How did Heaven come into all of this? Heaven was life, not death. Heaven was a woman holding your head in the crook of her arm and looking down at you. Heaven was a warm hand on your cheek and the smell of soup with garlic on the fire.”

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman | Goodreads Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman | Goodreads

I Warned You: This is more or less Delphine's reaction when Thomas escapes from the seemingly prosperous castle that she refused to go into on account of being a gathering of demons. When he awakens, she gives him a curt "Are you ready to go to Paris now?" To which he responds with "Yes." Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Jehan and Annette, the kind couple who offered the protagonists shelter and food in Paris and looked very willing to adopt Delphine, are horrifically killed by a demon taking the shape of a statue of the Virgin Mary. Our Angels Are Different: Described as humans neither male nor female, but more beautiful than either. I really enjoyed the character Thomas, a fallen knight that has been traveling with some quite despicable brigands. But then he meets a girl; an orphaned girl living alone with her father’s corpse. But, something about this girl is different. She sees things and knows things that are beyond explanation. I absolutely love the dynamic between Thomas and this girl. I hate to say too much more for fear of spoilers. But trust me, this is a journey I won’t soon forget.A demon at one point seemingly possesses Thomas and tries to goad him into raping Delphine, presenting her in his dream as a ripe and juicy pear. He gets as far as stripping both her and himself naked, but ultimately resists and expels the abomination from his body. Demon Lords and Archdevils: The main antagonists of the story are Bel-Phegor, Ra'um and Baal'Zebuth, each Princes of Hell tasked by Lucifer to conquer the earth in his name. Buehlman έχει μια ενδιαφέρουσα λίστα από βιβλία που κανέναν δεν μοιάζει με το άλλο, αλλά όλα όμως μοιράζονται μια κλίση προς το σκοτεινό και το βίαιο. Κάτι που επιβεβαίωνε αυτό το ευανάγνωστο κράμα μεσαιωνικού μυθιστορήματος με φανταστική λογοτεχνία που είχα ξεκινήσει να διαβάζω. Ο Buehlman μπορεί να αποπροσανατολίσει τον μέσο αναγνώστη: είναι άγνωστο από που εφορμά – του αρέσουν ο Άρχοντας των Δαχτυλιδιών; Ή μήπως προτιμά το Όνομα του Ρόδου; Η γραφή του και η προσέγγισή του μου θύμισε τον Ken Follet από το Pillars of the Earth, με αρκετή δόση προσεγμένου χιούμορ. Ή αυτό που εγώ προσλαμβάνω ως καλή αίσθηση της πραγματικότητας και του τσίρκου που αποκαλούμε ζωή. Ο μεσαίωνας του Buehlman είναι πραγματικά ζωντανός, η βρωμιά και η εξαθλίωση, ο μαύρος θάνατος που αποδεκατίζει σαν ραπανάκια τον πληθυσμό της Ευρώπης – μια ζοφερή πραγματικότητα που ο συγγραφέας παρουσιάζει με αξιοθαύμαστη λεπτομέρεια αλλά και εξόχως λεπτεπίλεπτη εγκράτεια. Η ερευνά του –οι σύντομες ευχαριστίες στο τέλος καλύπτουν ένα τεράστιο έυρος που καταμαρτυρά έναν πραγματικό ερευνητή και άνθρωπο με ποικίλα ενδιαφέροντα- είναι ενδελεχής αλλά εξυπηρετεί μόνο την υπόθεση. Κάπου σε όλη την ταραχή κλιμακώνεται η επικυριαρχία των έκπτωτων άγγελων επί της γης. Ένας ξεπεσμένος ιππότης και μια κοπελίτσα που φαίνεται να είναι κάτι παραπάνω από αυτό που δείχνει, ακολουθούν έναν ασαφή σκοπό για να σώσουν τον κόσμο. Αυτή είναι συνοπτικά η υπόθεση και αν θέλει κανείς παραπάνω να διαβάσει το βιβλίο.

Between Two Fires - Christopher Buehlman - Google Books

Some Christians may be a bit annoyed at some of the liberties taken here. Our protagonist, the little girl is also internally Jesus. Now while that has some obvious flaws it also can be argued that Christ lives in Christians through the Holy Spirit. I'm not sure if this plot point will bother many or not. Buehlman was born in Tampa, Florida, in 1969, to an adolescent young woman originally from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He was subsequently adopted by Joseph and Christeen Buehlman of Saint Petersburg, Florida. He attended Thom Howard Academy, a school for gifted and special needs students, from 1973 until 1982, when he enrolled at Northeast High School as a sophomore. He graduated from Northeast in 1985 at the age of sixteen. He briefly attended the University of Florida that year, then got his associate degree from St. Petersburg Junior College in 1989. He studied French language and History at Florida State University, [1] graduating in 1994 with a bachelor's degree.Knight in Sour Armor: Despite Thomas' anger and cynicism, he can't shake off doing altruistic things still befitting of a virtuous knight, such as saving a girl from being raped, burying her father even if it puts him at risk of catching the plague, trying to find her a home, slaying a demon that's terrorizing a village, and so on.