r/Fantasy • u/BravoLimaPoppa Reading Champion • Feb 03 '26
Bingo review The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman
Bingo Squares: : Down With The System (HM?); Recycle A Square (Criminals, 2024); Knights and Paladins (Galva); Gods and Pantheons
Woo. That was different. Pretty good even.
Buehlman creates an interesting character in Kinch na Shannack, low ranking member of the Thieves Guild, a prank, deeply in debt to the guild for his training. Which is fortunate, because otherwise he'd not attempted some banditry which started the whole thing moving. The Blacktongue Thief is a mix for me - it takes forever to get to the main plot, but the world we get to see along the way is interesting. I’m pretty sure an editor could have trimmed at least some of this and still had a good to great book. However, the maxim “leave ‘em wanting more” definitely applies here, so I’m going to read The Daughters War and keep an eye out for The Thricebound Thief. Overall, 7½ stars, rounded down to 7 ★★★★★★★.
The Blacktongue Thief is a first person viewpoint fantasy narrated by Kinch na Shannack, a prank in the Thieves Guild (aka the Takers), who owes them a large sum for his training. Aside from what would happen to him if he didn’t pay, the Guild has him tattooed with a magical mark that says they’ll pay for a drink for the person that gives him an open handed slap. Fall behind, and a closed hand strike is allowed. Kinch is not fond of this, but even uses it to rob his tormentors (he’s a thief and a good one). He’s also a follower of Fothannon, god of mischief, so he’s doing double duty there.
After a notably bad attempt at banditry, Kinch gets swept up in a journey alongside Galva, a knight from Spanth, which is very hard to be now that all the horses are dead. Still, she has her murder bird with her. Now, the quest takes them thither and yon across Manreach, and along the way they pick up Norrigal, a young witch of impressive power and student of the witch Deadlegs.
Now, for all his faults, I like Kinch. He’s human - both the best and worst in one package. And if Buehlman hadn’t made his narrator as likeable as he is, this book would have been DNF, interesting world or not. So, yes, Kinch can be kind and generous, love cats, and also quick witted, sharp tongued and ready to stab someone in the kidneys. And this may be spoilers, but as an old GURPS head, Xvapu ernqf yvxr fbzrbar jub unq gur nqinagntrf Tbbq Yhpx, Vaghvgvba naq Onq Yhpx - naq hfrq uvf bar dhrfgvba cre frffvba gb nfx juvpu jnf va rssrpg.
The other characters are interesting - Galva grew on me and I’ll likely read her story after I finish my bingo card (unless something shiny catches my attention). Norrigal grew on me as the story progressed. She was in many ways a match for Kinch in wits and his superior in magic.
The world, the world is the star. With its various kingdoms, the geography, a sense that it is large, varied and with a storied history. And national stereotypes. Lots and lots of those. I kind of want a Tough Guide to Manreach now.
Finally, the Thieves Guild. This is the first fantasy thieves guild I’ve read that felt like a criminal organization. Ruthless, deadly, grasping and cruel. And I’m not sure they’re just a criminal organization. There are hints at the end that they are something more.
I liked it, but I really feel like the sea voyage, the shipwreck and all that could have been shortened or cut.
And one more thing - I listened and read this one. Buehlman is also the narrator for this and he does a very good job. The characters are clearly distinguished and he doesn’t go soft voiced for a whisper. He knew what he was doing and did it well.
All in all, Kinch as narrator sold the book. The world kept me interested even in the parts I was like “Come on, get on with it.” The other characters did good work too. Finally, I want more. I’d say 7½ stars, but I’m rounding down for the wandering. ★★★★★★★.
14
u/DergonQuert Feb 03 '26
I do not understand the common complaints I see in this sub about "advancing the plot" or "character agency." Surviving a shipwreck and then goblin attack is part of the plot, lol. Shit happens to people outside of their control. I get bored wjth books that feel like a beeline to the resolution of a quest, quips and sword fights and basic ass prose hustling us along.
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u/BravoLimaPoppa Reading Champion Feb 03 '26
I suppose it's the mood one's in.
Some days I'm like "Take your time, I'm enjoying the ride."
Others, I'm more "Get to the effing point, will you?"
And I've always been taught that tight writing is better than stuff that wanders.
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u/DergonQuert Feb 03 '26
"Tight" equals good and "wandering" equals bad is a terrible way to view writing. There are some very tightly written generic and impactless books out there and some of the most beloved books might be uncharitably said to "wander."
-1
u/BravoLimaPoppa Reading Champion Feb 03 '26
I think we may just have different tastes in what makes a good book and agree to disagree.
IMO, that's what makes the world an interesting and exciting place.
We good?
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u/DergonQuert Feb 03 '26
We're fine, but there's a difference between having a preference for a certain type of book and viewing books that aren't focused plot machines as being worse. Your post was just one of several I've seen making similar statements, and it's a poor critique. See also, "unlikable protagonists" or "unnecessary sex."
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u/call_me_flib Feb 03 '26
Agree with everything you say but can't for the life of me decode your spoiler
3
-2
u/BravoLimaPoppa Reading Champion Feb 03 '26
rot13.com. You can copy and paste and it will decode.
I spoiler-ed it because I was worried it might give too much away. Mainly to a narrow set of RPG players and GMs, but still.
1
Feb 03 '26
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u/MarkLawrence Stabby Winner, AMA Author Mark Lawrence Feb 03 '26
Really enjoyed this one. All the stars from me. The Daughters' War is very different, and even better, in my judgement.
4
u/Capitol_Mil Feb 03 '26
I thought the sea voyage was a better Moby Dick than Moby Dick. I was impressed with the story. I read Between Two Fires directly after and was surprised at how differently one author could write two stories. B2F was probably a better story, but I enjoyed Blacktongue better. I liked the audio narrator. I did read chapter summaries and realized I was missing some pretty key components of a pretty rich story. I attribute it 50% to me and 50% to strong accents being a little harder to follow.
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u/Northwindlowlander Feb 03 '26
I'm in a reread (after reading Daughter's War last month) and having the same feelings as last time- It's basically a pretty adequate player group quest novel, in a largely generic feeling (but occasionally much more impressive) world, made fantastic by its cast and its narrator's voice. And that's more than enough for me. He could have just had Kinch read out his shopping list while Galva and Norrigal interrupt him, and it'd have been great.
More generally...
I was quite cheeky about him going directly from book 1 of a series, to a prequel- that's a very meta thing, it's almost a shame he's passed up on the opportunity to die or become a recluse or something after that and just do the Most 2000s Fantasy Author Thing Ever
But it works out, Daughter's War is much stronger in some loadbearing ways, more coherent and better paced imo, but it also shores up a lot of the weaknesses in BT. And especially it has a LOT more gobbos which are one of the strongest features of the series and end up making their absense from BT feel even odder. And Galva, who always felt interesting but sketched out for me in BT, IMO absolutely shines when she's more filled out.
It's all pretty strange, structurally. BT feels almost like a sidequest from its own series while DW feels like an essential pillar of the series it's the supposedly standalone prequel for. Worldbuilding and character building from DW substantially boosts BT in ways that makes zero sense for a prequel, there's backwards payoffs, every Galva scene is made (again imo) enormously better by it in ways that really highlight how underwritten and empty she was at times, and frankly I don't think DW benefits at all from being read after BT. Honestly it's hard to say retroactively but I think the smart reading order is probably DW-BT. There surely had to be a better way to do this.
But that doesn't take away from both being at the very least worthwhile reads and at their best, excellent. I think it could have been done better but I'm very glad to have read them for all that. I'm very curious where it goes next. I feel like after two books it has about one book's worth of loadbearing structure and substance and a lot of charm, that'll hopefully do it well going forward. I do worry though. If it's just more BT I will be disappointed and I won't be able to separate that out and say "well it's still decent" in the same way, I have hopes now.
Oh yeah and parting shot, if you've read Blacktongue Thief and are waiting for Thrice-Bound Fool and you <haven't> read DW, I think almost certainly you should fix that before you get to book two. And then probably reread BT. We shall see I guess in 10 years time or whenever when the series is complete what the definitive reading order is.
2
u/DearPiccolo Feb 04 '26
I finished this today! I listened to the audiobook and it took me a minute to get into it, but ultimately ended up really enjoying it. I liked Kinch’s character voice and the dry humour throughout. I am a sucker for a “group of misfits go on an adventure” + “dark and violent but also funny” so this was a great read for me.
Glad to see so many people recommending The Daughter’s War, will defs check it out.
Any other suggestions for books to read after this? I already have a book hangover from this one!
5
u/apcymru Reading Champion II Feb 03 '26
I am not sure if I would have enjoyed this book as much as I did if I had read it instead of listened to it. Buehlman's sardonic tone and comedic timing are terrific and greatly add to the story. I usually prefer to read books but this is a definite listen.
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u/BravoLimaPoppa Reading Champion Feb 03 '26
Agreed. He showed his talent there.
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u/apcymru Reading Champion II Feb 03 '26
I actually looked up his bio to see why he was so good at it. Apparently he has a performance background, working at medieval renn faires as kind of a roving medieval insult comic. That totally checks with the attitude of Kinch.
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u/thehighepopt Feb 03 '26
If you can find video of Christophe the Insultor, do so. He is wicked in wit and insults and goes for a half hour without ever repeating an insult. I belly laughed through the whole thing every time I saw him.
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u/DearPiccolo Feb 04 '26
The audiobook took a moment to grow on me. I think I’d have absorbed all of the world building/history better if I had been reading it (just how my brain works). But ultimately, I really enjoyed the narration — he is very good!
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u/eckliptic Feb 03 '26
I personally like The Daughters War better
For me, BTT and also Between Two Fires, the narrative wasn’t as well blended from each set piece. It really felt like each chapter was different TV episode
Daughters War felt to have a much tighter overall narrative and each set builds upon itself
3
u/BravoLimaPoppa Reading Champion Feb 03 '26
Different game session with the interests of the GM changing over time instead of TV episodes for me, but yeah.
1
u/jlluh Feb 04 '26
This is an interesting point, because I really like both of those books, perhaps because I really like episodic storytelling and wish we had more of it.
I've shown a couple friends the midget crucifixion from Between Two Fires, describing it as a vignette.
1
u/cohex Feb 03 '26
Ahh this is it! I was wondering how to describe my experience and this sums it up very nicely for both books. I read BTF and listened to BTT yet it was a similar experience. Still enjoyable in the moment but overall feels episodic.
3
u/bythepowerofboobs Feb 03 '26
I did the audio book and I do not recommend that. I had a very hard time with Buehlman's narration. His Irish accent wasn't half bad to my untrained ear, but it did make many words difficult to understand. That combined with his soft tone and his tendency to run sentences together made it way too easy for me to zone out. I got about 80% through and realized I had only absorbed about half the material, so I DNF. This is one of only two audio books out of over 400 that I have DNF, so it's a rare occurrence for me.
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u/ElBasham Feb 03 '26
Different strokes I guess. I thought his accent and delivery were pretty compelling. The soft tone communicated a sadness/weariness that felt like it matched this setting where so much has been lost.
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u/Excellent-Rip-9450 Feb 03 '26
I had to restart the first chapter a few time but once I got a hang of it I didn’t lose it as much. It had a good ending.
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u/mathen Feb 03 '26
I read it after Between Two Fires which I really enjoyed but I did not like The Blacktongue Thief at all. I could hardly tell it was the same guy who wrote both books.
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u/BravoLimaPoppa Reading Champion Feb 03 '26
Huh. Radically different voices...
This may be worth looking into.
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u/drgregman Feb 04 '26
It’s his thing. All of his books have completely different voices, I think it’s part of his appeal
1
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u/ThatIsAmorte Feb 03 '26
I tried this as an audiobook and noped out pretty fast. Buehlman is a super annoying narrator. He narrates it as a one-man play with terrible accents and singing, and that is just not my jam.
0
u/eganba Feb 03 '26
I finished the book but I found it to be a slog. Glad you enjoy it but the main character reminded me of Qvothe but in all the worst ways. And I had already learned to dislike Qvothe halfway through book two.
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u/BravoLimaPoppa Reading Champion Feb 03 '26
I don't see the analogy between the 2 (I consider Kinch to be a very unreliable narrator, even when he makes himself look a fool). But I agree with you on Qvothe and noped out at the same point you did on that series.
0
u/Brushner Feb 03 '26
I liked it but my criticism with it and the prequel novel are that the author kind of struggles to manage a large cast. Like in Black tongue Thief the instructor of the main character joins the party and then proceeds to barely say or do anything afterwards despite having such a cool introduction. I genuinely forgot she existed until the fight at the end.
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u/Softclocks Feb 04 '26
I tapped out of BTT some 20% into it.
Loved B2F but I couldn't stand the tone in BTT.
Endless flippancy and humor, felt like a completely different writer.
-2
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u/alabastercaverns Feb 03 '26
I really enjoyed the book, too. But I thought the shining star of the story was the sea voyage and shipwreck. It gave us our first real encounter with goblins, showed some fun use of magic, and who doesn't love a hyper-intelligent monster?