An adventure like no other.
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.
Galva is a knight, a survivor of the brutal goblin wars, and handmaiden of the goddess of death. She is searching for her queen, missing since a distant northern city fell to giants.
Unsuccessful in his robbery and lucky to escape with his life, Kinch now finds his fate entangled with Galva’s. Common enemies and uncommon dangers force thief and knight on an epic journey where goblins hunger for human flesh, krakens hunt in dark waters, and honor is a luxury few can afford.
readper review:
We were blown away by this fantastic book. It has been compared to George R. R. Martin’s work but I think it is closer in style to Patrick Rothfuss’s two Kingkiller books. The style is that good.
Christopher Buehlman has written a rich and vibrant world based loosely on Europe, with people groups styled after Nordic warriors in the north, Spanish masters of horse to the south and martial Germans in the wide middle.
He’s created languages a la Tolkien, a religious system to rival ancient Rome’s, and a dastardly race of trolls with a long history of wars wreaking havoc on human lands. There are also giants, witches and guilds.
The main character is indebted to the Thieves’ Guild, known as the Takers, and he has a tattoo of a hand on his cheek. That means in a tavern anyone can slap him and get a free round, compliments of the guild. Ever optimistic, this does not stop him from partaking in a pint or two. In danger lies opportunity, after all. He falls into a quest and joins some women heading out to distant lands with a blind cat along for the ride. The action is unrelenting.
This is very well written. Readers squeamish about profanity will not enjoy an extreme over-use of the F-bomb, sometimes appearing multiple times on the same page. Even some characters have names incorporating the expletive.
Nonetheless, it’s well worth the read.
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Categories: Best Sellers, Science Fiction / Fantasy
Tags: Christopher Buehlman, The Blacktongue Thief, The Blacktongue Thief amazon