Just finished Between Two Fires (Christopher Buehlman)

[LOB]

And I cannot recommend it enough. If you have any sort of interest in the darker side of religion, Lovecraft, or the esoteric then this is essential reading.

Without ruining too much, the story follows a disgraced knight, a small girl, and a shameful priest through a bizarro, dark souls-esque caricature of plague ridden Medieval France. The characters are great, the dialog frequently made me laugh, and the story line features many points where you will not be able to put it down.

The religious aspects of the book are wonderfully subverted. In this universe, God and heaven is real, but so is Hell and its Denizens. If you enjoy fire and brimstone or weird tales of witches, Between Two Fires delivers these in spades. Although described as horror, I would disagree, it is definitely more of an Adventure/Odyssey for our characters with elements of horror and madness woven in. These elements are masterfully written and conceived of and are genuinely surprising at times.

So, if you're looking for something to read I highly recommend it, if you have read it already let me know what you think. Personally I'm going onto the Sprawl Trilogy.

 

[remember_summer_days]

Never heard of this one, but it looks awesome! Added to my reading list, though knowing how much of a mess I am when it comes to reading, it will probably be a bit till I get down to this. I've been meaning to read the history of the Black Plague and how medieval Europe saw death, and this novel will surely be a good companion for that!

 

[eve]

sounds really interesting, def adding 2 my list ... do u hav any other books like this 1 that u might rec ? :3

 

[LOB]

sounds really interesting, def adding 2 my list ... do u hav any other books like this 1 that u might rec ? :3

Unfortunately not, I'm usually a high fantasy/sci-fi reader, I have heard his other books are good and will probably take a look once I tackle my current backlog

 

[Radical]

This has been on my radar for a while. Thanks to your review, I will certainly get to it soon.

Your description reminds me of another book I read recently, Laurus by Eugene Vodolazkin. It's set a bit later in the 16th century, and the fantastical elements are more subdued, but it gives off similar vibes.