Thank you to NetGalley and Gollancz for this ARC!

I don’t think I would even be able to put into words how excited I was when I saw this ARC listed, and the pure joy that flowed through me when I got it.

I have so far read five of Abercrombie’s books, and I truly think he is an absolutely fantastic fantasy writer. While The First Law trilogy may be my favourite fantasy series of all time, this goes in a somewhat different, but not less enjoyable, direction.

The Devils is a rather humorous but still entirely cruel and gorey fantasy novel, departing from the rather politics-heavy world of the Age of Madness trilogy into the completely different world of historic Europe, only now with the addition of magic and monsters brought to life. Rather than a tale of war and politics, this is an adventure story, in which we follow a lovably-despicable cast of characters in their journey across Europe to see one of them crowned Empress of Troy, a journey that has them falling from one challenge into the next.

Before I started reading this I read some other reviews, in one of which the reviewer expressed that they thought this book was less character-focused than Abercrombie’s previous works, but I don’t think I can agree with that statement. While it is certainly true that some characters are given more “screen time” than others, and we learn more of their backstory, but nonetheless we get to see each of the central characters grow and change over the course of this story, with the aforementioned changes not always being positive, in true Abercrombie fashion. I would also generally say that it is a bit of an unfair criticism to say that the first work in a trilogy didn’t give the full backstory of a character — what would be left for us to discover in the next two works then?

Really the only “criticism” I have of this is that the humour flowed a little less well than it did in previous Abercrombie works I have read, at times it works fantastically and seems well integrated, while at other times it feels a little off putting. Nonetheless, I think that this book is truly as fun and lighthearted as such a dark fantasy can get, and I am already anxiously awaiting book two.

I was super looking forward to reading this one, but I struggled with the Devils, because this book is a complete departure from the previous Abercrombie books I have read. I do have to say that Abercrombie writes amazing action scenes. The problem I had though is that this is a bit of a 'all vibe no plot' style read, and the narrative lurches straight from one epic action scene to the the next. I am absolutely amazed at the varied ways to describe people being mutilated. Although this is not my favourite Abercrombie book, I would recommend this to those that like fast paced books, with the humour of Blacktongue Thief and crews of misfits on a forced quest.

This is my new starting point for people looking to start reading Abercrombie. It's fun, it's faced paced, and it's bursting with life. An all-timer of a novel, and one that I'm going to remember for a long time. Easily my read of the year so far.

Ok, I think this might be the Abercrombie book I have enjoyed most. More of a classic quest narrative with more focus on the plot moving than individual character arcs, this is a little like the Malevolent Seven, a little like The Blacktongue Thief. It is easily his funniest book, and tbh the one where the cast are less morally dubious. I really enjoyed it. I predict classic Abercrombie fans may be a little conflicted.