A devolution in what made Joe Abercrombie so great.

I read The First Law series when it first came out, and it revitalized Fantasy for me. Flowing prose with larger-than-life characters. So when I heard Abercrombie was starting something new in a new world, I was excited. While I loved the characters from his earlier novels, the tropes and voices started to feel repetitive with his later entries into the series.

Enter The Devils. An alternate history setting (in our world) featuring a cast of diverse characters. A vampire, a magician, an elf, a pirate, a knight templar, a monk, and a street urchin turned princess. It was all too much for me. While the first two or three chapters felt like Abercrombie was returning to his grove, the rest were too drawn out, too stuffed with characters, and often felt pointless as forward momentum into the plot. What I enjoyed most about characters in Abercrombie's early novels was that they felt like they've lived a rich life off the page. They oozed with history and detail. They all had their own unique voices, and it wasn't quite like anything I'd read in fantasy before.

The characters in The Devils feel like a regression. We learn about them exclusively through flashbacks and don't see their uniqueness play out on the page through their actions. Sure they are all different, but they all feel like caricatures, not characters. Top it off with far too many bad jokes that feel completely out of place.

The plot is incredibly repetitive as well. It' encounter after encounter until the midpoint where there is a shift that "splits the party" momentarily. Many 300 page novels can tell a complete story while I felt by the time I hit the 300 page mark in The Devils (around 50%) I hadn't even received half a story. Too many characters to juggle are what made the pacing suffer. Also, why are we turning an alternate history Earth into a fantasy novel? He has more fantasy elements in this than he had in his earlier novels which existed in a true Fantasy setting. I'm really not sure what he was trying to do with this novel.

Too many characters, a ho-hum plot, and a setting I'm still trying to figure out the justification for since it feels more fantasy than anything he's ever written.

Maybe Abercrombie's genius has already been written and he's floundering to find something new. The Devils is not it.

I absolutely loved this book. This was my first ever read by Joe Abercrombie and I could not it down! I am headed straight to the First Law Trilogy!

“Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”
Trust me, you want to know these devils.

Brother Diaz must lead a crew of holily bound and irredeemable devils to ensure the safety of Empress Alex to her rightful throne. Brother Diaz has never lead anything in his life and Alex has never “empressed” anything in hers. You ask about the devils? Well, they are an unusual crew of blood-thirsty, moon- howling, magically stubborn, invisible shifting, sword and verbal assault wielding demons who would just like to have a day or a week off.

How do they fair in this deviant Tolkienian-like journey? “During the last few months’ of Alex’s life the insane had become standard, the horrifying unsurprising, and the impossible routine.”

Sublimely witty, extremely dark and humorous, and quite sage in its offerings and fellowship. I cannot write a review befitting how much I loved this book and the characters and invite you to meet and journey with them as well.

"The Devils" is my first Joe Abercrombie. I'd read a few reviews saying it's an excellent "first" for his work, and I will have to agree - as a standalone, it's easy to read, funny, and quick-paced. Think a fantasy heist story with a lot of bad eggs that are nonetheless charming and weird in their own ways. The tone was wry and brisk; I was never terribly emotionally involved in the proceedings, but engaged nonetheless; the book was a series of "now how are they going to get out of this one?", and I did want to know!

When Brother Diaz is summoned to the Sacred City, he's sure he is finally landing a prestigious position that will reflect his hard work and dedication. But instead of a noble, glorious assignment, he finds himself in charge of the Chapel of Holy Expediency, an arm of the wing the Church doesn't even officially acknowledge. Brother Diaz is now responsible for dangerous individuals, ranging from a blood-thirsty werewolf to an arrogant necromancer. Their current assignment: escort a lost princess across the continent and install her as the rightful empress of a neighboring empire. In their way: four dangerous cousins who want the princess eliminated so they can take the throne instead.

THE DEVILS is another fantastic fantasy novel featuring that signature blend of Abercrombie: violence, crassness, and a host of memorable characters. Unsurprisingly, my favorite part of the story was the characters themselves. There are several POVs in this book, and every chapter felt like it had a distinctive voice. You could tell when it was a princess chapter versus a werewolf chapter versus a necromancer chapter. All these POV chapters provide insights into the characters themselves, which allows the readers to grapple with a real question: How dangerous are the members of the Chapel of Holy Expediency? Are they being unnecessarily prosecuted? Or has the Church accurately determined that these people are a clear and present danger to society if left unchecked? There is not a cookie cutter answer that applies to all of these characters, and it was intriguing to unpick their backstories and make my own judgement about them.

Speaking of the Church, let’s discuss the setting itself. THE DEVILS is set in an alternate medieval Europe; while you’ll find references to familiar locations like England and Barcelona, you’ll also find the populace lives in fear of another invasion of cannibalistic elves. The Church is Christianity-adjacent, in that it worships one God, but they use different iconography, and their Savior is a woman, resulting in much of the upper Church leadership being women. All of this is in service of a VERY thinly veiled satirical critique of organized religion. It is a constant theme throughout the book, to the point of being slightly overdone.

The story itself was a blast to read. Our characters must journey from essentially the Vatican to Troy to return the lost princess to her throne. In their way are four royal cousins who want the throne for themselves, resulting in multiple attacks, traps, and attempts on the princess’s life. While individually, each fight is well done and distinctive, it did start to feel slightly repetitive by the end of this 500+ page book.

That doesn’t stop THE DEVILS from having one heck of a gut punch as the story concludes. While the mission of this particular book, returning the princess to her throne, is wrapped up by the end, there are multiple tantalizing hooks dangling that foreshadow things to come. I myself cannot wait to see these characters come back and grapple with a new problem, and see how events from book one have (or haven’t changed) their outlooks. In short, THE DEVILS is a fantastic opening for a trilogy that is sure to be thrilling and engaging journey.

Note: I was provided a free ARC by the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.

The Devils is an action-packed romp through magical medieval Europe, full of werewolves, elves, and magicians. An often bloody, often hilarious tale of a group of misfits sent by the 10-year-old Pope on a hopeless quest across the continent. I picked this up because I enjoyed the First Law Trilogy, and I absolutely loved it. Hope we get more from the Chapel of the Holy Expediency

The Devils is an instant Abercrombie classic, a darkly funny, gritty, brutal, and memorable romp through a vividly imagined world full of expertly sketched characters with a high-stakes plot that never disappoints. The story revolves around the members of the secret Chapel of the Holy Expediency (think "the Suicide Squad") being tasked to put a street urchin who is apparently the long lost true ruler of the nation of Troy on the throne. Our cast of characters include the aforementioned urchin and a collection of the Holy Church's most damned, cursed, condemned, and expendable resources being thrown into the literal meat grinder of an empire where powerful nobles and other forces are already jockeying for power and success is anything but certain.

An excellent starting place for readers who have heard of Abercrombie's work but are a little intimidated by his larger series, this book should have wide appeal (watch out for the gore, though!) and is a must for any fantasy collection.

This is sort of a fantasy version of the Suicide Squad. The Devils are a crew put together by the Church (in which all the most powerful people are female in this world), set aside for a day when normal methods to solve a problem will not do. Most people know that the Church has twelve chapels, but these folks are part of the secret thirteenth, Our Lady of Pragmatic Expediency.

This motley crew consist of: a vampire, a necromancer, an elf (elves are terrifying cannibals in this world), a truly terrifying Viking werewolf, and are led by a jack-of-all-trades and an immortal soldier. So we've got basically Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolf(wo)man, Zombie and The Invisible Man along with a human Swiss Army Knife.

Added to this team are a new priest (because the Church needs this team to have a spiritual handler) and a long lost princess who's grown up as Oliver Twist only a lot less nice. The job is to get her to this world's version of Constantinople, which is undergoing a succession struggle. Our long lost princess, in theory, has the best claim to the throne if she can only get there. Achieving this might solve the schism between the Church of the East and the Church of the West (if you remember your European medieval history).

Things go wrong. Oh, do they go wrong. The other prospective heirs to this throne are not interested in a new princess and have lots of horrible ways to try to stop her. There's double-crossing, there's spying and messages gone astray, there are horrible inhuman monsters to fight. This is why the Church keeps its own monsters.

Abercrombie tells us what's up right at the beginning of the book and the climax did not come as a surprise to me. I don't know if his heart was in all of the characters. For example, I never cared about our princess; I was far more interested in the monsters around her.

But he's mostly on point. A tragedy concerning a character I'd grown to really enjoy hit hard. Fight scenes were lots of fun. Great banter and raunchy jokes. I'm interested in the world he's built and it feels like he's left the door open for a sequel, which I'd gladly read.

Joe Abercrombie writes a style of fantasy that I don't really see/ read from anyone else, and The Devils feels like a bit more standard high fantasy. You've got your quest, you've got your mismatched gang of ne'er-do-wells, the plot twists and turns and of course a good, healthy dose of magic.
I do not, however, say these things in a critical light. I absolutely LOVED this book and I hope Abercrombie expands this world to include further adventures of the church in this world. I loved the alternate history lens involved and of course the signature Abercrombie wit and banter.

Thanks to the publisher Tor and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Joe Abercrombie's still got it in this new series unconnected from any of his previous works. Everything one might expect is here: the prose, characters you feel like you're old friends with before the book is even half through, and an interesting and fast-paced story. Don't miss it!

This book was so good! Very different from Abercrombie's other works but having the same humor, themes and writing!
A lovable cast of characters each with their own secrets and problems whos relationships grow and change over the book.
Very cool magic and lore. Full of action and twists that really add to the book!
Can't wait for more.

A “Suicide Squad” for the gridmark fantasy crowd! A rollicking good time, Overflowing with action, humor, horror, and a cast of characters you won’t soon forget. “The Devils” will have you grinning from ear to ear as this band of oddities and odd balls guides a surprised and hesitant “lost” heir to her rightful throne. I dare you not to have a great time with this book. My only minor gripe is I thought it almost overstayed its welcome but overall it was one hell of a fun read and I hope to go on more adventures with this motley Crew. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Outstanding new novel from Abercrombie. I love how he combines gritty with humor and know exactly which customers to recommend this to. I love the ragtag group of misfits trope and he does this excellently. Abercrombie really stuns with his character work. This is everything you could ask for in a fantasy novel and I love that it's a standalone.

Is he an author or a comedian? Or both? Loved this, the usual Abercrombie wit is prevalent throughout, adored our rag tag misfit team, can't wait for more in this series, great world building and characters you really root for!

The Devils is the first book in Joe Abercrombie’s new series, and here’s the best part—you don’t need to have read any of his previous works to jump in. The Devils is a great starting point if you're new to Abercrombie’s world of gritty, morally gray characters and dark humor.

The plot centers on a ragtag group of misfits who have been tasked by the Pope to transport a princess across Europe, embarking on a kind of pilgrimage of sorts that is equal parts dangerous and absurd. They’re supposed to protect her, but it’s clear that every step of the journey is going to be fraught with tension, danger, and more than a little bit of chaos.

The story takes place in an alternate Europe, mostly near port cities by the sea. Abercrombie did such a wonderful job immersing me into the setting that I could practically smell the seaweed, and hear the waves alongside the squawking of seagulls. You don't have to create an entirely new planet or fictitious world to be great at world building and it's clear that Abercrombie understands this.

As for the characters, we've got a geriatric vampire, an elf, a monk, a very old knight, a magician, a she-wolf, and the princess herself. And let’s not forget the 10-year-old Pope as well as a host of other side characters who are just as rich and compelling in their own right. While watching a recent interview with Abercrombie, I discovered that he has a degree in psychology, which absolutely tracks. His understanding of human behavior is so evident in the way he crafts his characters actions, thoughts, and interactions. The man does not miss when it comes to character work!

There’s something inherently cinematic about this story too. Think if Guardians of the Galaxy met The Princess Diaries with a sprinkle of The Locked Tomb's absurdity. This was a fun, off-beat, and highly engaging read. The humor is sharp, the stakes feel real, and the whole thing just hums with energy. I can't wait to see where this story goes next.

My first Joe Abercrombie book and it did not disappoint! I’m so glad I received an ARC of this and was able to read it. It was typical Joe writing with the humor. I loved it!

This book was reviewed for our site by Sally Berrow.

Joe Abercrombie is back, folks, with his highly anticipated historical fantasy horror romp, The Devils— his most action-packed novel to date and the first in a brand new series.

Europe is in turmoil: the Eastern and Western Churches are in schism and the usurper Empress Eudoxia is dead. Only one thing is certain: the elves are coming and they will eat everyone.

In a bid to consolidate power in the East, Her Holiness, Pope Benedicta the First, commands the hapless Brother Diaz to lead a ragtag bunch of ne’er do wells to install a thief upon the Serpent Throne of Troy. Comprised of a self-important necromancer, a geriatric vampire, an undead knight, an ex-pirate, an oversexed werewolf, and a vanishing elf, the Church of Holy Expediency makes haste towards its destination. But Eudoxia’s sons are closing in, and they have their mother’s hideous experiments in tow. To fight devils, one must be prepared to use devils…

Clocking in at well over 500 pages, The Devils makes for a fine bludgeoning weapon in-hand, but whips along at a rapid, raucous pace that had this reviewer devouring it in the space of just 48 hours. Veteran fans will be no strangers to Joe Abercrombie’s beautifully crafted battle scenes and cinematic set-pieces, and I’m pleased to report they feature in abundance here. From a creepy haunted house to the swashbuckling high seas, to a battlefield atop an ancient tomb filled with decaying corpses, the Church of Holy Expediency give us a whistle-stop tour around an absolutely bonkers alternative medieval Europe sure to have the history buffs chuckling knowingly and laughing at an in-joke or two.

At times the fast-paced action sequences and abrupt location changes feel a little too whirlwind—in fact, combined with an ensemble cast and an abundance of new world-building information to absorb, it often feels downright chaotic. However, overall, The Devils’ chaos is enormous fun, and although the break-neck pace may come as something of a disappointment to those who adore the slower, deeper political machinations and character work present in Joe’s The First Law series, it simply cannot be denied that no one writes action as beautifully and as viscerally as Joe:

“He came open like an old coat, insides sliding out in a red-black slurry.”

Pure poetry.

Hig res cover for The Devils USSpeaking of character work, Joe’s, as always, is unmatched. In the case of The Devils, it’s the glue holding all the aforementioned chaos together. Although he doesn’t quite plumb the deep dark depths of the human condition as much as he’s done in the past, it’s no small feat that every single one of The Devils’ characters has their own highly distinctive, unique voice—even those who turn up for a chapter or two only to then immediately die (often horribly).

The titular Devils themselves are of course the crowning glory, each of them riffing on a different classic horror monster such as the Wolfman, Dracula, the Invisible Man and many more (there’s even a whiff of the Island of Dr Moreau around some of Eudoxia’s sons’ henchmen). Whilst I’m certain many Grimdark Magazine readers will absolutely love the ridiculously crass and hyper-violent werewolf, Vigga, it’s the necromantic sorcerer—sorry, magician—Balthazar who takes the cake for my personal favourite. His too-high opinion of himself combined with his increasingly desperate, hilarious attempts to remove Benedicta’s papal binding are an absolute joy to read, and a scene in which a Duke is summoned from the depths of Hell legitimately had me laughing out loud for several minutes.

Overall The Devils is fast, furious, and an absolutely rollicking good time. The cast is wonderful, the plot fast-paced and action-packed, and it’s easily Joe’s funniest work to date. It marks Lord Grimdark’s triumphant return to the fantasy genre, and here at Grimdark Magazine, we’re already clawing at the bars and slathering for the sequel.

While I enjoyed this overall, I found it humorous in a way that just felt a little tiresome after awhile. I also think, in a few places, the jokes/banter detracted from what could’ve been some great character moments/conversations. It’s a big cast, and while I loved some characters more than others, I found them all to be distinct with unique personalities that made each of them memorable. Abercrombie’s talent for strong characters, dialogue, and action continues to shine here. The Devils is a fun and adventurous romp, just not going to be a new favorite.

This was my first Joe Abercrombie book, but after reading it, I'm ready to go pick up his past books.

The Devils is dark and gritty in a lot of ways, but Abercrombie's writing balances that with genuinely funny dry humor. Despite the grim plot and setting, The Devils is really a story about belonging, friendship, and found family. This found family is made up of a group of criminals, some of which do lean towards malice or at least prioritize self preservation over the 'greater good'. One of my favorite aspects was how the characters grew to care about each other without losing those core parts of their identities.

Every character was so unique and I'm not sure I'd be able to choose a favorite. Each had their own (usually tragic) backstory and particular set of skills, and I had so much fun reading as they stumbled, murdered, and snarked their way through the plot.

In a dark, alternative medieval Europe, a young monk is tasked to lead a disparate group of supernatural beings - including a vampire, a necromancer, a werewolf, a pirate, and an elf, among others - on a holy quest using very unholy methods. Abercrombie's endlessly quotable wit, deft character work, and crackling dialog are on full display, and few modern authors work better with large cinematic action set pieces. This standalone novel about found families should absolutely draw in new readers.