Book · 2012
Between Two Fires
by Christopher Buehlman
A disgraced knight and a mute girl walk across a France gutted by plague and demons, looking for one town God hasn't given up on yet.
What does Reddit think of Between Two Fires?
Between Two Fires is r/horrorlit's answer to a genre with almost no other entries: medieval-set, plague-and-demons horror. One ↑245 comment says as much directly: it "fills an incredibly uncatered-to niche," medieval cosmic horror crossed with Crusades-era apocalyptic dread. Another, ↑307, calls it a book that's "Hell of a book to try to live up to," which is the closest thing to a genre-defining claim this corpus offers. It crosses over hard: r/Fantasy places it on an S-tier list next to The Lord of the Rings and Blacktongue Thief (↑206), and r/suggestmeabook reaches for it as the Witcher comp in a personalized rec list (↑1377). But the disagreement is real too. An ↑605 r/horrorlit comment describes tapping out five hours into the audiobook, still waiting for horror to start, and concluding they'd "tricked" themselves "into listening to romance." That's not a minority gripe buried at the bottom; it's the second-most-upvoted excerpt in the sample.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Medieval plague-and-war horror as an underserved niche
- · Demons and religious apocalypse in a historical setting
- · Genre-crossing between horror, fantasy, and general fiction recommendations
- · Romance elements overshadowing the horror billing for some readers
Common praise
- + r/horrorlit (↑245) credits it with filling a niche, medieval cosmic horror, that has almost no other entries.
- + Lands on an r/Fantasy S-tier list (↑206) next to The Lord of the Rings and Joe Abercrombie's standalones.
- + Gets reached for as the go-to Witcher comparison in a personalized r/suggestmeabook list (↑1377).
Common criticism
- − An ↑605 r/horrorlit comment says the horror doesn't show up for the first five hours of the audiobook, and what's there instead reads as romance.
Who it's for
Go here if you've exhausted every haunted-house and slasher paperback and want dread that comes from crusading armies and plague pits instead of basements. r/horrorlit treats it as close to essential for medieval horror specifically, so genre completists should already have it queued. If what you actually want is horror-forward pacing from page one, know that at least one reader spent five hours waiting for scares that were, by their account, a romance plot in disguise. Fantasy readers who like grim, morally compromised knights will recognize the S-tier company it keeps.
Mentions over time
Which Reddit comments matter for Between Two Fires?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“After looking at your posts for 20 seconds, here ya go: You like Avatar: The Cloud Roads by Wells, about an alien race like the Navi You like UFC: (Is that fighting?) Gideon the Ninth, kick-ass sword-fighting lesbians in space Witcher: Between Two Fires, A knight travels plague-ridden Europe …
“I did this with "between two fires" got 5 hours into the audiobook wondering when the horror was starting, it was just a teenage girl with all these men in love with her. I couldn't believe I had tricked myself into listening to romance.
“It’s very important that we don’t succumb to *Between Two Fires* erasure.
“I know I personally want to read more medieval horror, but Between Two Fires is one Hell of a book to try to live up to.
“The thing about Between Two Fires is that it fills an incredibly uncatered to niche. I personally really enjoyed it it, and ymmv, but it does get recommended so often because there just aren't really many medieval horror books. It's a bit of medieval cosmic horror, crusades era Christian apocalyptic…
“My S-Tier: - The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien - The First Law series, by Joe Abercrombie, but especially the Standalones. - Blacktongue Thief, by Christopher Buehlman - Between Two Fires, by Christopher Buehlman - Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller - Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawk…
“If you like it, you should read Between Two Fires next!
“Khai of Khem by Brian Lumely. Ancient Egypt, horror, sci-fi. Between Two Fires by Christopher Beuhlman, dark ages, horror, and quite gruesome. Both are great reads. I hope you enjoy.
“You sound like me. Here are some books I read this year that gave me those feelings in different shades: - Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman - The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers - Blindsight by Peter Watts - Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica - The Familiar by Mark Z. Danielew…
“I would love more medieval/traditional horror fantasy like a scary LoTR or Between Two Fires but with traditional fantasy races and creatures. What's most needed is a better publishing industry that doesn't screw over its authors.
“I've been reading a lot of bangers this year. Although to be fair I'm playing catch-up on reading the best of the genre because I haven't read much over the last decade. My favorites so far have been: 1) **Between Two Fires** by Christopher Buelhman 2) **The Realm of the Elderlings series** by R…
“Between Two Fires. Probably the most praised and recommended book in this sub. I thought, "No way this lives up to the hype." And I was right. It surpassed it, by a mile and a half. What. A. Book.
“Between Two Fires by Buehlman. I’m surprised it hasn’t been said yet. A nice little historical fiction, horror fantasy, set during the plague years. And the plague is not the horror part.
“Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman. One of my only 5/5⭐️ reads, and an amazing medieval horror story with a whole lot of heart.
“If you're ok with characters with dark pasts who are trying to do better, check out Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman. It's set in medieval France with a subtle demonic invasion happening. The MC is tasked with escorting a young woman across the land.
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Readers also mention
Books that share discussion threads with Between Two Fires — counted from the comments, not curated.
Guides featuring Between Two Fires
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
Between Two Fires — frequently asked
Is Between Two Fires more horror or more romance?+
Depends who you ask, and the disagreement is sharp. r/horrorlit (↑605) describes five hours of audiobook before concluding the setup was really a romance in horror clothing. Other r/horrorlit comments (↑307, ↑245) frame it as a defining entry in medieval cosmic horror. Both readings come from the same subreddit.
Why does r/Fantasy recommend Between Two Fires when it's shelved as horror?+
Because it crosses over. An r/Fantasy S-tier list (↑206) puts it next to The Lord of the Rings and Blacktongue Thief without treating the horror label as disqualifying. The crusading-knight, morally bleak framing reads as fantasy-adjacent to that subreddit even though horror is where it's usually filed.
What kind of horror is Between Two Fires, according to Reddit?+
Medieval and religious, not supernatural-slasher. r/horrorlit (↑245) describes it as medieval cosmic horror crossed with Crusades-era Christian apocalyptic material: plague, war, and demons rather than jump scares.