Christopher Buehlman wrote the Blacktongue Thief, which I read a few months prior and loved. He writes good fantasy and is also an excellent writer, which seems to be more rare for fantasy. I was excited to pick up this book and check out another of his works.
Buehlman continues to be a strong writer, but he has moved from fantasy into more of a historical fiction/horror genre. The basic premise is that Delphine is a child touched by heaven, Thomas is a disgraced knight who is stuck escorting her on a journey through France after a plague and demon infestation.
I love the fantasy and historical fiction components, but I find horror to be less pleasant. The plot is interesting, the characters are ok, but I just did not love reading the book. I guess I just like my light reads to have less rigorous descriptions of the impacts of a plague.
I was tempted to give it a 5 and say it is just fine, but I bumped it up to a 6 at the last minute. I think others who pick this one up knowing what they are getting in to will enjoy it more than I did.
My Score
Goodreads Score (out of 5)
4.22