The Devils by Joe Abercrombie Review

Europe stares into the abyss.

Plague and famine stalk the land, monsters lurk in every shadow and greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions. Only one thing is certain: the elves will come again, and they will eat everyone.

Sometimes, only the darkest paths lead towards the light. Paths on which the righteous will not dare to tread...

And so, buried beneath the sacred splendour of the Celestial Palace, is the secret Chapel of the Holy Expediency. For its congregation of convicted monsters there are no sins that have not been committed, no lines that will not be crossed, and no mission that cannot be turned into a disastrous bloodbath.

Now the hapless Brother Diaz must somehow bind the worst of the worst to a higher cause: to put a thief on the throne of Troy, and unite the sundered church against the coming apocalypse.

When you're headed through hell, you need the devils on your side.

Imagine the church had a secret thirteenth chapel consisting of paranormal beings and monsters employed in carrying out assignments that cannot be achieved through more typical and moral methods. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie takes the dark fantasy genre and gives it an unhinged and comedic spin akin to the Suicide Squad within an epic fantasy tale. An action-packed story that has a lot of heart in it, this book features Abercrombie’s engaging and cinematic storytelling lightened by high-energy wit and over-the-top hijinks that’s a lot of fun to read provided one doesn’t compare it to or expect it to channel his more intense works.

Similar to a street rat rags-to-riches story dressed up in light absurdity, The Devils’s story loosely covers the story of Brother Diaz assigned to lead a gang of immoral prisoners of various skills tasked with escorting the recently discovered lost princess Alexia to Troy to reclaim her title. Besides being an orphaned petty thief for most of her life with zero essence of nobility, she also is under threat from her powerful and dangerous cousins seeking to claim the throne for themselves. Plucked from the Holy City streets, the unlikely group’s reconnaissance mission hits some snags where things go awry at every new turn, often with an explosive ruckus.

Though Abercrombie is a well-known author in the high/dark fantasy circles, this book is easily his most comedic and light-hearted book yet. While Abercrombie’s signature grittiness and intensity is still evident, the book’s overall tone is one of cheeky snark. Whether it’s an intense action sequence, casual conversations, even holy blessings, this book has a joke to crack. Best described as a fun and wild time, the humorous tone makes The Devils a very accessible read with great mass appeal potential especially for readers who can sometimes feel bogged down by the grand scale of some epic fantasy books or grimdark tales of constant misery. That’s not to say this book doesn’t have epic fantasy ramifications or grimdark elements, but that they’re wrapped up in an energetic and silly presentation that balances them out. To be expected for Abercrombie, the storytelling is also very engaging and dynamic, sometimes more impressive and notable than the content itself.

The crazy humor isn’t limited to just the character banter, but also to action sequences as well (as expected, the action scenes are excellent in full violent and graphic glory). The book also has a recurring trend of ridiculing and what some may say is “taking a piss on the church” that’s consistently entertaining. It’s worth noting though that the sense of humor leans towards fantasy-bro energy mixed with unhinged absurdity that won’t necessarily be for everyone, particularly those that do not enjoy crass humor. While I personally like the general feel and tone, I can understand those that may find it off-putting or tiring, especially considering the book’s length.

Next to the humorous tone and fun feel, the book’s other strongest element is its colorful cast of characters. The prisoner members of the thirteenth chapel consisting of individuals charged and sentenced for immoral actions are akin to a grimdark take on the Suicide Squad with different powers and personalities. The character banter and dialogue are consistently entertaining and though not every joke or sleight hits their mark, Abercrombie notches enough wins to make the book feel charming rather than grating. Not only featuring a diverse cast of characters that include queer representation, the story also features a multi POV presentation split across all members of the escorting party. While some POVs are featured more prominently than others, each perspective has a distinctive narrative voice and noticeably different tones, styles of description, and phrasing that adds depth and narrative flavor.

As the story progresses, the unlikely group embodies a ragtag crew and almost found family dynamic; Alex and her unusual uncles and aunties. Despite the story having a more casual and light-hearted approach, the book features unexpectedly strong character writing and development in the latter half as well as respectable thematic reflections on morality, family, and where one comes from. Although it’s sillier than his norm, this is still an Abercrombie book after all.

While the characters are appealing and the book a lot of unhinged fun, the book’s plot and story can feel a bit more questionable. Although there is a clear mission at hand to escort Alex to Troy, the adventure itself can often feel like it loses its direction and momentum. Outside of a well-written beginning and strong concluding arc, most of the content in between can feel random or unnecessarily long, with the section leading up to and including their passthrough of Venice being a good example. Though the story is still fun, the book can sometimes feel almost like a vibe kind of read that while humorous, can be found lacking in narrative substance or wearing its comedic approach a bit thin.

The other notable consideration that many readers including myself have is that the large cast of characters and POVs can often feel excessive or unnecessary. Including every member, the overseer, Brother Diaz, and Alex, the book features at least eight POVs. To Abercrombie’s credit, each POV feels distinctive as previously reviewed. However, at times the inclusion of so many POVs starts to increasingly affect the pacing of the story, the middle section of the book in particular losing its steam. This section also features the adventure party being split up in pairs which further slows down the story. These chapters are a bit of a mixed bag that focuses on set pairs, some of them containing the book’s best character development moments, especially Alex and Sunny’s. However, others such as the pairs that end up on different sides of a countryside war and feud feel like filler material that while amusing, doesn’t really add anything to the story. Additionally considering its epic fantasy scale and cross-country adventure, the world-building can feel quite underdeveloped and lacking with limited sense of context and purpose, not to mention the bigger picture vision that is left quite vague, at least within this book of the series. And with a page count coming in at over five hundred and fifty pages, I can’t help but feel quite a bit could’ve been pared down or alternatively spent more time at Alex’s destination that was quite intense and dense in terms of story vs time spent getting there.

With a group of immoral yet appealing individuals, respectable character development, and an unhinged sense of humor, The Devils is simply put, a really fun read. Though it’s constantly cracking jokes and filled with endless banter, it nonetheless still has the bones of an Abercrombie novel with excellent action scenes, gritty intensity, and engaging storytelling. While this book leaves a bit to be desired when it comes to epic fantasy world-building, plotting, and its mid-section, its character banter, comedic wit, and storytelling flair help make its weaker moments fun and enjoyable. For Abercrombie fans this is a nice light-hearted change of pace provided one isn’t expecting a gritty and serious read. For those new to his books, it’s one of his most accessible books to sample. This being my first Abercrombie read worked in both ways and I’m looking forward to the Heretics and all the immoral shenanigans to come.