Book Review: The Devils (The Devils, #1) by Joe Abercrombie
ARC provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art by Will Staehle
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Devils (Book #1)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Pages: 512 pages (Paperback edition)
Word Count: 213,000 words
Publish date: 6th May 2025 by Gollancz & Tor Books (US)
I fully realize this book is not out until May 2025, but so far, The Devils by Joe Abercrombie is the best fantasy book I’ve read this year. It’s devilishly brilliant.
‘No matter how you fight, you can’t beat time. It lays low every empire, topples every tyrant.’
Believe me when I say I felt highly elated when I received the advance reading copy of The Devils. The last new book by Joe Abercrombie I read, The Wisdom of Crowds, was released 3 years ago. And it has been 13 months since I gave any new fantasy book I read (not counting reread) a 5-star rating. Today, the absence of a new Abercrombie’s book and a 5-star rating drought has finally been given water to live. The Devils marked the first time I read a book from Abercrombie that doesn’t take place in The First Law universe. I don’t think it is possible to avoid comparisons with The First Law in my review here. I, like many of you, knew about Abercrombie’s books through The First Law world, and it is understandable for readers to approach The Devils expecting they’ll get the same greatness of The First Law series. And from my perspective, you’ll earn them from The Devils. However, do not expect this to be 100% similar to The First Law in tone and narrative. By its nature, The Devils retains Abercrombie’s strongest skills as a storyteller as he navigates his own uncharted grounds of storytelling. Gritty and violent while focusing more on amplifying the fun, entertaining, humor factors and, as crazy as this will sound, the found family aspect.
‘That’s how it always begins. The just cause. The good fight. Each time, I tell myself it will be different. But for me, as the fight wears on, the good wears off. Before I know it . . . I’ve made myself a devil. That’s why I swore to serve her Holiness. That’s why I have to keep my oath.’ And with the bitter regret of a drunk pushing away the bottle, he let his lingering fingertips slip from the gold-wired hilt.’
So what’s The Devils about? As Europe stares into the abyss and plague and famine stalk the land, while 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. Now, the hapless Brother Diaz must somehow bind the worst of the worst to a higher cause: to put a thief, Alex, on the throne of Troy and unite the sundered church against the coming apocalypse. To achieve this, Brother Diaz and Alex will be accompanied by The Devils, a congregation of convicted monsters that guarantees every mission turns into a disastrous bloodbath. It is mandatory to fight devils with devils. The result? This insane quest successfully led Abercrombie to hit another glorious homerun with The Devils.
“Everyone’s scared all the time. That’s the thing you’ve got to tell yourself. They might be scared of different things to you. Things that don’t scare you a bit. Like heights, or failure, or wanting to piss then not being able to go. But everyone’s scared of something. And even if they’re not, it helps to think they are. The brave ones are just good at pretending, and pretending’s just lying by another name, and when it came to lying, Alex was up there with the best. Ask anyone.”
As I said earlier, although it is entirely accurate to assess The Devils as another gritty and dark tale from our beloved Lord Grimdark, the main themes of The Devils is about the meaning of the soul, redemption, sense of longing, hope, faith, and found family. The way I would perceive or advertise The Devils to The First Law readers would be to imagine this as Best Served Cold, but the crew comprised of an unlikely found family of vicious, damaged, hilarious, and charismatic characters. Most importantly, most of these characters are inherently kind-hearted characters trying to do good. Not all, but most. There were definitely some nods to Logen Ninefingers, and time will tell whether these characters will reach the hall of fame status the characters of The First Law series such as Logen Ninefingers, Sand dan Glokta, Bayaz, and many more gained. But hey, as Logen often says, Abercrombie is still alive. We’re only one book into the series. In The Devils, Abercrombie already effectively proved the myriad number of storytelling knives he wields are still deadly sharp and precise toward the target of writing great characters, dialogues, and actions.
‘The world’s a bitter place… We’ve got to grasp at any joy we can.’
I feel it is truly a gift and a curse to have read many fantasy books. I have mentioned this many times now in my reviews and videos. To put it this way, in the case of this book, having read all of Abercrombie’s First Law books and then being deprived of any of his new work for 3 years made me realize just how good I had it and how few authors can nail characterizations as good as Abercrombie does. Especially if we’re talking about distinct character’s inner and dialogue voices. My god. Abercrombie is close to being unparalleled in that aspect. Balthazar Sham Ivam Draxi would totally say Abercrombie is one of the three best character writers in Europe. I had an absolute blast reading through The Devils, and if you’ve been a fan of The First Law books, then you’ll know and understand that one of the main reasons behind this is the extremely well-written characters.
“They laughed together. The world was, it hardly needed to be said, divided into enemies and those that could be made use of. The Baron might well have been the most dangerous monster in this monstrous company, but if Balthazar had learned one thing during his storied career in the magical sciences, it is that the worst monsters often make the best allies.”
I felt thoroughly invested in every character of The Devils group. They all have their own strengths and flaws, but at the end of the day, most of them are trying their best to repel the affliction that transformed them into devils in the eyes of society. Most of them are genuinely trying to do good and be kind after the sins of their past, and some want to belong to a group of loyal friends. This is Abercrombie writing an epic fantasy novel with an integral found family consisting of a thief, a cowardly monk, a cursed knight, a pirate, a narcissistic necromancer, an invisible elf, a geriatric vampire, and a werewolf. I could not resist that. The characters were lovable, and the dialogues were incredibly engaging. Following the journey of Alex, Brother Diaz, Jakob the Thorn, Baptiste, Balthazar Sham Ivam Draxi, Sunny, Baron, and Vigga across all hell on Earth was addictive, delightful, and brimming with laugh-out-loud moments.
‘I’ve spent a lifetime at war… and I can tell you only this. Nine times out of ten there’s more to be won from peace.’
All of the above is not to convey The Devils as a simple, fun, and humorous book. It is not a proper Abercrombie book without the gripping actions and crimson brutality, right? Rest assured. You will get them and more. Abercrombie being one of the best combat scenes writers in the fantasy genre is a statement I have repeated countless times. The Devils gave irrevocable power to that notion. Structure-wise, The Devils is divided into four parts, and each part essentially ends with a dynamic and cinematic sequence of carnage. Abercrombie’s fluency in the language of violence is undeniable. He is a master conductor at composing and structuring words to bring intensely vivid battle in my mind. It has been that way since The Blade Itself, and he retains that in The Devils. The last 80 pages of The Devils may just be one of the longest action sequences Abercrombie has ever written.
‘In my youth I dreamed one man could tip the balance of history… Time has taught me that when one does, it can tip the wrong way as easily as the right.’
I completely loved it. There were no dull moments reading the visceral confrontations that raged across the alternative Europe Abercrombie crafted. The description of the setting and environment in The Devils is also bursting with life and imagery. The Holy City, Venice, Troy, and the conflagration of Saint Natalia’s Flame were exquisite and grand in their respective way. I wish I could get into more details about these, but I am cognizant of how fortunate I am to be reading this book nine months early, and I will leave the impact of the powerful battles and stunning vistas for you to experience yourself.
‘When I was young… I thought I was working towards something. Building to last. Some perfect state of things. Of the world. Of myself.’ He gently shifted one leg under her, then the other. ‘You get to my age, you realise nothing lasts forever. No love, no hate, no war, no peace. If a thing hasn’t ended . . . you haven’t waited long enough.’
Abercrombie deals in absolute, and I have nothing but absolute praise for The Devils. It was the utterly compelling, immersive, and magnificent fantasy escapism I desperately needed. I (like many readers of The First Law series) await Abercrombie’s explosive return to that beloved grim playground. However, if you have been a fan of Abercrombie’s storytelling and writing in The First Law series, I guarantee The Devils will succeed at providing a captivating reading experience while you wait. The Devils feels like a legal injection of a healthy and joyful adrenaline rush. In the same vein as how The First Law trilogy helped spark my love for reading epic fantasy novels, The Devils is sort of responsible for reminding me why I cherish the fantasy genre. As I talked about how blessed I am to be reading The Devils early, I am cursed with waiting much longer for the sequel to come. It is worth the pain, though. The Devils is one of my favorite fantasy books of all time. God, it feels good to say that. It is a declaration that has been missing from my reading year. If you are, for whatever reason, not sure about reading The Devils, retract that fear now. Have hope. The Devils is a book that will satisfy longtime fans and newcomers to Abercrombie’s work. The Devils signals the return of one of the masters of the fantasy genre. Pre-order The Devils. Enrich your reading life next year.
‘Show me a man who regrets nothing and I’ll show you a man who’s achieved nothing.’
You can pre-order this book from: Amazon | Blackwells (Free International shipping)
The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Aliysa, Ambrosius, Andrew, Andrew S, Annabeth, Anne, Arliss, Barbara, Bev, Cade, Chris, Christopher, Crystal, Cullen, Dan, Donuts, Dylan, Edward, Elaine, Elias, Erich, Feanor, Francesca, Frank, Gary, Gregory, Hamad, Helen, James, Jeff, Jenn, Jesse, Joie, Jonathan, Katrina, Kim, Kristina, Lara, Lourdes, Luis, Melinda, Michael, Michael, Mike, Miracle, Mordie, Nicholas, Radiah, Rando, RCT, Redmischief, Rue, Samuel, Sarah, Scott, Sean, Shawn, Stephanie, Trish, TS, Wick, Woodman, Xero, Yuri, Zoe.