Christopher Buehlman: The Blacktongue Thief

Hi everyone

I finally finished Christopher Buehlman's The Blacktongue Thief, the first book in the Blacktongue series.
My copy is from Bol.com.

"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." 

This book was not my cup of tea. I can see why others might enjoy or even love it, but I really didn’t.
The biggest issue for me was Kinch. He’s written as too childlike, both in his actions and in the way he talks. His constant cringy tone and stupid, predictable, and repetitive jokes aggravated me. I found it hard to connect with him or take him seriously, which made it difficult to stay engaged with the story.

The structure of the book also frustrated me. You get a chapter that follows the main storyline, and then the next chapter is either a giant infodump or a way-too-long flashback. This kept throwing me out of the story, breaking the pacing, and making it hard to want to keep reading. The main storyline itself felt like a bunch of loosely connected short stories; there was too much happening too fast, and it all felt too superficial. The whole book felt fragmented, which made it very hard for me to enjoy it.

That said, there were some bright spots. I did like Galva and her magic; I just wish she had been more central to the story. Norrigal was okay; she was interesting but also very predictable. And I enjoyed the goblins as a race and their history. Christopher Buehlman clearly put a lot of thought into their culture and lore, which was one of the more engaging parts of the book.

All in all, The Blacktongue Thief was a very forgettable story for me. It had some interesting elements, but they weren’t enough to make up for the frustrating pacing, the childish protagonist, and the disjointed storytelling.

Have you read The Blacktongue Thief? Did you feel the same way, or did it work for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!
Helena