‘The Blacktongue Thief’ – Christopher Buehlman (Gollancz)

Page Count: 413 Pages.

Thanks are due to Alex, of the excellent ‘Spells & Spaceships’ blog, if it hadn’t been for his glowing review of ‘The Daughters War’, I probably wouldn’t have taken a chance on ‘The Blacktongue Thief’ (it doesn’t matter which way round you read them and ‘The Blacktongue Thief’ was right in front of me so...) As it turns out, I did and I’m so much the better for it. I probably shouldn’t give away too much so early but… It’s a sneaky contender for my ‘Favourite Read of the Year’. There, I said it.

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.

In a world where there’s not a lot to enjoy at the moment, I find myself searching out the fun reads more and more. Which is an odd thing to call ‘The Blacktongue Thief’ as Kinch’s world is only just recovering from a bitter war and is literally limping along until the next catastrophe happens. And that may not be too much longer because even in the face of a horde of cannibal goblins, humanity is still as self serving as it ever was. Even the horses have all but died out, fucking hell… It’s a grim backdrop alright but it won’t drag you down, what’s running through its midst won’t let you. Because you know what? Maybe, just maybe, humanity isn’t all that bad after all.

I’m talking about Kinch of course, Galva too (of course) but Kinch is our lead so… What we have here is a man out to save his own skin but able to see the wider picture, at the same time, and realise that he can do the right thing by more than himself all at the same time. It’s subtly done, I don’t think even Kinch realises where he’s headed, and that’s what makes it work. There’s no ‘big revelation’, just a series of moments that make his final decision easier to make, just because he’s seen how other decisions have changed his world. I liked that and of course, it doesn’t hurt that the position he takes will dig him out of his own personal hole ;o) Galva does the right thing because it’s the right thing and I totally respect that. Kinch though… He is the ideal character to hang the whole thing off. His commentary makes the plot purr along and his dry humour is just the right counterpoint to the state of the world he is travelling through. I don’t think I’ve come across a character as engaging as Kinch in a long while.

It takes more than good characters to make a book work though and Buehlman clearly knows this, taking every opportunity to throw every challenge he can possibly think of at our heroes. And it all sticks the landing, driving the plot along at a ferocious pace and giving us set piece spectacles that are quite frankly just awesome. If you’ve read the book already then you’re probably thinking about the Kraken, I am. I’ll bet that Kraken is still out there and it remembers Kinch and his crew… But anyway, it’s moments like these that make ‘The Blacktongue Thief’ such a memorable read, it is truly breathless stuff and that’s what makes it such a fun read.

As is my wont, I am horribly late to this party (it looks like everyone has moved on to ‘The Daughters War’ and quite right too) so all this has probably made you say ‘we knew that already’ ;o) Fair enough but if you’re even later to the party than I was… Don’t hang about, just read ‘The Blacktongue Thief’. It’s just what you’re after, trust me.