Now that is how you open a book. After reading the first chapter I knew that I was going to enjoy every minute of my time with this book.

Blacktoungue Thief reminds me a bit of that magic trick where one pulls a seemingly unending colorful cloth from their mouth (stay with me on this one).

No one is really expecting to be impressed by a trick we’ve all seen. So here comes a book with another patriarchal fantasy land [bored eye roll] that honestly, I wasn’t planning on reading. But it was on my bookclub list and I was granted Netgalley access and dove in while on a cross-country flight.

The book opened strong (I loved the first chapter so so much) and continued to steadily deliver wit and world building that I absolutely didn’t expect. We follow Kinch on a quest after crossing ways with Galva and her war corvid (don’t ask her about her bird). Kinch ultimately ends on on his quest because of (wait for it) student loan debt! The world unfurled slowly and steadily with every interaction Kinch has with the kynd of Manreach. This world dirty, dangerous and a bit off putting (but frankly so is a magician pulling something out of their mouth). But witty line by witty line the more impressive it becomes and suddenly you have fallen down the rabbit hole of this really incredibly fun and fresh (not in the clean sense) world he’s created.

Buehlman’s world building balances beautifully between dropping bread crumbs of slang, customs and places with no-context that gain their meaning as the book continues while also revealing the world organically as Kinch interacts with characters and explores new places. There is also a good dose of straight forward tell through Kinch’s narration to us as the reader which is typically so witty or funny it feels neither lazy nor intrusive. Not to mention the amount of fantastic imagination that is the world itself. From the type of magic our MC has (luck and being able to read anything ...which would be exactly the two super powers I would choose for myself) to environments (the Witches Tower, for example) to small details like the law on one region which is whomever touches the cat first owns it. I was surprised again and again.

For fans of Nevernight and future fans of Empire of the Vampire as well as Game of Thrones and Name of the Wind.

I was excited to get a chance to read The Blacktongue Thief, the opening of a new fantasy series by Christopher Buehlman, in advance. The description sounded good and I’m always a sucker for a thief as the hero trope. The opening sentence promised a great read.

Kinch is a thief educated by a Takers guild, for which he owes them money he hasn’t been able to pay back yet. They give him a chance to settle his debts by undertaking a mission for them in a faraway country. He isn’t given any details; only that he has to follow a knight, Galva, on a quest of her own. Out of options, he sets out to do so. The only obstacle is, he’s recently tried to rob her, and it didn’t go well.

Kinch and Galva make unlikely travelling companions. They don’t like each other much, and she doesn’t really need him for anything. But she knows where she’s going and why, so he keeps her company through all sorts of obstacles, like shipwrecks and attacks by goblins. At some point they’re joined by a witch’s apprentice Norrigal, with whom Kinch gets romantically involved. There’s also a cat, Bully Boy, who is uncannily able to follow Kinch despite being blind. That’s thanks to an assassin, Sensa, who has been sent by Kinch’s guild to make sure he obeys them, and who is also on a mission of her own.

It takes quite long before Kinch learns what Galva is looking for. The Infanta of her country has been married off to a king of a distant land that’s recently been invaded by giants, and she wants to rescue her, maybe even put her on the throne of their own country. He’s perfectly happy to let her dictate their journey, even if it means he’ll be late for his own deadline—which may well be a literal death, if he can’t get the assassin off his tail.

The book has all the elements for an exciting read. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. There are several reasons. For one, the book is much too long. Adventures and obstacles are fine on a quest, but not in excess and definitely not when they don’t advance the plot or stem from it. Over a half of the book was spent on what were in essence filler scenes, no matter how much action they contained. Added to that were the mythologies and stories. Gods are interesting, but not when the book isn’t about them or they don’t influence the plot.

Kinch wasn’t interesting enough to carry a first-person narrative on his own. He didn’t get to do much thieving to show off his skills. He wasn’t hero material, and while an anti-hero would make a good protagonist, he was merely cowardly and looking for excuses to get out of the situation he found himself in. His infatuation with Norrigal was incomprehensible.

By far the worst, however, is that Kinch wasn’t the protagonist of his own story. He wasn’t the driving force of the quest and he never tried to make the quest his. The author knows that his and Galva’s quests are essentially the same and steers the plot accordingly, ignoring the fact that Kinch doesn’t know this. At no point was Kinch in charge. That means we’re following Galva’s quest, not Kinch’s, yet we never get any insight into her. He’s not even the hero of the endgame, though he does rise to the occasion. The reader is left wondering why they’ve followed him all this way.

The side characters aren’t much better. Galva had promise, but she remained a sketch of a war veteran determined to see her mission through no matter what it took. I actively disliked Norrigal who seemed to be Kinch’s enabler in avoiding his duties—mostly because she was on the same quest as Galva. Added to that was an odd collection of characters who joined the quest at various points but who had absolutely no reason to be there. They showed up, did nothing, and either died or went away. But many pages were wasted on them. I only liked the cat and even he was cleaned away for convenience.

What made me actively dislike the book, however, was its attitude to women. Most of the characters were women, all in prominent and important positions, which should’ve made this feel like a progressive book. Galva especially was a strong character. But women were consistently called with pejorative names. They’re girleens and dams, which stood out even more because men and boys weren’t called any differently. To make matters worse, knights like Galva, who serve the goddess of death, must remove their breasts to show that they’re not inclined to breed, as if that would make them weaker. It all made the women’s prominent positions seem like lip service to strong women in speculative fiction.

The story picks up at the end. While Kinch still isn’t in charge of the plot, he’s at least actively helping Galva with hers. A lot happens in a few chapters and I couldn’t help thinking that the book would’ve been much better if more time had been dedicated to that part of the story instead of wasting it on pointless side-quests. Especially when it comes to Kinch’s insight into his guild, which came kind of out of the blue. The ending sets the next book, but I won’t be continuing with the series.

This is one of the funniest books I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a while. The adventure and style is very reminiscent of a DnD campaign. I love Kinch and his sarcasm and attitude. Galva was so loyal and amazing. Honestly I’m going to be recommending this to anyone who wants to have fun and be entertained. So basically everyone..

I’d been hearing about the buzz on this book for quite some time now and was very excited for its release. Well, in the past few months I’ve started reviewing books and this marks my first book received from Netgalley to review! Thanks to them for providing a copy.

So let’s dive in shall we?

The first thing you notice when beginning The Blacktongue Thief is the narrative structure. Written in first person with fourth-wall breaking type style, it definitely takes a bit of an adjustment. However, I’m a huge fan of this form of writing. I’ve always enjoyed first person narrative but when it feels like someone is telling the story directly to YOU, it makes the book even more engaging. In fact, it took me longer to read this book than usual because I didn’t want to miss a word of what our protagonist Kinch is telling you.

Speaking of Kinch, the guy is hilarious. His humor may not be for everyone, but there was line after line where I was chuckling and enjoying the story that much more. Whether he’s commenting on the massive creature about to eat him or making an off-hand remark about another person he sees. The way that Kinch tells you about the different cultures and societal groups made reading all the worldbuilding a fun experience. His quips, remarks and anecdotes all fleshed out the world in a great way.

And the worldbuilding is pretty cool. While mostly set in a traditional fantasy type setting, the slow reveal of the different political structures, the thief guild that Kinch is a part of, and the various types of magic, create a lived-in and interesting world. Makes me want to know more in future books.

Ok, ok. But what’s the book actually about? The book is a basically a long road trip between a motley crew of thrown together questers. Kinch is a thief who owes his thief guild a fortune for his training and when he picks a wrong target to steal from, their fates get entangled. The target, Galva, is a knight and survivor of the goblin wars. She is setting off on a quest to find someone in a far-off country. Kinch is tasked with following her until the end of the line – or else. Along the way, more adventurers join these two including a witch and a blind cat (who was a highlight for me as a cat lover).

Each character was interesting and enjoyable to read about, but they were not the main focus of this book – that was on the journey itself and the misfortunes along the way.

There are different ways to write fantasy quest stories, something like Robin Hobb’s Assassins Quest where 40 pages is one boat ride across the river and focuses on character development (and to be fair, I love that story too). And others more fast paced and focus on the many adventures that happen along the way. The Blacktounge Thief falls firmly into the latter portion of stories.

This can cause for a bit of whiplash jumping from one threat to the next, but the book is just so dang lovable and entertaining that was a small issue. The protagonists travel to upside-down towers, fight giant creatures, go whaling, ride a mechanical horse and much much more. The freshness of each encounter and location didn’t wear off even through the end which had a great finale that snuck up on me because I just wanted more.

I did have a few minor grievances with book. While I loved the narrative form, I felt sometimes I was unclear of Kinch’s emotions along the way. Specifically relating to certain decisions he makes towards the end of the story (not the emotions he feels about women – that’s made very clear). And as stated above, there are some pacing issues and parts of the story feel a bit rushed. Some of this could be due to the short chapters that break up the flow. These are small problems for an overall very intertaining story.

Also, while this is the first book in a series, it stands very much on its own – which I love for the start of a story.

All in all, a very fun read that will be liked by most fantasy fans. Very highly recommended for those that like humorous tales with lots of action and adventure. Can’t wait for the next one!

Read if you’re in the mood for:

➱ an epic fantasy adventure story (think The Witcher vibes)
➱ a wry, sarcastic tone

The Blacktongue Thief is the first installment of a new fantasy series that involves a thief, a blind cat, lots of swords, goblins, giants, magic, and a book that bites. In this medieval-style world, just recovering from the horrific goblin wars, a motley cast of characters are forced together on a quest, and (mis)adventure ensues.

Our narrator is Kinch Na Shannack, a trained thief in debt to the Takers Guild. He relates the tale in a self-deprecating, humorous way, and the book definitely has a masculine feel with plenty of foul language and potty humor.

I enjoyed the worldbuilding, though there were a couple times I felt the author got a mite carried away, and I also desperately wished for a map (maybe the finished version will have one!). Overall, though, I got thoroughly sucked into this world, and I liked that the author didn’t overwhelm us with an info dump. I’m looking forward to learning more about the system of magic and the various mythical creatures in the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had been hesitant to request this but I kept seeing it pop up and then I heard there were battle ravens in the book and that hooked me (they were definitely there but I would have liked more of them). I thought the world and magic was interesting (magic tattoos that do things?!) and there were some great quips, quotes, and banter. The book just didn't totally hook me though. It wasn't a chore to read though and I will probably read the upcoming books in the series to see where it goes I just wanted more out of it. I felt like there was a good amount of description in some places and then in others it got glossed over and sped through. A map would have been super helpful too - hopefully that will be included in the actual release.

So I was going to do a should you read it episode for this one but I decided to scrap it because unfortunately I did not like this one at all. I went into it totally thinking I was going to love it because it had everything I normally enjoy but yeah I didn’t want a singular video of me just giving constant negative feedback and criticisms so here we are. Short review because I really can’t think of much positive.

So the goodreads page for this book is absolutely flooded with praise so I am definitely the odd one out here. One of those times where you feel like you read a totally different book than everyone else. I’m currently experiencing that. This was just all over the place for me. Every single fantasy element you can think of, I feel like the author tried to mush into every page. There is so much going on that it all felt pointless. Nothing was motivating me to keep going even the epic quest the characters had to complete felt bogged down, well bogged down isn’t the right words for it, maybe aimless, unproductive.

I did really enjoy reading about the cultures of the giants, goblins and the wars they fought in the past so world building good but once that was over and the characters interacted, I noticed that the book reads like a play script. I don’t know that’s just the vibe I got and it’s the first thing I wrote down in my notes. Just the way the dialogue is structured, how fast the scenes are one after another. Maybe this would be a great Broadway show.

Oh and the slang the characters spoke in was a bit too much, it’s just HUGELY over-played for me personally. It makes it sometimes impossible to decipher the true nature of what is being said which is maybe why I couldn’t get behind much of the humor that was being displayed and I love funny fantasy, I mean kings of the wyld is one of my favorite books but read that instead.

When Kinch’s band of thieves tries to rob a lone woman on the roads, it becomes very apparent they’ve messed with the wrong target. The woman is Galva, a veteran of the Goblin Wars and a deadly fighter. Kinch escapes with his life, but quickly finds himself in an even more awkward position. The Takers, the guild of thieves Kinch belongs to, is very interested in Galva’s mission, and they want Kinch to tag along on her journey. And since Kinch is in debt to the guild for all the training they gave him, he has very little choice but to do as they say. But convincing Galva to partner with him is the easy part. Surviving a journey littered with mad wizards, kraken, giants, goblins and more is a whole other story.

THE BLACKTONGUE THIEF is a tale rife with original world-building that somehow didn’t quite ensnare me as much as I hoped. There’s plenty in the book to keep people hooked, and if you’re looking for a story about a handful of people on a quest, this might be a great read for you to while away the time with. As for me, while I found the world the author created fascinating, it was a bit too dry in its delivery to fully immerse me.

Let’s start with the world-building, one of the highlights of the book. Buehlman has created an almost post-apocalyptic fantasy, a world decimated by wars that killed vast numbers of men and forced the various countries to acknowledge that maybe women were decent fighters too; in fact, one of the later wars was called the Daughters War because it was primarily fought by women. I loved the little details of how men of a certain age with no scarring were viewed with suspicion as draft-dodgers, as nearly everyone during a certain window of time served in the Goblin Wars at some point, and more people died than came back. I liked the reverence given to horses, as they were all but wiped out due to plagues introduced by the goblins. I liked the magic, including Kinch’s special brand of “luck” that allows him to sense when things are more likely to go his way and when they’re more likely to turn against him.

But while there were a lot of details I liked, there were frequent times where the book could just feel dry and overly laden with exposition. Paragraphs about the different kinds of currency or what one kingdom in particular did during the goblin wars failed to engage me. World-building is usually one of my favorite elements of a book, so I have a high tolerance for info-dumping, but for some reason that pages that were more history than plot didn’t work for me this go-round.

That said, the moment to moment adventures of THE BLACKTONGUE THIEF were enjoyable. The book is basically a road trip movie, a collection of all the disasters that happen to Kinch, Galva, and the rest of the crew on their way to find a missing queen. I did enjoy the collection of characters they picked up along the way, particularly Norrigal, a young sorceress who could sometimes be a little overenthusiastic when using her magic and cause harm to friend and foe alike.

I also want to make a note that perhaps one reason I bounced a bit off this book was the humor could be fairly crude at times, which isn’t my style. It is chock full of references to bodily functions and every kind of cursing imaginable, something that made it a bit harder for me to get into than it might have been otherwise. If this kind of humor doesn’t bother you, you may find the writing to your liking more than I did!

THE BLACKTONGUE THIEF has a lot of elements going for it that just didn’t quite come together in a way that knocked the story out of the park. I can point to plenty of things the author did well, yet I just didn’t find the emotional connection that makes me fully invested in a series. That said, there are plenty of readers and reviewers out there who loved and adored this book, so this may be a very big case of “It’s not you, it’s me.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but I wii say that it surprised me.
In his first fantasy novel, Christopher Buehlman creates a vivid fantasy world that I wouldn’t mind visiting. I wouldn’t last long there, but I’m sure it would be memorable.
What at first seemed like an average D&D type world soon became something more. Each new area the characters took us to, each new character they introduced us to made the world come alive in a unique and fun way.
Blacktongue Thief was told in first person by Kinch, a thief. He told the story, but also gave us little personal thoughts from time to time. Most of them, I at least chuckled at.
I don’t know if this book is a standalone, but it would be a shame not to return to this world.

My Five Word TL:DR review : Fast paced, inventive, fantasy shenanigans
https://lynns-books.com/2021/05/17/the-blacktongue-thief-blacktongue-1-by-christopher-buehlman-wyrdandwonder/
4. of 5 stars

Imagine that somebody put all the fantasy tropes in a big bag, shook it up and then upturned the whole thing. A hot mess of mediaeval style fantasy might be picked from the ensuing chaos. A quest, if you will, filled with reluctant heroes, witches, trolls, giants, goblins and much, much more. Now, flavour that concoction with some fantastic creativity, a dash of horror and a healthy glug of humour, stir wickedly and the result is a rich stew of delicious delights.

Yes, I enjoyed The Blacktongue thief, it’s a very entertaining read that runs the full gamut of emotions. It had me laughing out loud one moment and then staring in horror the next. Never predictable, fast paced and I must say I can’t wait to read more from this world.

I’m not going to delve too deeply into the plot – in fact I’m not going to go there at all. To be quite honest the plot feels almost inconsequential in some respects and in fact we, much like the main character, remain in the dark for a good portion of the story. That isn’t to say there’s a lack of action or motivation to propel the characters forward – more that it’s not the most important aspect and it’s a story that has a number of twists which is another reason I’m not going to elaborate. Let’s just say, the characters have a need to travel from A to B but will go through a circuitous route that will involve C, D, E and F along the way.

Instead I’m going to chat about what worked for me with the Blacktongue Thief.

Well, firstly let’s take a look at the title which refers to the main character, Kinch Na Shannack, otherwise, thankfully, known as Kinch. Kinch is from Galt where the people are born with a black tongue. On top of this particular characteristic Kinch has a lucky streak, a very curious reading ability and a lot of charm. Kinch has been trained as a thief by the Taker’s Guild. Of course they don’t take on this burden of training out of generosity. They expect payment and Kinch is in debt. I could say his debts force him into a life of thieving but as he’s been trained in the arts that’s hardly the case, he always expected to take this route, its more that his debts have simply pushed him to desperation – which is where we find him when the book begins, sitting in a tree, with an arrow knocked, and a bad feeling inside waiting for a most unlikely victim to come strolling through the trees ahead. The early chapters see Kinch set out on a path, at the behest of the Guild, that team him up with a warrior known as Galva. Galva is on a quest of her own. She has secrets and at least one very cool surprise. Along the way they gather a couple of other companions. Most notably Norrigal, a witch in training who becomes something of a love interest as the story develops. And a blind cat known as Bully Boy who also has surprises in store.

The thing is. I liked these characters. I found them easy to read about, I cared about them as the story progressed and I really enjoyed the unusual aspects that each of them bring to the story. I mean, there is literally never a dull moment with the Blacktongue Thief and the characters seem to ricochet from one outrageous situation to the next. Which isn’t to say that this is too ‘busy’. It’s just incredibly creative, full of magic and myths and with a number of genuinely laugh out loud moments that offset events that could otherwise become too grim.

I really enjoyed the writing and in fact I have another book (horror) by this author which I’m now dying (no pun intended) to read. I mean, there’s a lot of gallows humour here not to mention a sort of tongue in cheek feel to certain elements. Like I said above, the author seems to have a determination to fit everything into this world, witches, kraken, adventures on the sea, deserted islands, flesh eating goblins, and such a lot of little details that help to strengthen the sense of place, and yet this is all accomplished with apparent ease, it doesn’t feel overdone or cluttered and the world building is great – the history of the wars, songs, games, etc. all infused with enough unique ideas to help it carve out it’s own little niche in the fantasy world.

I will just point out that this book isn’t shy of a bit of cursing and certain elements where you can really see Buehlman’s experience of writing horror coming into play. I don’t say that to put anyone off. This isn’t horror as such, just a bit bloody on occasion. For example, I never expected to read about such an unusual tug of war and its gruesome outcome!

Overall, I had a remarkably good time reading this one. If I had any criticism at all it would simply relate to a slight feeling of being a little lost just over half way through, a feeling which ultimately relates to the meandering journey that the characters end up on and a fleeting sense of not quite understanding where the story was going. To be honest though, I actually think that this was intentional on the part of the author.

The conclusion provides a great set up for the second instalment and I look forward to seeing where the author takes the story next.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the author, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4 stars.

Possible Triggers:
Violence | Death | Gore | Crude Language

Characters:
This story is told from a single point of view (Kinch Na Shannack) the entire book. This is the first book in a planned trilogy.

Kinch Na Shannack: Our quick fingered, somewhat foul-mouthed, horribly indebted thief and main protagonist of the book. I adore him. There are so many things to dislike and like about him that on the scale you never know quite where he stands. I really enjoy his weirdly optimistic outlook on most of the crap that happens to him. I love the little quirks that make him a more detailed character.

Galva: I connect to this character on a deep deep…. personal hygiene type of level. I loved her sense of honour! I loved that she had a deep loyalty to many of the other characters in the book. I adored that she would step in with some witty amusing thing but in such a dry and humorless tone at the perfect moments. Personally, I think she was one of the coolest characters in the book and I can't wait to see if we learn more about her in the coming books. The best kind of knight - like a Paladin that you don’t want to strangle for being overly paladin-y (insufferable) in a D&D campaign.

Positives:
+ From the very first page there was already a delightful sense of humor running through the book. I was INSTANTLY hooked. First page, you got me. I need more.
+ I don’t generally enjoy first person POV, but this was expertly written. I loved slipping into a few hours of reading and for a while becoming Kinch Na Shannack. It was great being able to ride along his feelings through all the adventures (misadventures) he went through. I absolutely shed a few tears at some of his lows and was laughing in delight at many of his quips and smugness at succeeding at things unexpectedly.
+ I LOVED the use of magic in this book. Holy heck this is what i imagine a D&D campaign might read like if it was told by an awesome player character with way more of an imagination then i will ever possess. There were cantrips! Magic Items! Magically created beasties! So much more that i want to talk about but it starts getting into spoilery territory! I really adored all the magic users we got to meet in the story as well. Where can I get some of these magical tattoo’s btw?
+ You know when a fantasy story has lovely little snippets of songs or poems in it FROM that world? Sometimes you are lucky and they are amazing and give wonderful insight into the world - consider yourself very lucky to get to read these little nuggets of awesome in this story.
+ Completely unrelated to the actual story content (this is aimed at the acknowledgements) . . . SCARBOROUGH FAIRE? HECK YES SIR!

Final Thoughts:
Goblins! Giants! War corvids! Magic! Devious plotting! This book is a non-stop rollercoaster of action and laughs, mostly by way of sheer luck and crude wisecracks. I tore through the last 40% of the book like someone was threatening to light the book on fire (don’t light this book on fire, you will be upset you hadn’t finished it). If you have ever played a D&D campaign (or I guess listened to one on a podcast) then the magic in the books will seem familiar, as will the magic users. I loved this book. The characters were fun, the plot was interesting, and the action was intense! There were several creatures that I have heard of before but it was fun to see them take more of a front and center stage in this book, with a bit of history and culture all their own. How many other books have you read with strongly featured goblins; I can only think of 1 *waves at Katherine Arden*. This is absolutely going on my shelf of favorite thief characters, right next to Scoot Lynch’s Locke Lamora. While I won't be reading any of Christopher Buehlman’s horror works (I’m so sorry. I am a chicken, I can’t handle horror), I am so excited to read the following books in this series and hope that there will be many more fantasy works down the line. If you like “The Lies of Locke Lamora” or “King’s of the Wyld”, I strongly suggest this book (i suggest it even if you don’t).

The Blacktongue Thief is a very interesting novel from writer Christopher Buehlman. A fantasy built in a gritty, dirty world that is dragging itself out of post-war desolation, where the crime syndicates rule (almost all of) the world. The main character is a trained and educated thief who still owes the Guild for his education, and so is trying to pay off his debts. In order to do so faster, our anti-hero is given the opportunity to spread his wings in the world. The quest party is a great mix of characters, and you are sure to find someone you love. Buelhlman builds a world with significant detail in its races, customs and traditions. It is dark, dirty, brutal world where the characters do not take themselves to seriously - and that makes this novel a fun fast paced read. Irreverent and imperfect and laugh out loud funny at times, The Blacktongue Thief is highly entertaining for those who want a little fun in their reading .

I had to put this aside at 25%.

I'm not really invested in this story emotionally and it's hard to continue. Between the world. character and plot, none of them interested me enough to continue. The world building is very vague European style high fantasy. Honestly there isn't much else that I can say. There seems to be goblins and witches here. But the magical elements are kept to a minimum, which is a shame because that's usually my favourite part of any fantasy story.

There isn't much to the main character other than the fact that 1) he's a thief & 2)he has some sense of humour. It's kinda hard to care about a character that doesn't become anything more than that. Also, his point of view is very male-gaze -y. Hearing his opinion on every woman's attractiveness is getting tiring, real fast.

and then there's the plot. or to be more specific, the absence of it. The main character is on a journey but we don't know why, we don't know the reason he was sent here and we don't know what he's supposed to do once he reached the destination, also we don't' know why his companion is on this journey.

I think part of the reason that I'm annoyed at this is that I expected something completely different. Based on the blurb, I assumed there was going to be a bit of romance and a good doze of opposite attracts between MC and his initial companion. But that doesn't seem to be the case here. Other than that, this book's biggest flaw is that it's just very mediocre. and I think I've had my fair share of mediocre books this month. So this one's a no for me.

3.5*s. This is an odd book. I think the best word to describe it would be grimey: everything's a bit dirty and (intentionally) imperfect. It had potential but I didn't care enough about the characters to love it.

----"I can see ya think yer clever, and props y'are, but by my lights, yer nothin' but a dirty, black tongue thief and will ne'er be more."----

Kinch Na Shannack is an average to good thief, in debt to the Takers Guild for his training. In exchange for forgiving part of this debt, the Takers insist he accompany a knight to Oustrim, a country to the west that has just been invaded by Giants. On their way, they visit a witch without legs who lives in an upside down tower, sail an ocean infested with monsters, play chicken with goblins, skittles with giants and peek-a-boo with a blind cat.

Rather than a cohesive quest, this book felt like a series of (admittedly interesting) scenes tied very loosely together for literary convenience. You never see the characters plodding down the road; they just suddenly turn up at the site of special plot significance, making the whole thing feel quite contrived.

----'"You're a Guild thief. You have training and magic. If I drop you, it won't hurt you, will it?" "If I say no, will you think of a different way to hurt me?" "Maybe." "Then yes, it will hurt me very much. Please, brave knight, do not drop me on my melon." She dropped me, but I don't hold the against her. We were only on the third floor.'----

There's not doubt that Buehlman prefers to build worlds than write stories. Whilst he's got some interesting architectural structures and creatures, his particular interest seems to be language and he includes a number of words or phrases in (made up) languages – mostly for the purposes of creative swearing. Unfortunately, at times, the slang made reading hard work and the descriptions and back stories tended to drag, tempting me to skim read.

----'She cursed at me in Untheric. Apparently, I'm something one finds in on'e poo that one does not remember having eaten. They've actually got a word for that in Unther.'----

Kinch is an anti-hero. He's hard to like or dislike because I never really felt I knew him - or any of the characters really. He seems to have average skills, a decent (if not fantastic) moral compass, and dubious manners. He'll kill when he needs to but won't be a puppet for his masters; he'll fight bravely when pushed but isn't too manly to admit he's shit himself on a number of occasions. One thing I remain confused by is his ability to read, speak and understand any language. At times, this ability seemed to mysteriously disappear; so either I misunderstood the ability or there's a glaring inconsistency there.

----'I could bounce unlikely grandchildren on my knee and tell them, "You know your grandfather saw a kraken once? That's right! Stay the fuck on dry land."'----

One of my favourite things about the novel was its griminess. The characters aren't dressed to the nines and perfectly prepared for each occasion; they're dirty, and burp and swear and piss themselves. They cut their breasts off their gods, cover themselves in tattoos for their magic, get buggered for information and get eaten for their bravado. The only book I can think of that's even a little bit similar in this regard is The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker. Both are a nice departure from the obligatory beauty parades that seem to litter every young adult novel.

I really wanted to rate this book highly - I thought I'd absolutely love it. As it was, I was tempted to give up at times, though I'm glad I didn't. The writing needs to be simplified, the plot smoothed and the characters given depth. I'm still tempted to read book two, whenever it comes out, but I won't be jumping for it. I'd recommend this to fans of world-building and grimdark fantasy.

----'“I’ll watch while you sleep. Sleep while you watch. I’ll lie to you when it doesn’t matter, but I’ll also lie for you when it does. If you let me do the talking, I’ll make sure you miss the pennycock with the pizzle-itch and get the best wine in the merchant’s barrel. You’ll never again meet a door you can’t get through nor a wall you can’t get eyes over. I need your arms, yes, but you need my nose. If you do the worst of the fighting, I’ll make sure you know where your foes are coming from and cull the weak ones. I won’t be your dog, but if you’re half the wolf I think you are, you’ve found a fox to run with.” She said, “Ask me again tomorrow,” and went to sleep with her back to me.'----

Book provided free of charge by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

All right so let's start with the fact that this book is very much extremely not for me. So how did I end up with an arc, you ask? Well. I was suckered into thinking I would like it by reading all the rave reviews by authors I like. I kept reading that it was epic fantasy. I love epic fantasy. I even almost preordered the audiobook. I'm glad I didn't.

But. My main issue is probably this: I cannot stand the main character. He is, as another reviewer put it, an 'aggressively straight male.' The humor is bawdy and crass and crude and frequently about bodily functions. I couldn't get beyond this. It is also made abundantly clear that the story is not your typical epic fantasy, but with a heavy shading of dark grimdark horror, gore, etc. Definitely not my thing.

I also had the opportunity to review an advance copy of the audiobook. It's read by the author and while he has a decent voice, his accent made it frequently difficult for me to understand what he was saying.

I gave it up pretty quickly but I'm confident from the tone of the story and from the other reviews that the things I had problems with continue throughout.

If you like the things I had issues with and this sounds like your kind of story? Read it. You'll probably love it. There are certainly plenty of rave reviews to that effect.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Macmillan-Tor Forge for providing an e-arc and audiobook arc for review.

The nitty-gritty: A bawdy, irreverent and joyful adventure, The Blacktongue Thief is an excellent start to an exciting series.

When listening for danger, one must never mistake silence for safety.

Color me surprised and delighted by Christopher Buehlman’s traditional fantasy debut! I wasn’t sure what to expect but I did not expect this. Buehlman takes a familiar fantasy trope—the hero’s journey—and twists it in new and exciting ways. You can’t tell by looking at the cover, but this book is hysterically funny in places, and I enjoyed every bit of it. However, The Blacktongue Thief is by no means a fast paced story, which might deter some readers. There is plenty of action to be found, but Buehlman takes his time introducing the world and characters, and the pace slows down at times as he delves into the details. But if you love stories that are full of fantastical beasts, magic, bloody fights and unusual relationships, I think you will love this too.

The story is told by Kinch Na Shannack, a Galt thief trained by the Takers Guild. Like many such thieves, Kinch is deep in debt to the Guild and he’s been branded with a tattoo on his cheek that will remain there until the debt is paid off. But now the Guild has a job for him: embark on a secret mission and the Guild will pay off his debt. Once he arrives at the far off city of Oustrim, he’ll be given further instructions, but Kinch will not make the journey alone. Joining him are a Spanth woman named Galva who fought in the Goblin Wars and is protected by a magical war corvid, and a witch named Norrigal whose beauty and strong magic capture Kinch’s heart. Galva has her own mission—to find a missing queen and restore her to her rightful place, thus crushing the ever powerful Guild.

But their journey will not be easy. The threat of goblins and giants dog their every step, and a hidden assassin seems to be controlling all of Kinch’s choices. Kinch will do anything to escape the Guild, but what chance does he have against such an all powerful entity?

The Blacktongue Thief is packed with impressive world-building, interesting characters and plenty of surprises. Kinch is such a great character, he’s smart and resourceful and quite the smartass as well, and even though he hates the Guild he’s beholden to, he also feels a sense of duty to pay off his debt once and for all, no matter how hard that turns out to be. There are many different gods in this world, and Kinch's god is Fothannon the god of mischief, represented by a fox, and I love the way he continually bargains with him during the story, especially when his luck runs out. Kinch’s people, the Galt, are born with black tongues, hence the title of the book. Kinch has all sorts of cool quirks, and one of my favorites is his love of a particular coin called a Gallardian owlet (the story is full of people from many different cultures and places, and each one produces their own types of coin). Every time Kinch finds one—or steals one off a dead body, as is often the case—he’s like a kid on Christmas morning!

I really loved Galva’s character as well. She’s more of an enigma than Kinch and has several secrets she’s trying to keep hidden. I’m very fond of the “mismatched group of characters join forces and go on a journey together” trope, and Kinch and Galva couldn’t be more different, and yet they develop a grudging respect for each other along the way. We also meet a whaler named Malk who has an old grudge against Kinch, and their relationship is shaky to say the least. But eventually I came to really like Malk, especially when he ends up joining them on the journey to Oustrim.

The world-building appears to be your standard fantasy fare—at first. Readers will recognize such elements as magic, witches, goblins and giants, magic tattoos and more. But Buehlman has some interesting tricks up his sleeve, like the way the Spanth’s beloved horses were killed off during the Goblin Wars, and how rare it is to see a horse these days. In the beginning of the story, Kinch saves a blind cat and names it Bully, and Bully turns out to have some surprises of his own. I loved the complex relationship Kinch has with the Guild. Because of his debt, he has a tattoo of an open hand on his cheek, a tattoo that can only be seen by firelight. The gist of this tattoo is that the first person to spot it in a tavern can slap Kinch on the face and get a free drink, sort of a weird drinking game. Despite the fact that Kinch must abide by this rule, he still goes into taverns on a regular basis and tempts fate, which says a lot about his personality. There’s also a really cool card game in the story called Towers, and I wish it existed in real life because it sounds like so much fun!

At one point, Kinch and his travel companions must cross the sea during their journey, and so they buy passage on a whaling ship. This was hands down one of my favorite parts of the story, and it reminded me a little of R.J. Barker’s The Bone Ships. I love a good seafaring story, especially when you have a character like Kinch who tends to make enemies whenever he opens his mouth. Kinch, Galva and Norrigal are forced to help the crew of the Suepka Buryey kill a whale—which is not what they signed up for, by the way—and their monotonous sea journey turns deadly very quickly, especially when an uninvited guest shows up.

And I can’t finish this review without mentioning Buehlman’s wonderful prose. It seems as if the author had so much fun writing this story! The vivid imagery and detailed world-building simply leap off the page, and combined with the hysterically funny dialog, it was a joy to read. At times the story takes on a theatrical feel, as if it had been written for the stage (which doesn’t surprise me because Buehlman has written and performed for Renaissance festivals), and I imagine this would be an excellent audio book as well.

The action in the second half of the story is relentless, as the characters face bigger and bigger dangers along their journey, and a few shocking surprises are revealed at the end. Like many of my favorite stories, some things are resolved and some aren’t, and that’s OK because this is only the first book in the series. Let’s just say that Kinch’s journey isn’t over, and I can’t wait to see where he goes next.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

The Blacktongue thief enters the reader into a dark, war ravaged world. After successive wars with invading Goblins from the South, most adult men have been killed leaving many countries with a very low male population. Women in turn became warriors as well in later wars due to this fact. Horses also were nearly wiped out leaving them a precious and rare resource that only the very rich can afford (and then mostly for show). If that isn't enough, now it seems a new war, this time with Giants from over the mountains in the West is brewing.
Despite how bleak that may sound, The Blacktongue Thief is a wild romp from start to finish, filled to the brim with jokes and crude humor, much of it coming straight from our narrator and main character Kinch Na Shannack. Having a character narrate their story after the fact is a trope that can easily be misused and cause a story to suffer, but that certainly doesn't happen here. Through Kinch's eyes we learn a great deal about the world around us including strange places and a horde of different creatures including the aforementioned Goblins and Giants, along with krakens, giant murder crows, mish mashed creatures made from humans and animals and many more.
The method of worldbuilding comes of course through Kinch's narrations for the most part, but we actually get quite a lot of background via stories, poems, songs, and even plays. It's easy to let the eyes wander over poems in songs in books (while vividly flashing back to Lord of the Rings) but they are used quite well here to expand the world in an entertaining manner without feeling like we're getting an information dump.
Kinch finds himself on a quest, though even he isn't sure what the goal is. Due to his debts from the Takers Guild thievery classes, he's obliged to take the job following a mysterious warrior named Galva on her own quest. Since Kinch himself didn't know what the Guild really wanted, or what Galva was really after, naturally the reader isn't keyed into this either. This really does bring up the one thing that I think this book needed more of: plot.
The actual goal of the plot isn't revealed into quite late into the book, which ends up making the resolution feel a bit rushed. Despite this, Kinch's narrations really made me not mind so much as I was still very much enjoying the ride. This book is definitely a 'journey over destination' type of story. The focus is more on the rich characters and worldbuilding with plot being secondary. Heavily plot driven readers may have complaints, but though I typically prefer more plot myself, this was still a very enjoyable read.
This was a fun book. There are plenty of dark, gritty aspects to the world, but the humor really steals the show. I wouldn't consider this book to be Grimdark even though to an extent that's how it's marketed. This feels like it could be a very bleak, hopeless world, but Kinch manages to make light of even the darker moment. There is a lot of originality here and I would certainly recommend this book for anyone looking to try something new in the realm of Fantasy. I will certainly be watching for book 2!

I've included a link for my review on YouTube which will go live on 05/14/2021 at 8:00 AM CST, and I'll also post the above written review on Goodreads that same day.

So I just finished this book and I'm trying to find a good way to explain it. This book reminds me of the movie Snatch. Stay with me here. Not plot-wise, but the feel of it: fast paced, darkly funny, a bit chaotic, gritty, and accents and ways of talking that make you pay attention and keeps you on your toes. There is so much snark, puns aplenty, and jokes throughout that really help lighten the harsh world and dark themes. I really enjoyed my time with this book and cannot recommend it highly enough.
I did listen to the audiobook so I want to talk about that as well. The author did a phenomenal job narrating his work, the accents were wonderful, the wit comes across so well (you can almost hear the smirks while he's talking) and there's even singing. This audiobook was fantastic, I definitely recommend listening, especially if you're having a hard time with the writing, as the cadence and mastery of the overall story really made me feel like I was right in the thick of it and made the experience even better.

Blacktongue Thief is the story of a young thief who embarks on a mission in order to pay off his debt to the Guild that sponsored his training.

The writing style. Going into this book I did so blindly. If you're expecting a serious fantasy, this is not that book. The style is rather upbeat and is reminiscent of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, complete with tousles with goblins, legendary creatures and giants.

This is definitely a book for a reader looking for a laugh while on a grand adventure. It has all the scrapes and banter that a reader could want.

Personally, I struggled getting used to the writing style, but after getting into the story it was difficult to put down. I am still not sure how I feel about the book overall, as there were elements that I felt were a bit lacking (external worldbuilding, to name one), but it was definitely a worthwhile read. The tone of the book was more comical than I usually prefer, but sometimes reading something different is a good thing.

The plot centers around an indebted thief who has to find a way to pay off his study debt to the Guild he belongs to. To do this he has to follow a soldier to a town that was overrun by giants. During this journey there are a lot of mishaps, skirmishes and interactions with unforgettable characters that each add their own flair to the story.

All in all, this book is written for the D&D fans as well as any fantasy lover looking to have an adventure that doesn't take itself too seriously. Will definitely be recommending this!

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing me with a review copy of this book!

I was initially very intrigued by The Blacktongue Thief, with its wisecracking narrator thief and female warrior character who can summon a freaking battle raven. The story takes place in a world filled with goblins, giants, and is ruled by a a guild from the shadows. Where their reach starts and stops no one quite knows, all main character Kinch knows is that he owes them some serious debts, and is helpless to refuse a quest that could wipe them away. Though I really liked the premise, I found that for lack of a better term, The Blacktongue Thief was just not my cup of tea due to its dark humor, lack of a likeable protagonist, and what felt like a rambling storyline.

Though I was originally very interested in the story of The Blacktongue Thief, especially when Galva, a warrior who decimates Kinch’s band of thieves with a single summon of her battle corvid, I quickly began having trouble trouble wanting to read the novel. Though I was excited for Kinch and Galva to set off on their newly shared quest, I found that said quest was really more a chain of events that continually went wrong, ending up with characters injured, caged, eaten, or otherwise sidetracked. To me, it felt like The Blacktongue Thief was almost a series of misfortunate events happening one after the other, and though that might be how an epic quest actually goes in real life, I found it perpetually frustrating to read. It doesn’t really help that the reasons for the main quest aren’t clear until ¾ of the way through the book, as Kinch is simply concerned about following the Guild’s orders at first, and making jokes along the way.


“‘What’s your name?
‘I murdered it.’
‘What will I call you?’
‘Sesta.’
‘Istrean for six?’
‘Aren’t you proud of yourself. It’s how old I was when I first killed.’
‘What, a bug?’
‘My sister.’
‘Must’ve been hard on your mom.’
‘I’m revisiting the idea of shaving your nose off. Have you got anything else to say?’”*


It didn't help matters that Kinch’s narration really reads like a rambling stream of consciousness to me. Though others may delight in his wit and dark humor, I quickly wished he would be less talkative and would keep the blathering to a minimum. At times, I found his narration difficult to follow, especially when magic is involved. Sometimes, Kinch thinks something happens, and then we are told it actually didn’t, only to later be told it did! I felt like I was being yanked back and forth in different directions during those times, and eventually just gave up rereading and trying to figure out what was going on in favor of continuing on in the story until another, more reliable character actually flat out told me what happened.

“‘I can’t think of many people I’d rather have on my side in a pinch than you. And that big, mean magnificent war corvid. Where is he, by the way?’
‘She. Do not ask me about the bird.’”


And these more reliable narrators were Kinch’s female travelling companions, Galva and Norrigal. I really liked these two ladies, the former being a force to be reckoned with in battle, and the latter being a powerful sorceress. Even better, neither of them put up with Kinch’s shit, shutting down his banter easily and bluntly. Thank god for these powerful women, who also have very unique backstories, though I won’t spoil them here. I think I would have much preferred reading a book narrated by either of these two side characters than one told by Kinch, who to me, doesn’t have many, if any, redeeming qualities.

“Your mouth is like an old man’s bladder.”


Many of his jokes are incredibly dark, that is if they’re not bawdy. Though Kinch saves a blind cat from death from its tormentors, he continually makes jokes about harming or killing it. When it is thrown overboard, Kinch doesn’t really care. There are some extenuating circumstances to why he treats the poor cat like that, but as an animal lover, I really didn’t appreciate the constant casual cruelty. These types of jokes really didn’t help Kinch to grow on me, nor did the fact that he felt incredibly self-absorbed to me. Even though his life is at stake on this quest from the guild, and literally threatened by an assassin, he enters into a “moon-marriage” with another traveler, the witch, Norrigal, obviously making her a great target to get Kinch to follow orders. But does this fact make him stop out of concern for the woman he has supposedly come to care for and to love? No, not for a second. Due to his selfish nature, I didn’t really find his change of heart at the end of the novel believable either.

"If honor decided to attend our adventures, I only hoped I'd recognize her; she'd been pointed out to me a few times, but we'd never really gotten acquainted."


The whole moon-marriage thing didn’t work for me at all either.The Blacktongue Thief does not explain where this cultural practice of a one month temporary marriage comes from or why it’s beneficial to anyone. Yes, Norrigal refuses to have carnal relations with Kinch until they enter a moon marriage, but I don’t really see any other benefit per se, or why a woman especially would want to bother with this practice when she could potentially become pregnant. Norrigal has her magic to protect her from pregnancy, but what about the non-magical women in this world?

The moon-marriage practice just seems like a realization of the male-gaze or male fantasy due to the lack of explanation surrounding it. I do believe the novel tries to imply that this practice allows the woman to “shop” for a good man or marriage, so to speak, but why bother with a marriage at all? Why not just date or have characters consummate their relationship without this nonsensical practice? Is this moon marriage practiced in order to connect to some Moon Goddess or to prevent potential offspring from being denounced as bastards? Without further explanation, this term just felt like an excuse for the characters to have sex rather than a realistic cultural practice or part of the world-building. And why not just have characters have sex if the book isn’t going to explain the reasoning behind the “moon-marriage.” Instead, it just felt like a shallow attempt at fantasy world-building.

“What you call happiness is just the breeze you feel falling off a cliff. I’m here to catch you. This is the Guild’s business now. You’ve endangered that girl with your love-oaths, and I’d hoped you’d know better.”


Though this part of the novel felt weak, others of The Blacktongue Thief were well fleshed out. The standouts of the world-building were everything involving the goblin wars. I could completely believe that war with goblins decimated the population, and Kinch’s encounter with the actual creatures in the novel was very intense. Even more interesting was despite the toll the goblin wars have taken on the world, they find to their horror, that one country, Molrova, lets the goblins live among them in a “goblin town.” The travelers, many of whom fought in at least one of the goblin wars, have very strong and believable reactions to this environment.

Similarly, as The Blacktongue Thief progresses Kinch and the readers find that the shadow of the Guild reaches further than they ever imagined. I think the novel does a really good job setting up for this reveal, dropping clues at how far the Guild will go to further its goals along the way. I also think it was fascinating how many different branches of the guild there were, and how they treated its students. For instance, Kinch has a brand on his cheek that designates that he owes the Guild a great debt, and it allows others to inexplicably slap him for a free drink. I don’t really get how this sends a message to the Guild’s debtors, but I imagine it gets pretty annoying after awhile, and I was more than okay with anyone slapping Kinch. I also really enjoyed reading about the Guild’s underhanded manner of discovering ciphers, those who can read and understand any language despite never being taught, and putting them to use. I also was extremely intrigued by the rumors that ciphers could read the Guild’s Murder Alphabet.

I also really enjoyed reading about the cultures of the giants, goblins, and a human one named Molrovan. The Molrovans consider the truth rude, so always state everything as a lie, which makes it sometimes impossible to decipher the true nature of what is being said. Similarly interesting was the method of the gruesome bone magic that created the battle corvids. There are plenty of exciting fantasy elements there, and even political strife on the horizon, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t the focus of this tale. Despite the more interesting fantasy elements, I can’t help but feel that most of those that were included weren't anything new. Kinch is a thief who is favored by a trickster god and can feel his own luck. Galva, is a warrior who worships and celebrates death. Later on, they encounter a hermit witch in the woods. They encounter a recluse sorcerer who creates and disposes abominations with the excuse of saving the world. An evil guild with more power than anyone knows. Many of these characters feel like archetypes more than anything else.

"Galva was smiling. This angered me at first until I remembered that she was really a believer--she believed life was a kind of virginity, to be defended until the wedding day, then joyfully given over."


Though The Blacktongue Thief didn’t work for me personally, and I could never like the main character or his dark and rambling journey, I think a lot of fantasy readers will enjoy the novel. And honestly from looking at reviews, many of them already have. I think if you really like grimdark fantasy and don’t mind non-linear journeys or prattling main characters, then you will really like this novel. Despite the fact that The Blacktongue Thief sets up for the next entry in the series, I will be passing on future installments.

*All quotes taken from ARC and are subject to change upon publication.