Between Two Fires

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman, published in 2012. Reviewed by Kiri.

Reason for reading

Caspurr’s Reading Challenge 2025

Dates read

• 28 December 2024 - 37%
• 29 December 2024 - 54%
• (took a break)
• 1 January 2025 - 78%
• 2 January 2025 - 100%

Genre and notes

• horror, fantasy, historical
• heavy religious/theological themes
• third person past tense

Thoughts or review

I don’t mind a bit of gothic fiction, but horror has never been a genre that I find myself drawn to - whether that be in movies, games or, in this case, books. I confess I had forgotten this book’s “dark horror” classification when I started reading, but it certainly didn’t let me forget this for long as I was immediately dragged into gruesome descriptions and terrifying situations that made me wonder… people read this for enjoyment?

I began reading this on the same day Caspurr indicated he was making a start, by sharing a partial photo of the first page to his Membership tab on YouTube. He had mentioned in December that getting back into reading was one of his resolutions for 2025, along with the book which he had chosen for January. It wasn’t intended to be a read-along or book club, but some of us naturally wanted to join in. I hadn’t decided whether I would until that moment.

I pondered for a long time whether Caspurr had unknowingly picked such a dark and dense book, or whether this kind of psychological horror was what he enjoyed reading. Given that he was trying to establish a reading habit and had self-professed not read anything substantial in a while, it seemed strange to pick something so complicated to start with. It eventually became apparent he had simply picked it because it was highly recommended; without any idea of its contents.

In general, I found the book’s pacing to be a little uneven. At times it was incredibly information dense and I found myself going back and re-reading passages to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Then at other times I found myself reading a whole two or three chapters and wondering why it had required so many words. It is episodic in a way that I personally didn’t appreciate - entire sections felt wholly disconnected, until something later harkens back to that one event in a superficial way. Perhaps it’s me, but unfortunately this had the effect of feeling clunky rather than clever.

I definitely struggled through the first dozen chapters or more – all that kept me going was sheer determination. An online search indicated the story ‘gets better’ after ‘Paris’ (or Act 2) and I agree with this to an extent. What plays out in Paris lends a different perspective to all that previously conspired and undoubtedly colours what proceeds. It changes what was a fairly impersonal story so far into something I could now start feeling a sense of attachment to. However it didn’t do anything to change the writing style, and changed very little how the characters behave.

I had also read in my online ‘research’ that the ending was well worth reading. While the final scenes were a beautiful way to round off the story, I could not shake an underlying sense of frustration at the climax. It was ‘epic’ because it was described as such; as we viewed it as an outside observer, but it was also somehow… lackluster, somehow unsatisfying, somehow predictable. Oddly, it also appears the ending is often misunderstood as there are many threads online of people requesting clarification. At least it good to know it appears my understanding was right on the mark!

I remain with complex feelings around the main characters. They are written immensely flawed, which while irritating I equally appreciated as this made them feel realistic. However this didn’t make them likeable to me, despite actions that would be considered redeeming, and backstory which justified how they came to be the characters we are introduced to. Despite never quite ‘liking’ our band of misfits, one of the events nearing the end did bring me to tears as this had been the point in which our group was at its closest.

Personally, I’m not sure I would use the word ‘engaging’ for this book. Some have described it as a ‘slog’, ‘drudgery’ and ‘sluggish’; or at its most diplomatic – ‘tonally consistent’. Parts of the book definitely were gripping, but in others I struggled not to fall asleep. Some claimed the book got better around the 50% mark, but it certainly only picked up for me around the 75% mark because the end felt close enough to touch…

I think this book is one you will either love or not. It was an interesting read for me, and certainly different from anything I would normally willingly read. I did not ‘vibe with it’, but I accept that it was just not for me. I can at least claim that I came out of reading this knowing a lot more (impractical) French terms now!

Notable quote

““His translation of news from home gave them a taste of Florentine dark humour; the mass graves, with their layers of bodies, lime, and dirt, had inspired less reverential Tuscans to say the dead had “gone to the lasagna.”””

It would be in incredibly bad taste, but part of me really wants to find a reason or a situation to use that phrase myself. In reality, I should hope that I never need to.