betrayed, murderous knight the nobility and hope of salvation he long abandoned.
As hell unleashes its wrath, and as the true nature of the girl is revealed, Thomas will find himself on a macabre battleground of angels and demons, saints, and the risen dead, and in the midst of a desperate struggle for nothing less than the soul of man.
“But it will be harder for you if you remember. Love is always harder. Love means weathering blows for another’s sake and not counting them. Love is loss of self, loss of other, and faith in the death of loss.”
One of the novel’s greatest strengths is Buehlman’s direct way of writing, which makes moments in this book so impactful. There is no way you can shrink from the brutality of the world. You either commit to it or don’t. That unflinching honesty made every quiet moment of tenderness hit so much harder. Every small interaction between the trio felt special, and despite the world falling apart, there was still laughter to be shared over shitty jokes.
Another thing to note was the fights. It wasn’t overly detailed. Instead, it was snappy, quick, while also being messy and grounding. The monsters were genuinely terrifying and creative. The moments of horror were done well, especially in its setting, and sure, the monsters were described as something grotesque and absolutely frightening, but the horror comes from the uncertainty of those affected by the plague, and you are unsure who to trust. This idea itself made me uneasy, and I think it deserves more credit. Then there were moments in this book where it felt cinematic—it was beautiful. There was one particular scene that described something otherworldly that I could imagine perfectly in my head, and I could see how terrifying it would be if I actually saw something like that.
Overall, this is a good introduction to grimdark fantasy. I love morally grey characters, and I think it plays off these tropes quite well. I will say, the ending had me weeping in the best possible way. It’s the kind of conclusion that earns every emotion it wrings out of you. There wasn’t an overabundance of dark and disturbing scenes. Instead, it places them when it needs to. Still, I recommend looking up content warnings before diving into this. I lay in bed with it for a while afterward, and Between Two Fires has definitely earned its spot as one of my favorite novels.
I absolutely will be checking out more from Christopher Buehlman.