The Devils DEALS
Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils marks a new era for the acclaimed author of The First Law trilogy. It’s his first novel with Tor Books and the start of an entirely new fantasy world, one brimming with monsters, faith, corruption, and unexpected humor.
The story uses its devils to explore morality, redemption, and the fine line between heroism and hypocrisy, all while maintaining Abercrombie’s signature grit and wit.
The Devils Summary
The novel begins when Brother Diaz, a monk of the Church of the Saviour, is tasked with leading a group of condemned prisoners known as “The Devils.” Each devil is either a supernatural being or a criminal, a necromancer, a vampire, a werewolf, a knight who cannot die, a pirate, or even an invisible elf.
Their punishment? To serve the Church in its so-called holy war.
Their mission centers on escorting a thief named Alexia (Alex), who may or may not be the rightful heir to a crumbling throne. What follows is part divine crusade, part disaster in motion, as Diaz begins to realize that neither the Church nor his band of devils is what they seem. What begins as a mission of faith turns into a journey through hypocrisy, politics, and blood-soaked irony.
Abercrombie has said he deliberately avoided exhaustive world-building in this series, describing the setting as “as vague and ill-considered as possible.” That decision gives The Devils a refreshing sense of chaos and immediacy, a world that feels alive precisely because it’s fraying at the edges.
Characters & Themes
The true strength of The Devils lies in its characters. Each devil walks the line between monstrous and human, caught in the endless struggle between guilt, pride, and self-interest. Abercrombie draws on familiar archetypes, vampires, werewolves, and elves, only to twist them into something new, messy, and deeply flawed.
Brother Diaz, the reluctant holy man at the center, is perhaps the most human of all. His growing disillusionment with the Church mirrors the book’s larger theme: the corruption of divine authority. Abercrombie doesn’t just create villains and saints; he creates people who are both, often in the same breath.
At its core, The Devils examines how institutions that claim divine righteousness often rely on their own devils to enforce it. The novel asks uncomfortable questions: Can evil ever truly serve good? Can faith survive exposure to its own hypocrisy? And what happens when salvation demands a body count?
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Style, Tone & Pacing
Abercrombie’s writing in The Devils balances brutality and wit like a blade. His prose is unflinching, sharp, violent, and darkly comic. The dialogue crackles with sarcasm, and every insult feels like a tiny act of rebellion against the world’s decay. It’s the kind of humor that doesn’t soften the blows but makes them hit harder.
The pacing is brisk and cinematic. The opening chapters plunge readers directly into chaos, driven by clashing personalities and seemingly insurmountable odds. As the story unfolds, the rhythm slows just enough to allow moments of introspection before building toward a final act of divine madness and full-scale warfare.
Tonally, The Devils is pure Abercrombie, grim, funny, tragic, and weirdly hopeful all at once. He doesn’t romanticize heroism; he dismantles it, then laughs at the pieces. Yet beneath all the cynicism, there’s empathy. Even the worst devils have sparks of humanity, and that’s what makes the book hit hardest.
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Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- A richly drawn, morally complex cast that embodies Abercrombie’s best character work.
- A bold inversion of religious and political power dynamics.
- Dark humor that enhances rather than undermines the violence.
- A seamless blend of philosophy, absurdity, and raw entertainment.
Weaknesses
- The intentionally loose world-building might frustrate readers craving detailed geography or lore.
- Tonal shifts between tragedy and satire can occasionally jar the rhythm.
- The sprawling ensemble leaves a few devils underdeveloped by the end.
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Final Verdict
Murder, mayhem, and mystery sit at the fiery core of The Devils. Abercrombie takes the familiar structure of a fantasy quest and turns it inside out, replacing noble knights and chosen heroes with thieves, monsters, and zealots forced to question who the real devils are.
It’s brutal, funny, and philosophical in equal measure, a perfect storm of blood, faith, and dark laughter. Fans of grimdark fantasy will find everything they love here: the cynicism, the chaos, and the uncomfortable truths lurking in every moral gray area.
The Devils is proof that Joe Abercrombie remains one of fantasy’s sharpest voices, a writer unafraid to drag readers through the mud just to show them the glimmer of something real underneath. He’s still the devil you want leading you straight into the fire.
The Review
The Devils
The Devils is proof that Joe Abercrombie remains one of fantasy’s sharpest voices, a writer unafraid to drag readers through the mud just to show them the glimmer of something real underneath.
PROS
- Brilliantly flawed characters:
- Dark humor done right
- Clever moral inversion
CONS
- Loose world-building
- Tonal whiplash
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