Forget noble ring-bearing heroes. Joe Abercrombie’s newest squad, The Devils, is a glorious grimdark mix of murderers, warlocks, vampires and werewolves on a quest to seat a street thief as the rightful Empress of Troy.
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In This LitStack Review of The Devils
The Devils
by Joe Abercrombie
Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils is a funny and exciting grimdark, character-driven adventure set in an alternate medieval Europe fractured by religious schism, its borders constantly threatened by gangs of flesh-eating elves. It is in this milieu that we embark on a medieval road trip filled with delightfully funny characters, adventurous, exciting fights and swashbuckling, grim magic, bawdy language and, yes! lusty sex with a werewolf who doesn’t have enough fingers to count the many friends she has accidentally killed.
The Devils has everything I love in a good adventure novel—exciting fights, apocalyptic magic, and flawed characters whose quirks make you laugh while making you care. There are exciting, well written fights, apocalyptic, death-defying magic, and bawdy, bombastic, flawed characters whose quirks make you laugh and care.
Swashbuckling, Flesh-Eating Elves, and Holy Scandals
It’s a simple story setup. Choosing to fight fire with fire, the Church creates a highly secretive branch known as the Chapel of the Holy Expediency, a ragtag band of literal and figurative devils who are tasked with embarking on a bloody cross-continent escort mission.
When he is summoned to the Holy City by the Pope, Brother Diaz, a timid, unremarkable monk, expects a comfortable promotion or prestigious commendation. Instead, the Pope appoints him head of the Chapel of the Holy Expediency and tasks him with managing a band of convicted monsters, murderers, and dark magic practitioners bound by papal blood magic to complete their mission.
Fight Fire With Monsters: The Mission to Troy
Together, Brother Diaz and The Devils must escort Alex, a cynical street thief, lately identified by a unique birthmark as the long-lost heir to the Serpent Throne, across the breadth of Europe to be crowned Empress of Troy. Standing in their way are three ruthless royal cousins, all vying for the throne.
As the band of devils journey from the Holy City through Venice and across dangerous lands, Brother Diaz struggles to reconcile his gentle religious vows with the horrific violence his flock inflicts on enemies bent on stopping their quest. Shipwrecks, demonic deals, bounty hunters, and internal betrayals culminate in a chaotic battle at the Pharos of Troy as our dysfunctional group of outcasts must decide if they are truly nothing but monsters, or if they can bond and become a found family.
A Reluctant Empress and Her Terrified Monk
Alex (The Princess) is a scrappy, cynical street rat who lies to live and steals to eat. Suddenly elevated to royalty as Princess Alexia Pyrogennetos, she is plagued by deep insecurities about her new status. While she acts selfishly out of sheer survival instinct, she frequently surprises herself with flashes of genuine compassion and bravery.
Brother Diaz is a nervous, easily flustered monk who was forced into the Church in his youth. Entirely out of his depth managing a pack of supernatural killers, he relies on constant prayer and a holy vial containing the relic of Saint Beatrix. Despite his profound cowardice and constant panicking, he acts as the group’s moral and spiritual anchor.
Meet A Crew of Charming Miscreants
Though they are labeled as monsters by society, each member of the Chapel possesses deep human flaws and surprisingly endearing, idiosyncratic habits:
Jakob of Thorn is an immortal knight from the Crusades who bears the physical scars of centuries of warfare. Long ago, he was cursed by a witch to never die, and never to tell a lie. This forced honesty gives him a delightfully gruff, fatalistic, and completely unfiltered perspective on the battlefield.
Vigga Ullasdottr, a standout character, is a fierce Norse werewolf covered in brands and tattoos, capable of tearing armored soldiers to shreds in seconds. In her human form, she is unashamedly vulgar, wild, and intensely resistant to authority. Despite her terrifying animalistic side, she has a hilarious and sweet, protective soft spot for the easily terrified Brother Diaz.
Balthazar Sham Ivam Draxi is a highly dangerous and powerful necromancer who is forced to serve the Church against his will. Vain and narcissistic, he views himself as a misunderstood genius surrounded by idiots. Every time he tries to use his magic to break the Pope’s binding spell, it makes him violently physically ill, yet his utter arrogance prevents him from stopping.
Sunny is an elf, a species universally hated and feared in this world, who bears the scars of past human torture. She has the magical ability to become completely invisible, but only as long as she can hold her breath. Very quiet and watchful, she has a literal stop-and-start to her stealth, and forms a sweet, burgeoning romance with Alex along the way.
Baptiste is a clever grifter, pirate, and jack-of-all-trades fixer who handles the logistics of their chaotic journey. Despite being surrounded by the deadliest monsters in Europe and operating in the criminal underworld, he is an unshakeable optimist who somehow boasts a track record of having surprisingly few enemies.
Baron Rikard is a geriatric, ancient vampire who is quietly one of the most terrifyingly lethal members of the company. He acts like a fragile, sleepy old grandfather resting on the periphery of the group’s bickering, right up until the exact moment he turns into an absolute whirlwind of aristocratic, blood-soaked violence.
Blood, Bonding, and Backseat Bickerings
The Devils is a classic fantasy quest reframed through the structure of a highly chaotic, funny and gritty (and murderous) cross-country medieval road trip. Instead of a fellowship of noble misfits, Abercrombie’s Devils are a bizarre collection of heady and dangerous, conflicting personalities who must find a way to work together in order to survive.
Because they are all bound by blood magic to finish their quest, the group is trapped together, forcing them to interact in ways they never normally would. The constant friction softens their monstrous egos and edges, gradually morphing the pack of isolated solitary predators into a highly protective, deeply dysfunctional, found family.
The physical journey mirrors the internal evolution of the characters. As the backdrop changes from the rigid, civilized structures of the Holy City to chaotic and increasingly dangerous frontiers, the characters are forced to adapt, drop their guards, and rely on each other to survive.
Don’t Wait, Grab Your Ticket
If you’re looking for a fantasy adventure novel that pairs fast-moving, blood-soaked action with sharp-witted comedy and an unforgettable cast of lovable and hilarious misfit characters, The Devils is an absolute must-read. Joe Abercrombie delivers a wickedly fun, razor-sharp adventure that reminds us why we love dark fantasy adventure. The novel leaves you desperate for their next chaotic trip, and the wait won’t be long as a second novel in the series, titled The Heretics, arrives in May 2027. But now, and I mean right now, grab a copy of The Devils, strap in, and enjoy this hellishly funny, bawdy and exciting ride. If you love grimdark adventure, The Devils is heaven.
~J.S. Hood
About Joe Abercrombie
Joe Abercrombie is a critically acclaimed British fantasy author widely recognized as a pioneer of modern “grimdark” fiction. A former freelance film editor, Abercrombie burst onto the literary scene in 2006 with his landmark debut, The Blade Itself, initiating the beloved First Law world.
Renowned for his razor-sharp cynical humor, visceral action, and morally grey antiheroes, Abercrombie consistently subverts traditional epic fantasy tropes. Rather than righteous chosen ones, his narratives spotlight deeply flawed characters, most notably the iconic, torturer-turned-hero Logen Ninefingers, navigating a gritty, unforgiving world where happy endings are rarely guaranteed.
Beyond the core First Law universe, which spans three standalone novels and the subsequent Age of Madness trilogy, Abercrombie has expanded his repertoire into dark historical fantasy with the adventure novel The Devils. Today, his work remains a cornerstone of contemporary speculative fiction, celebrated by readers for its psychological depth and unmatched narrative drive.
You can connect with Joe Abercrombie on his website, and on Facebook and Instagram.
Other Titles by Joe Abercrombie
Here are a few other titles by Joe Abercrombie, we recommend you begin with the first three books of the First Law Trilogy, including The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie, and Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie.
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