4.5 of 5 stars
My Five Word TL:DR Review: This book! What a Blast

I will say I had a great time reading The Devils and look forward very much to reading more from this absolutely crazy bunch of characters. Joe Abercrombie has such a fantastic way with words – he actually makes you like the most unlikable people and be positively in their corner and this story is no exception.

The thing is here – I don’t want to give anything away – which does make writing a review a little difficult.

Basically we have a monk, Brother Diaz. He’s about to be receive a holy assignment, aided by a strange band of murderers, magicians and monsters which I won’t elaborate on further because I truly feel that you need to discover them all for yourselves. What I will say is that I definitely had my favourites, and I’m sure there’s someone here for everyone to fall for – but Vigga, she is all that.

This is a story that really does hit the ground running. There is no hand holding. We pretty much make the acquaintance of all the characters in fairly short order and the mission begins almost immediately. Our unlikely group are thrown into all sorts of ridiculously dangerous encounters barely escaping with their lives. There is plenty of tension and action but occasionally a few small asides where we get to spend a bit more quality time with certain characters as the group is separated for a spell.

The story is intriguing and the furious pace keeps you just ‘reading one more chapter’ meaning you’re going to bed at ridiculous o’clock.

What I really enjoyed about this. The dialogue. The humour. The absolute ridiculousness that makes up this strange band of characters and the way they eventually all begin singing from the same sheet in a very satisfying way.

There are surprises and twists along the way. Definitely an inordinate amount of blood is shed and some of the ‘monsters’ are really dire to say the least. I kind of second guessed what was going to occur in the last quarter but even so that didn’t spoil the read for me.

I had a very good time reading this and have no hesitation in recommending.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks.

The above is my own opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to this early. Review has been posted on Waterstones and Goodreads.

Loved the blurb but picked it up because it was written by Joe Abercrombie. I’m so glad I did because The Devils is my favourite Abercrombie book to date. Only downside is I have to wait for the next instalment.

Bored? In search of adventure and excitement? Want to travel to new lands and meet new people?

Well look no further. Join Brother Diaz and his merry bunch of psychopaths on their bloody quest to put a thief on the throne of Troy.

It has thrills, action and plenty of dark humour. In short, The Devils is an absolute corker of a book.

Just try not to get killed along the way…

Fabulously crazy with a cast of misfits that mash together to create a brutal but sometimes hilarious fantasy. I will never think of a pilgrimage the same again! All the best books have an epic journey - but not all this bloody! It is action packed but it's the character relationships and interactions that really take it to the next level.

Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils is a genre-blending fantasy that follows a ragtag group of supernatural misfits - a vampire, a werewolf, a necromancer (and others) - on a perilous mission led by an unlucky monk, set in an alternate medieval Europe on the brink of disaster.
Abercrombie’s signature blend of grimdark grit, razor-sharp wit, and relentless action is on full display, delivering a tale that’s as brutal as it is hilarious.

Lord Grimdark is back with a new book, and it’s a wild ride.

The story follows the Chapel of the Holy Expediency – a secret order of monsters who are sent on a mission to escort a long lost princess back to Troy in order to reclaim the throne and stop the coming apocalypse. There is no line these monsters won’t cross, no sin they won’t commit – what could possibly go wrong?

I completely devoured this book and it is without a doubt going to be my favourite book of 2025. Full of Abercrombie’s trademark humour, I could not put this book down. The story is compelling and cleverly executed – the premise hooked me in straight away and the story was full of action and adventure. There is of course plenty of intense battle scenes and bucketfuls of gruesome, gritty moments.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the story of this book, where The Devils truly shines is the incredible cast of characters. I’ve come to expect exceptional character work from Joe Abercrombie but I think Abercrombie outdid himself in this novel. I completely fell in love with this group of misfits – there’s a magician, a werewolf, a vampire and an elf. I loved the utter chaos the group created as they band together in an attempt to survive this epic journey. This is such a compelling cast of characters and I cannot wait to see where Abercrombie takes them in book two.

The Devils is a wildly addictive, entertaining read. It’s a book that will have you on the edge of your seat, with characters you can’t help but root for. The Devils is a book you absolutely do not want to miss and I am counting down the days until the release of the next instalment.

As a huge fan of Joe Abercrombie's First Law series, I was both excited and saddened to hear that his next trilogy would be something totally new. Saddened because the First Law world is one of my favourite fantasy series, but excited to see what he'd come up with next - this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025. It's not a huge surprised to hear that I absolutely loved The Devils (I'd read Abercrombie's shopping list - you know it would be endlessly entertaining). The Devils is and action-packed book fuelled by Abercrombie's trademark wit, grit, and humour.

This book takes place is a world that is both familiar and alien. A Medieval world in which many of the great, ancient cities never fell, the Saviour of the Catholic church is a woman who died on the wheel, and elves are very real (and will probably eat you), I immediately tumbled into this world and loved every step. This is the kind of book that makes me long for a Fire and Blood-style book just about the history - the lore is deep. Abercrombie writes with exquisite detail and creates a world that's lush and feels so incredibly real.

As usual, the characters are the stars of the show. The story revolved around Alex, a street urchin plucked from her life in the gutter when it's discovered she's actually the long-lost Princess Alexia, heir to the throne of Troy, and the mission to get her to Troy alive to claim that throne before her psychopathic cousins murder her. There's only one group who can do it - the Chapel of the Holy Expediency, which can also be described as the Pope's suicide squad. As you'd expect with one of his books, the cast of characters is where The Devils really shines. In true Abercrombie fashion, everyone is complex and multifaceted; completely horrible, homicidal, and so damn loveable. They're monsters by most people's definitions, but you can't help but fall in love with this ragtag group of misfits. The chemistry between the cast is incredible, whether they're working together or annoying each other to the point of murderous rage. He is an absolute master of dialogue and character interaction, and his skill is absolutely on display in this book. Although I have a soft spot for everyone, I particularly loved Vigga the werewolf (who doesn't?), Sunny the elf, and Balthazar the much put-upon magician.

The Devils is a rollicking tale of violence, action, and absolute mayhem. If you're a fan of the First Law series, I really think you're going to love The Devils.

The Devils is sharp, gritty, and full of dark humour. The story follows Brother Diaz (who we meet fretting over being late when he left like 5 hours early for an appointment- cannot relate!). He’s a strait laced priest about to land a promotion - or so he thinks!

Instead he’s appointed as a leader of a ragtag group of misfits: werewolf, necromancer, and a cursed knight…oh my!

The story is fast paced, packed with action and witty dialogue and some moments of reflection on the meaning of power, the importance of redemption, and the impact of faith. Full of sharp banter, this is a smart and wild ride into a bizarre world.

Can’t wait for the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I've been sat on this one for a while, and honestly, I am so excited to finally talk about it. Because The Devils is both a new direction for Abercrombie - a fresh setting, characters we've never seen before, a chance to lay out a story unwebbed from his First Law series - and also absolute vintage in terms of quality of writing. Its sharp, funny, and terribly, wonderfully human. So if you want the one line version, if you're wondering if The Devils is worth your money, then basically, yes.
The world, then. Well, it feels equal parts familiar and strange. A medieval Papacy exists. Constantinople stands athwart a crossroads of land and sea. There are knights, marching around like they own the place. Worthy peasants and more than a few priests. But in between the cracks of the familiar, we find the strange. There are wizards raising the dead and throwing the occasional fireball in service to Imperial masters. There's werewolves skulking about. Constantinople is run by a nobility that purportedly fuelled its power with blood magic. And there's the omnipresent threat of the Elves, of course. Because while humanity is always its own enemy, here it's only the second-worst enemy it has. Every so often, the Elves surface from the lands held under their sway, and go on a rampage of murder, property damage, and bespoke cannibalism. Abercrombie takes these differences, and weaves them through the tapestry of the world so seamlessly that sometimes you won't even notice that they're there. Like that elf. That just tried to eat you. From the rich, ornate halls of Papal Italy, through dark forests and, at one point, several ships, and all the way to the end of the (human) world, we see a world rich in flavour and texture, a place that feels lived in and real, whilst also slipping in wonders and horrors from beyond imagination. It's a heady mixture, that helps lift up what is in many ways a journey novel.

Of course, it doesn't do that alone. There are...well, there's a lot of characters, and more than a few get their own points of view. The Papacy, you see, is putting together a team to return a lost princess to the edge of the world. Which may save the world, or at least buy it a bit of time. But when your princess may not be...exactly...princess material, and when the city she's meant to rule over is run by people who aren't super keen to have her back, its time to build a team with special skills to get her back there. Like the A-Team, if the A-Team consisted of a werewolf, a necromancer, an immortal warrior, an elf, a Jill-of-all-trades seemingly of all trades, an actual elf (minus cannibalism) and a vampire. And if they all had terrible attitudes, leaned toward homicide as a solution to all of their problems, and performed their duties out of resentful self-preservation rather than any actual zeal. So...not so much like the A-Team, I guess. But they're a wonderful set, nonetheless. The werewolf, Vigga, is a personal favourite, a person who takes "live in the now" to its extreme, and has trouble remembering what she's up to and why, and so leans into relishing every second of it - in between moments of raw human guilt. She's alive, passionately so, and that pours off the page. I was also partial to the invisible elf, Sunny, who is sufficiently unmemorable that she an wander about in all sorts of places that she perhaps shouldn't be. Her gentle slow-burning romance with the ersatz princess is a delight, both of them trying to figure out why the other one might seem to like them, with a lot of will-they-won't-they and more than one moment of comical misunderstanding based on them trying to unravel each others emotional intelligence form first principles. But the whole cast are wonderful,. They're fun to read, fun to root for, and have that blade-tinged dialogue that Abercrombie is famous for. Importantly, watching them work together, or, well, at cross-purposes, is constantly fun. You can tear through he pages wanting to see what this band is going to do next, because it's almost always not what you expect, and only sometimes because they screwed something up! Or blew something up! Or both!

And the story itself. Well, it crackles with energy. It's a story of a journey, mostly. Going form point A to point B with, well, quite a few stops and diversions in between (I shan't spoil them). And along the way, the characters go on a journey of their own, figuring out who their friends and enemies are, and who they want to be. It's probably a bit more....positive than you'd expect if you're used to the First-Law-iverse, and it's also heart-warmingly, acidly, charmingly funny, and at times emotionally raw and honest. At other times, it's doing banter and swordfights, basically for the fun of it. It's a story that knows where it's going, and trots along such that you have to keep turning pages to keep up, and suddenly it's four in the morning, and you're wondering whether you should sleep or just keep going and finish the whole thing. And when you do, you're coming off it feeling the catharsis of a well-crafted conclusion, and the sadness that you have to wait who knows how long for another book (though I gather they'll all be standalones).

This is, in short, Abercrombie at his best, and you should give it a try.

This book is hilarious! Abercrombie has taken a mixture of flawed and perfectly inhumane characters striving to do their best and helped them find their place in the world.

Add to this an epic adventure to end all adventures. One with Strife and trouble round every corner and twists and turns galore. I loved every minute of the journey and can't wait to get back for more.

I just finished The Devils by Joe Abercrombie, and I have to say—it’s exactly the kind of chaotic, blood-soaked ride you’d expect from him, with a few surprises thrown in. Abercrombie’s signature grimdark style is alive and well here: biting dialogue, flawed characters, and brutal action scenes that pull no punches.

One thing that really worked for me was the premise. Taking a squad of hell-bound misfits and dropping them into a demonic war with the promise of salvation? That’s just deliciously messed up. It feels like The Dirty Dozen meets Doom, with Abercrombie’s cynical humor and sharp character work driving the whole thing forward. The setting was also a standout, part theological mind-trip—with vivid descriptions and a sense of constant danger.

The characters, while entertaining, did veer into caricature at times. I found myself wishing for a bit more emotional depth from some of them, especially since Abercrombie is usually so good at peeling back layers. There are moments of real humanity and insight here, but they’re sometimes buried under a pile of snark and gore.

Pacing-wise, the book moves fast. The buildup is fantastic, but the climax left a few threads dangling that I would’ve liked to see more fully explored. That said, the ride is so fun (and horrifying) that it’s hard to stay mad about it.

Overall, The Devils is a hell of a time—dark, funny, violent, and surprisingly thoughtful in places. It might not hit the emotional highs of The First Law trilogy, but it’s still a strong addition to Abercrombie’s body of work. If you’re into morally bankrupt antiheroes doing terrible things for maybe the right reasons, you’ll be right at home. One of my favourite books of the year so far!

My thanks to NetGalley and Orion publishing group for a free ebook and an honest opinion.

Going into this, for some reason I had the impression it was going to be a vampire book? And although we do have a vampire, I’m so relieved it wasn’t just “a vampire book.” Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind a vampire book, but it was exciting having this A-Team of different creatures and abilities coming together against their will to babysit a princess.

Another thing I had been expecting, and was a little more concerned about, was grimdark. Abercrombie is, after all, Lord Grimdark. But I’ve really struggled to engage with dark fantasy for some time now, and I was so worried that this, finally, would be an Abercrombie I couldn’t read. But I should have had more faith, because say one thing about Joe, say he can evolve. The Devils has plenty of darkness, it has plenty of fights and gore and morally questionable antiheroes… but this time, Abercrombie has ramped up the humour. The violence goes hand in hand with this kind of slapstick comedy, so we get the gritty reality of grimdark we all loved, but it lifts you and doesn’t stray into bleak or overwhelming. He pulls it back every time, without sacrificing any emotional impact the characters’ arcs still contain. Jonathan will be glad to know, and TO proud, that Nils and I workshopped some new genre names for this blend – I like hers best: Grimcom.

I was expecting a good story, and what was delivered was a great one. Abercrombie has proven once again that he is adaptable, he can still deliver fresh and relevant stories; that he is a true master of the genre.
(Full review on The Fantasy Hive)

"The Devils" is a fun, action-packed mix of Guardians of the Galaxy and Game of Thrones.

Following loveable (but dangerous) characters, it tells the story of a group of misfits trying to place a thief on the throne of the kingdom of Troy.
The group works really well together, each character with their own peculiarity and distinct personalities. They have a lot of chemistry and it's fun to see them warm up to each other as the story progresses.
Even though it's a long book, it's quite fast-paced with lots of action scenes. I highly recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

My first time reading Joe Abercrombie and I'm blown away. I picked this ARC as the synopsis sounded amazing and it did not disappoint. As expected the story was brilliant, weaving history and imagination to great effect. There were twists and turns, some of the best fight scenes I've ever read and the characters were so well realised. I absolutely loved getting to know each and every one of them, their truths, their lies and the bonds they forged along their journey. Especially the unexpected liaisons, there were so many laugh out loud moments and also some heart wrenching ones.
The world was beautifully described, both aesthetically and politically. The author brought everything to life in vivid detail.
I'm really hoping that there is a second book in this series, and looking forward to exploring the author's previous work.

"An ineffectual priest, an enervated knight, a misanthropic elf, and an antique vampire. It sounded like the start of a bad joke to which the tragic punchline was yet to be revealed."
This was supposed to be it, my first Joe Abercrombie novel! I was super excited for this one, even had a pre-order for the signed special edition as I was sure, going by the description, that this would be a highlight of the year for me. I am super glad to have had the opportunity to read this in advance and be able to tell my customers about it as soon as it is published. While I am in the mood for fast paced action books, this was too fast paced and the shoved in humorous tone got on my nerves real fast, as it was just too much. I should have loved everything about this, but the style and the lack of characterisation unfortunately didn't work for me. Knowing that this is book one and that probably more will be explored in later parts of this series could be an explanation, but this is not motivating me to continue. After 40+ days of trying to read this and having to force myself to continue, being not interested in what was happening next, I made the decision to not finish. I am happy I gave this a try and can see the appeal for most readers. I can see this working better for me as an audio version. Pretty sure this will be a hit, whether I like it or not.

I’ve been a fan of Joe Abercrombie since the publication of The blade itself. It’s fair to say that he is one of my favorite fantasy authors of all time.
It’s always a bit scary when your favorite fantasists change gear. Abercrombies stories set in the first law universe have all been stellar and when I started to read The devils i quickly realized that this was a whole new setting that he has created. I needn’t worry though because WHAT a setting.
Abercrombie takes european history, shakes it about, turns it around and adds magic and malevolent elves. I’m not a historian but, as Dan Carlin says, a fan of history and it was great fun to see what changes he made to send Europe into the other leg of the trousers of time.
Important though is the fact that his alternative history doesn’t overshadow the characters or the plot. It enhances the story and doesn’t distract.

Have Abercrombie always been this funny? I remember humor in his earlier books but this one is laugh out loud-funny at times. It had almost a Pratchett-feel in the mix of hilarity and seriousness. Add to this Abercrombies usual brand of high octane action sequences and you have one of the most entertaining fantasy novels of 2025.
The worst part is that I’ll have to wait for the sequel now….

Ok.
So I absolutely loved this book. The writing is fantastic. The world building is excellent. The characters are really really great.
Abercrombie really has this way of pulling you into the story and making you care about the characters really quickly

I can see myself having a collection of special editions of this book

From start to finish, The Devils is an absolute blast! We follow the Chapel of the Holy Expediency—a group of unwilling villains forced into service—as they travel across Europe to carry out a very important mission. The main characters themselves are a chaotic, fun, and morally questionable bunch and their chemistry is the heart of the novel. Despite being a fairly chunky book, the story moves along at a quick pace with many creative action scenes along the way.

I loved the darker elements of the story. From the inclusion of vampires and werewolves, to the blood and gore during fight scenes, to the foul language throughout. It’s a brilliant combination of gruesome brutality, action-packed mayhem, sharp humour, and genuine heart.

My one minor complaint would be that while I mostly enjoyed the style of humour, I did find that it was getting a bit heavy-handed and repetitive as the story progressed. But in the face of how much I enjoyed this book overall, that’s a very small gripe.

I loved this new book 🥳 I couldn’t put it down. Compared to many fantasy adventures this book is an easy read. I loved following the characters and this is certainly a character driven book. In the First Law series I loved a couple of the characters… in this series I loved them ALL!!

Joe Abercrombie has done a great job once again.
The Devils is my favourite Abercrombie book to date and I can’t wait for more of this group of misfits.

It was my first Abercrombie novel and I can't say I'm disappointed! It was fun, dark and emotional and I really can't wait to read book two!