Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

39 reviews

gwenhwyfar's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I knew just by looking at it that this book was for me. This might be the most metal book I've ever read. It's blasphemous. It's pestilential. It's ridden with corpses. It's a hellish pilgrimage across 14th century France. It goes in with the brutality, so I would pay close attention to content warnings. 

This story is about a young girl, eventually revealed to be named Delphine, approaches a group of brigands in around Normandy to help her bury her father. One, named Thomas, ends up killing the others, has her father buried, then agrees to accompany her to Paris and then Avignon (the papacy was in Avignon in the 14th century). On their travels, they also are joined up with a priest named Matthieu. Thomas had fought in the battle of Crecy, sustaining heavy wounds. His lands were then stolen from under him and he was unfairly excommunicated. Matthieu had a homosexual affair which was uncovered by the village he served, so his flock had abandoned him. Delphine is... Jesus 2.0. You see, God is missing, and Hell has declared war on of Heaven. The gates of heaven are defended but the angels are unable to help on earth, where demons are running rampant. The demons are responsible for the plague. They detect Delphine and they attempt to hinder her pilgrimage; her only protectors being Thomas, Matthieu, and various lesser angels working in secret. There's some seriously messed up imagery throughout.

I loved this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Murder, Death, Violence, Torture, War, Religious bigotry, and Antisemitism

sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I feel like I always have to knock stars off books for silly reasons, even if I liked them. Here, it is not the case. I was craving a good, medieval story and Google gave this book as the first result. I cannot believe Google just randomly offered me the best book I’ve read in YEARS.

I loved the references to Gnostic scripture and how it brought religion to life in such a way that now angels and God cannot be boring. That said, I believe this book can be enjoyed without being overly Christian- it’s a classic story about knights slaying monsters and supernatural forces that help him and his team along.

As a fan of Joan of Arc, I loved Delphine. Her character was compelling and fun, as were Matthieu and Thomas. This book is so funny with scenes packed with so much action I had to stop myself from reading too fast and savor it.

If you are a fan of knights, horror, and magic, I cannot recommend this book enough. It’s absolutely my favorite now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Religious bigotry, Violence, Gore, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Cursing, Blood, Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Addiction, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Antisemitism, Excrement, Vomit, Sexual assault, Islamophobia, Torture, Pedophilia, and Grief

flintk's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Child death, War, Religious bigotry, Rape, Misogyny, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Blood, Antisemitism, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical trauma, Islamophobia, Abandonment, Genocide, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Child abuse, Grief, Animal death, Alcoholism, Body horror, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Homophobia, Death, Cursing, Classism, Cannibalism, Hate crime, Confinement, and Chronic illness

mori431's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Murder, Homophobia, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Cannibalism, Cursing, War, Grief, Torture, Vomit, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

madison_mls's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

It’s givinggggg The Last of Us but make it dark ages and biblical end of times :). No but this book genuinely had me repulsed, scared, and loving the adventure all at the same time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Gore, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Religious bigotry, War, Rape, and Sexual content

jacobimerman's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Death, Torture, War, Body horror, and Pandemic/Epidemic

fierceweebadger's review against another edition

5.0

Never read anything quite like this and it was AMAZING. I saw another review which said that this book had some of the most insane scenes they’d ever read, and yep that is accurate. Also this book would make the most incredible film/series. 👀

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Antisemitism and Torture

straaay's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Body horror, Sexual content, Murder, Torture, Alcoholism, Gore, and Death

nashley's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Religious bigotry, War, Violence, Sexual content, Cursing, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Death, Physical abuse, Child death, Antisemitism, Murder, Excrement, Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Cannibalism, and Blood

persephonedives's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Religious bigotry