The Blacktongue Thief
The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlmanby Christopher Buehlman
Shares rank 27 of 41 fantasy novels by recommenders
People recommend it for its witty, snarky voice and solid character development and world building, even among readers who don't usually pick fantasy.
People recommend it for its witty, snarky voice and solid character development and world building, even among readers who don't usually pick fantasy.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Witty, snarky fantasy tone
“witty and snarky fantasy, solid character development and world building”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Solid character development and worldbuilding
“witty and snarky fantasy, solid character development and world building”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Enjoyable outside usual genre
“I'm surprised that I'm enjoying it, it's not my usual genre”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Strong personal enjoyment
“I really enjoyed The Blacktongue Thief.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
Other fantasy novels people recommend
The four most recommended other fantasy novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R. Tolkien | 66 | 11 | 86% | 12 | 15 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| The Hobbitby J.R.R. Tolkien | 49 | 13 | 79% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Dungeon Crawler Carlby Matt Dinniman | 48 | 6 | 89% | 11 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationalityby Eliezer Yudkowsky | 19 | 17 | 53% | 7 | — | — |
| The Blacktongue Thiefby Christopher BuehlmanThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I really enjoyed The Blacktongue Thief.”
“I'm surprised that I'm enjoying it, it's not my usual genre”
“witty and snarky fantasy, solid character development and world building”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.