Direct sequel requiring prior reading
The hosts emphasize that the novel picks up immediately after The Blacktongue Thief and relies on previous relationship dynamics, making book one essential reading beforehand.
Reviewed
Read Time
9 min read
Our age bandAdult
Reader rating
4.7 · 681 Amazon ratings, as of Nov 2026
reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks scoreShare This Review
Our review
The Thrice-Bound Fool
The Thrice-Bound Fool Review: Funny, Dark, Slow-Winding Sequel (Buehlman)
Christopher Buehlman's The Thrice-Bound Fool, the second Blacktongue novel, sends thief Kinch Na Shannack and knight Galva into unknown lands with a stolen, murderous spellbook. Reviewers praise its jokes-with-grief voice and the pair's bond, while noting the road wanders before it bites.
Tap to enlargeLuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Readers of the earlier Blacktongue books who want a sad, funny road-fantasy driven by Kinch and Galva's partnership more than by a tightly engineered plot.
Worth it if
Worth reading if you loved The Blacktongue Thief's jesting narrator and are happy to follow a journey through giant country and the grief under the jokes without needing the plot to tighten quickly.
Skip if
Skip it if you need a plot that marches from the first page, or you tire quickly of crude humour and coarse language, since reviewers say the pacing is slow and the crudeness runs throughout.
What readers & critics say
Reviewers lean clearly positive: Grimdark Magazine praises Kinch's storyteller's voice and the loyalty-versus-tragedy themes, Lynn's Books calls the Kinch and Galva relationship the winning element, and One Reading Nurse gave the author-read audiobook five stars. The recurring reservations are a meandering plot and humour that, as one reviewer notes, may not suit everyone.
Sources: Grimdark Magazine, Lynn's Books, One Reading Nurse4.7from 681 Amazon ratings, as of Nov 2026— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
Stephen and Jake from Fantology Podcast reviews The Thrice-Bound Fool
Stephen and Jake from Fantology Podcast share a spoiler-free review followed by a spoiler discussion of The Thrice-Bound Fool by Christopher Buehlman.
A BookTube review by Fantology Podcast, 2026 · 546 views · 2.5K subscribers · Watch on YouTube ·
Their views, not ours. The points are our AI summary of what they say, each playing from where they say it.
Eerie magic and signature humor
The book successfully maintains the original's off-putting, otherworldly sense of magic alongside its witty, character-driven humor.
Impactful character progression
Focusing primarily on Kinch and Galva, the narrative delivers meaningful character growth and emotional beats that deepen their bond.
Middle book setup and pacing
Jake notes that the story feels like a bridge setting up future events, leaving readers longing for greater plot momentum and resolution.
Preview the book
Ask LuvemBooks
Was this helpful?
The Thrice-Bound Fool follows the thief Kinch Na Shannack and the knight Galva as they flee the Taker's Guild with a stolen, murderous spellbook, carrying a jesting narrator's grief across giant country. Reviewers say it is sadder, darker and funnier than its predecessor, built on the partnership between its two leads. The recurring caveat is slow pacing, plus that the crudeness runs throughout.
- Is it worth reading?
- The reviewer at Grimdark Magazine found Kinch's voice stuck for weeks afterwards. Jim McLeod of Ginger Nuts of Horror says only the slow pacing holds it back, and warns readers who expect a straightforward narrative to skip it. Lynn's Books agrees it is more about the journey than the destination but says the meandering is not a criticism, so reviewers split on how much the pacing matters rather than on whether it exists.
- Similar books
- Reviewers reach for a few comparisons. Jim McLeod of Ginger Nuts of Horror names Scott Lynch's Locke Lamora for Kinch's voice, Glen Cook's Black Company for the grime of the mountain passes, and Terry Pratchett for humour that carries weight. The Lies of Locke Lamora is the closest match for a funny, sharp-tongued thief, and Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself suits readers who want grim, darkly comic fantasy.
- Who should read this?
- It suits readers of The Blacktongue Thief who want more of its jesting narrator and a story weighted toward the Kinch and Galva partnership. McLeod's counsel is to read it if you loved the first book, like fantasy with horror in its bones, or want jokes strong enough to offset the sadness. Readers who want a tightly structured epic, or who find such language off-putting, are the ones the reviewers point away from.
- What age is it for?
- It is written for adults. Reviewers describe a book that is cruel and violent, crass, and marked by a harsh tone throughout. No source we found gives an official age rating, so adult readers who are comfortable with violence and swearing are the clear audience.
- About Christopher Buehlman
- Christopher Buehlman is an American novelist, comedian, playwright, and poet from St. Petersburg, Florida.
- Where should I start in the Blacktongue books?
- One Reading Nurse found that Galva's story from The Daughters' War added a lot to this one. All of the critics treat this as a sequel to read in order, and none recommends it as a starting point.
- What are the main themes?
- Grimdark Magazine's reviewer says the book keeps loyalty, dedication and love in tension with desperation, tragedy and death. Both leads change as the journey strips them down: Kinch hardens while Galva softens, if only a smidge. McLeod adds that every joke Kinch makes holds something off, whether the cold, the Guild or the dark.
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
What age is it for?
About Christopher Buehlman
Where should I start in the Blacktongue books?
What are the main themes?
Summarize this book
The Thrice-Bound Fool is the second Blacktongue novel. Kinch Na Shannack, a thief devoted to a god of mischief, carries a sentient tome that tries to kill him, and Galva, death's sworn handmaiden, guards him while he mines it for dark magic to protect the queen she serves. With the Taker's Guild on their trail, they leave the known world, crossing the Thralls into the Giantlands. Reviewers describe a journey that strips both characters down, and none of the sources we found covers the ending.
Follow up
What is the spellbook's role?
Does it stand alone?
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Our Review
We review the evidence: published critics, reader verdicts and BookTube reviews, gathered and weighed with AI assistance and edited by LuvemBooks, rather than one reader's first-hand take.
A stolen, sentient spellbook, a thief who jokes his way through the end of the world and a knight sworn to death make The Thrice-Bound Fool a darker, sadder and funnier second Blacktongue novel, according to the reviewers who have weighed in. The one recurring caveat is that its road wanders before it bites.
What happens to Kinch and Galva in The Thrice-Bound Fool?
Kinch Na Shannack, professional thief and devotee of a god of mischief, now holds a stolen, sentient tome that tries to kill him whenever he opens it, and often when it is closed. Galva, a veteran of the goblin wars and death's sworn handmaiden, has vowed to guard him while he mines the book for its dark magic.
She does it because the book is the key to stopping the shadowy tyrants out to kill the queen she serves and loves.
The Taker's Guild dogs their every step, so the pair flee the known world entirely. Grimdark Magazine's reviewer describes the route: over the Thralls and into the Giantlands beyond Manreach as winter closes in, past owl-beasts, bandits and slavers, and on to half-giants, giants and gods with, in the reviewer's words, absolutely zero chill.
This is the second Blacktongue book from Tor, published on 13 October 2026. The Blacktongue Thief came first, and The Daughters' War sits alongside it.
Reviewers who recommend reading in order stress that those earlier books enrich this one.
What did reviewers find in the Kinch and Galva partnership?
Lynn's Books, a book blog, called the relationship between Kinch and Galva the winning element of the novel. The blogger adores Galva, likes Kinch's charm too, and says his outrageous asides made her explode with laughter, while another turn of the page could leave her close to tears.
Grimdark Magazine's reviewer sees the two changing in opposite directions. Kinch hardens while Galva softens, "if only a smidge", and the story repeatedly pulls them apart and draws them together until they have nothing left to lose.
The reviewer also says the book keeps loyalty, dedication and love in tension with desperation, tragedy and death.
Lunar phase calendar page showing moon cycles across a month with days of the week.
The book blogger behind One Reading Nurse singled out Galva learning to do sarcasm as a high point of the banter. She also found that Galva's story from The Daughters' War added a lot to this one.
How does The Thrice-Bound Fool balance jokes and grief?
Jim McLeod of Ginger Nuts of Horror, writing from a horror reader's perspective, argues that every joke Kinch makes holds something off, whether the cold, the Guild or the dark. He compares Kinch to Scott Lynch's Locke Lamora on a bad day, the grime of Glen Cook's Black Company to the mountain passes, and Terry Pratchett to the ghost at the table.
In McLeod's reading, Buehlman knows a joke can carry a corpse as well as moral weight.
Grimdark Magazine's reviewer calls Kinch's storyteller's voice something special that sings in this series. The reviewer found that voice stuck for weeks afterwards, with Kinchisms creeping into everyday speech, and finds the clash between his unserious manner and the harrowing events he recounts memorable.
The same reviewer admits the tone may not suit everyone and says it is a refreshing, charming way to tell a dark story.
Lynn's Books describes a book that is bleak and bloody, laugh-out-loud funny and indisputably crass, with kindness where you least expect it and cruelty without need. McLeod credits Buehlman with the funniest language gags in fantasy right now, built on a thief who reads most tongues and speaks few.
Does The Thrice-Bound Fool wander, and who will it frustrate?
The clearest caveat comes from several directions at once. McLeod's verdict says the book is held back only by a road that wanders before it bites, and he warns readers who need a plot that marches from the first page to skip it.
Fantasy world map with labeled regions, compass rose, and decorative border framing the fictional geography.
Lynn's Books puts the same quality more kindly. The blogger says it is not an epic with a clearly structured plot that carries the story forward, and that it is more about the journey than the destination.
She is explicit that the meandering is not a criticism.
McLeod adds a second caution: readers who tire quickly of crude humour and coarse language should expect it to wear on them. One Reading Nurse agrees the humour is crude but clever and says it will not be for everyone.
She reached five stars on the audiobook, which Buehlman narrates himself.
Is The Thrice-Bound Fool worth reading?
Weighing these reviews, the book's pull is a narrator whose jokes carry grief, and the tension they all circle is between that comic voice and a journey that is slow to tighten. Readers who enjoyed that voice in The Blacktongue Thief come away delighted, with Lynn's Books rating it 4.5 of 5 and calling it brilliant.
The same sources point away from anyone who wants a tightly plotted epic or finds coarse humour tiring.
The comparisons the reviewers reach for help place it. McLeod names Scott Lynch's Locke Lamora for the voice, Glen Cook's Black Company for the grime and Pratchett for the humour that carries weight.
Lynn's Books says there is barely anything in it.
All of the critics here treat it as a sequel to read in order, and none suggests starting with this one. McLeod's counsel is simple: read it if you loved The Blacktongue Thief, like fantasy with horror in its bones, or want jokes strong enough to carry grief.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- Further reading
- 2
Christopher Buehlman, LuvemBooks
- 3
mitpressbookstore.mit.edu
- 4
fantasticfiction.com
- 5
grimdarkmagazine.com
- 6
- 7
gnofhorror.com
- 8
- 9
- 10
risingshadow.net
Age & Reading Level
Our age band
Adult
Our age band groups books for browsing; it isn't an age a review gave.
5 content notes · who it suits
Content to know about
bleak, bloody violence
crude humour and coarse language throughout
cruelty without need
slavers and enslavement
grief and loss
Best for: Adult readers — reviewers report bloody violence, crass humour and coarse language throughout.
Skip if you need a plot that marches from the first page, or you tire quickly of crude humour and coarse language.
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