Review.

The Blacktongue Thief

Christopher Buehlman

Book 1 of The Blacktongue Thief
Pub date: 25 May, 2021
Publisher: Tor Books
Reviewed from personal library

I picked this one up purely based on the description…I didn’t even like the cover much which is what usually sells me on a new author/series. And I am very, very glad I did since it lived up to the jacket copy—do we even call it that any more in the ebook age?

Apparently Christopher Buehlman is prettifying established in the horror genre but this is first foray into fantasy. I have a soft spot for thieves and assassins and while my fantasy reading has slowed down a lot in this age of multiple-volume, massive tomes, I just had to give it a try after reading this:

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.

A great premise and the book delivers. Buehlman negotiates that fine line of making a “bad” character sympathetic while still staying true to his chosen profession. And while the tale is stocked with “stock” fantasy characters, it trundles happily along without falling into the trap of making them too predictable. The world-building was tight, credible and just innovative enough to be delightful without it becoming overwhelming and ponderous. I like a book where the characters act in the world rather than the world becoming overly present. But that’s just me.

I did think the “quest” narrative tried a bit too hard to cram in a few too many roadblocks along the way—something I’ve hated passionately since being forced to sit through Dances With Wolves in the 90s; but since the writing was clever and the situations innovative I wasn’t too much bothered by it. As a result though, I think it is going to make Book 2 subject to a harsher judgement if he can’t keep it up.

All in all I find myself looking forward to Book 2 and the opportunity to reread this one if the interval is too long…which I guess is my equivalent of two thumbs up.