EyebrarianPrize winnersGet the app

Books › The Blacktongue Thief

Cover of The Blacktongue Thief

The Blacktongue Thief

Christopher Buehlman

432 pages

A foul-mouthed, fast-paced romp through a brutal world, guided by a rogue who is just as likely to steal your coin purse as he is to win your heart.

Where to buyBooks like this

What it feels like

Reading this feels like sitting in a dimly lit, sawdust-floored tavern listening to the most charismatic liar you have ever met spin a yarn over cheap ale. The narrative voice is the star here, irreverent, sharply observant, and dripping with dark humor that cuts through the genuinely grim and perilous world. It moves at a brisk, rollicking clip, dragging you through mud, blood, and goblin-infested woods without ever losing its wicked sense of fun. Beneath the cynical exterior and inventive profanity lies a surprisingly tender core about reluctant loyalty and the heavy cost of survival. It is a perfect fit for readers who love their epic fantasy gritty, their magic costly, and their heroes delightfully morally gray.

Mood
  • gritty
  • perilous
  • raucous
  • grim but fun
Tone
  • wry
  • irreverent
  • cynical
  • darkly comedic
Pace
brisk
Themes
the cost of survival · reluctant camaraderie · debt and obligation · finding honor in a broken world
The writing
Highly voicey and conversational, laced with inventive profanity, sharp wit, and tactile, immersive world-building.
The arc
Moves from cynical self-preservation to a reluctant, hard-won loyalty toward unlikely companions.
Who it's for
Fans of grimdark fantasy who crave a heavy dose of black humor and a charismatic, unreliable rogue narrator.
Content notes
  • graphic violence
  • gore
  • profanity
  • animal death
  • body horror

About the book

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.

Description from Open Library.

Books like The Blacktongue Thief

See why they match