A review by
I was at first on the fence about whether to upload this review or not. But hindsight I felt like this could serve as a lesson on:
- What to do
- What not to do
…as a fiction writer.
Let me first go on record stating that Christopher Buehlman is an objectively GOOD writer. He knows how to build a world with interesting characters and plot lines, at least judging by Between Two Fires, the only book of his I’ve ever read so far.
The issues I found in this book, however, are significant and my suspicion is that these are more a result of the worldview lens Buehlman applies to see the world through, and Christianity in particular.
PLOT:
The story catapults us into XIV plague-ridden France where the lives of three seemingly different characters converge under some very special circumstances:
- Thomas: a former knight with a grudge
- Delphine: a young orphan girl with strange supernatural gifts
- Matthieu: a priest with personal secrets
When Thomas saves Delphine’s life, he doesn’t realize that he has also committed his sword to not only protect the young girl but to also aid her in a mysterious mission allegedly imparted by the angels of Heaven themselves. In their journey, Pierre Matthieu, a priest addicted to wine and with same-sex attraction tags along, having nothing else left in his hometown now devastated by the plague.
Their journey will create a strong bond. Working together just out of mere survival, these three main characters start to care for one another genuinely.
HISTORICAL TIME AND PLACE:
What I really appreciated about BTF is how the description of medieval France is well executed. The towns, rivers, bridges, houses, palaces, all feel accurate. This comes to no surprise since the author majored in History with a minor in French, and it shows. For a guy from Florida, US, to write about period France in such an accurate manner, I couldn’t ask for more verisimilitude, honestly. Well done.
NEGATIVE REMARKS:
- The author delights in the use of profanity, coarse language, crude jokes, and seems to have some weird obsession with anything related to feces and genitalia.
I understand that some of the characters might not be ‘saints’ (pun intended) but there are ways to communicate certain data to the readers without being so graphic to the point that it seems as though the author actually revels in this excessive graphic language. Reality is that it is NOT essential for plot or character building at all, and it just becomes annoying and ‘cheapens’ the overall quality of the book.
2. The author, throughout the story, seems to be taking jabs, albeit subtle, at the Christian faith. Whether this is intentional or the result of general biblical ignorance on behalf of Buehlman, that’s debatable. But he manages to reduce the Christian faith to nothing more than a pagan set of beliefs adept for backward people without a thinking brain.
For example, when Delphine tries to get Thomas to swear less:
Delphine “Maybe God would be more generous if you swore less.”
Thomas “God starves babies sometimes, and they don’t swear at all.”
Of course the author can say that this is simply part of the character, but similar examples are found over and over throughout the book. Maybe the author thinks those are clever arguments that would make readers realize how silly Christianity is? Only the author really knows.
But as a reviewer I can tell you that those continuous remarks and innuendos are not helping the book overall, especially when these jabs are always one sided (there are no similar examples aimed at-say- atheists or other religious groups in this story.)
CONCLUSION:
Between Two Fires is an excellent story with rich characters and compelling plot lines. The accuracy of depiction of medieval France being devastated by the plague is superb. The prose flaws nicely and it is all very professionally put together.
Unfortunately within it there is too much of that Game of Thrones depraved, nihilistic vibe that taints an otherwise 5-star quality read. Bloated with profanity and unnecessary coarse language, constantly taking jabs at Christianity, singling out the Christian faith as another form of paganism for dimwitted country folk, this book is an amalgamation of peaks and valleys, going back and forth from excellent to cringeworthy. And that’s a shame.
🦀
Indeed, after reading your review, I feel that the author may have sabotaged his otherwise brilliant worldbuilding and great depiction of plague-ridden France by not balancing the gloom and doom with enough hope. The nihilist mindset did not help either. Rather unfortunate since it would’ve otherwise been a glorious read.
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This could have easily been a 5-star novel and the writer knows how to hook the reader with great characters and world-building. But the choices he makes tear everything apart sadly.
I think you’re really onto something regarding the portrayal of Christianity, and it’s something that has bothered me when I’ve encountered it in fantasy novels.
The basic pattern is the use of one or more characters to project modern sentiments in a pre-modern setting. The target is always Christianity, whether explicitly, as here, or by means of an obvious stand-in for Christianity in a fantasy world setting.
I could easily write an entire article about this exact subject, but it’s legitimately the thing that drives me the craziest when I encounter it in modern fantasy. I’ll summarize my objections as follows:
1) Complete and total lack of reflection.
Human behavior in general can be understood in terms of incentives and reasons for said behavior. While one might struggle to understand the behavior of literal mad-men, most normal human behavior is actually quite easy to understand when one is possessed of sufficient information.
What bothers me with the religion-bashing–more precisely, Christianity-bashing–is the complete and total lack of reflection as to *why* people believed and acted as they did.
It’s easy for moderns to abhor things like persecutions of witches and heretics (by the way, the medieval Catholic Church taught that witches were fictional, but attitudes changed in the 15th century), to say nothing of slavery, human suffering, or the treatment of children born out of wedlock.
What bothers me is when modern writers–the examples I can think of offhand are fantasy writers–simply throw shade without any reflection or understanding at all.
Religion–more precisely, Christianity–is simply depicted as some combination of ignorant/cruel/bigoted/irrational/stupid, and that’s that.
Meanwhile, the Woke religion of our current age actually embodies many of these negative qualities, and combines them with breathtaking hubris. Even so, I can analyze it in terms of historical, cultural, ideological, socioeconomic, and *biological* factors (Bioleninism).
If you’re going to criticize, at least make an effort to understand. I even do this with Communism, which I believe to be the single most vile, reprehensible philosophy and system of government ever known to man (and which I can understand in proper historical and cultural context).
2) Presentism
Building off of 1, I find it somewhat difficult to suspend disbelief when I’m reading a fantasy set in what feels like a premodern setting, and a character has views that sound like talking points from Reddit-tier atheism from twenty years ago.
3) It’s only EVER Christianity they’re bagging on.
This one bothers me, and I’m not even a Christian. I’ve yet to see any of these authors take non-Western traditions and religions to task in their fantasy worlds. It’s always *only* Christianity they’re bagging on.
Anyway, this rant is turning into an article in its own right, so I’ll wrap up here, but I’m really glad you talked about this. Cheers!
Incidentally, one of the two books I have in mind as a particularly egregious example of this is Empire of the Vampire, by Jay Kristoff.
The setting feels like a fantasy version of Early Modern France (maybe 16th-early 17th centuries), and the protagonist develops anti-religious sentiments that sounded more like a mid-2000s atheist.
Writers should write whatever they want and take shots at Christianity all they want. But when those jabs are always so one-sided, singling out Christianity out of the hundreds of religious beliefs that exist, expect to be called out on it.
Very well said. I’d have more respect for this sort of thing if it wasn’t so one-sided and presentist.
You are hitting the bullseye on all points. Why wouldn’t all of these authors condemn the absolutely barbarous Muslim slavers?! They wouldn’t dare, because their politically correct gods forbid them from doing so. Nor would they say a word about the countless millions who toiled till death in the communist gulags…
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Yep, it’s only ever the Western, White and Christian man they want to pillory.
The racial grievance-grifters love to flagellate Westerners for the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, but they’ll say nary a word about the Africans who did almost all of the enslaving in the first place.
Also, try bringing up the Trans-Saharan Slave Trade or the Indian Ocean Slave Trade with them–actually don’t, because they’ll just scream “Whataboutism!”
Funny, though, how there are no grievance-grifters seeking reparations from the Arabs, Iranians, and Indians who imported African slaves. It’s almost like the racial grievance grift only works on Western Whites, or something.