In 1348 the Black Death has emptied a Norman village, and a disgraced knight finds one child alive in it. Christopher Buehlman sends the pair toward Avignon across a landscape hell is tearing apart.

Readical Key Points

• Deluxe hardcover edition with black sprayed edges, designed endpapers and a new foreword by Joe Hill, as the publisher describes it
• Medieval horror: plague, fallen angels at war with heaven, and the risen dead
• Content note: plague, violence and demonic horror
• Hardcover from Tor Nightfire, published March 3, 2026, 448 pages; an instant New York Times, USA Today and Indie bestseller, per the publisher

Thomas has lost his standing and, as far as he is concerned, any chance at redemption. The girl he finds tells him the plague is only part of it: Lucifer's angels are rising against heaven, and the world of men is the battlefield. Delirium or faith, she talks him into escorting her across a ruined landscape to Avignon, where she says her mission waits. Buehlman fills the road with saints, demons and the dead who do not stay down.

This edition suits readers of historical horror and dark fantasy, and readers of The Blacktongue Thief who have not read this one. The publisher lists the sprayed edges, endpapers and Hill foreword as the deluxe edition's features. Thomas believes in nothing. The road to Avignon was not built for that.

About the Author

Christopher Buehlman is an author, comedian and playwright whose novels include The Blacktongue Thief, The Daughters' War and Between Two Fires. He toured renaissance festivals with his comedy act, Christophe the Insultor.

Condition: Brand New and Readical Ready.

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