Failed academic Frank Nichols and his wife, Eudora, have arrived in the sleepy Georgia town of Whitbrow, where Frank hopes to write a history of his family's old estate-the Savoyard Plantation- and the horrors that occurred there. At first, the quaint, rural ways of their new neighbors seem to be everything they wanted. But there is an unspoken dread that the townsfolk have lived with for generations. A presence that demands sacrifice.
It comes from the shadowy woods across the river, where the ruins of Savoyard still stand. Where a longstanding debt of blood has never been forgotten.
A debt that has been waiting patiently for Frank Nichols's homecoming...
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7 books in catalog
Dark fantasy and horror fiction gained a distinct blend of historical grit, macabre atmosphere, and sharp humor through novels such as Between Two Fires and The Blacktongue Thief. Christopher Buehlman established his reputation across speculative fiction by pairing detailed historical or urban settings with folklore, monsters, and morally complex characters. His narrative approach draws heavily on myth, dark comedy, and realistic character voices across both standalone horror novels and epic fantasy series.
Born in Tampa, Florida, on February 22, 1969, Buehlman grew up in the Tampa Bay area and later attended Florida State University, where he majored in French language and literature. Before publishing novels, he spent decades performing as a comedian, playwright, and poet. He gained wide recognition on the US renaissance festival circuit under the stage persona Christophe the Insultor, Verbal Mercenary. His early literary achievements included winning the Bridport Prize for poetry in 2007 for his poem Wanton.
Buehlman transitioned to long-form fiction with his debut horror novel Those Across the River in 2011, followed by Between Two Fires in 2012, a novel combining medieval plague horror with apocalyptic religious themes. Over the subsequent decade, he authored urban horror and fantasy titles including The Necromancer's House, The Lesser Dead, and The Suicide Motor Club. In 2021, he expanded into high fantasy with The Blacktongue Thief, followed by its prequel The Daughters' War in 2024. He divides his time between Florida and France.
Buehlman's writing is marked by deep immersion in regional, historical, and folkloric settings, ranging from 1930s Georgia and 1970s New York City to fourteenth-century France during the Black Death. He frequently subverts familiar genre tropes, presenting vampires, sorcerers, and medieval mercenaries through gritty, grounded perspectives enriched by dark comedy and authentic dialogue. His backgrounds in poetry and live performance inform his rhythmic prose, distinct character voices, and balance of tragic drama with sharp levity.
