This was my first Joe Abercrombie and will most certainly not be my last. Holy Cow was this phenomenal

My first experience with Abercrombie's work, this opened a whole new world of reading for me. Dark and twistedly humorous, the Devils sets out to bring an ensemble cast to life and succeeds marvelously. Right from the start readers are thrust into a wild, somewhat familiar world brimming with grimdark vibes. I think one of the biggest successes for the Devils is that it manages its cast of characters very well. So often a book with so many perspective shifts has at least one or two perspectives that make me want to skip them, but Abercrombie manages to make them all captivating. I truly hope that he writes more in this world!

Alex is a street thief. She doesn't know anything about a family if she ever had one. All she can remember is having to steal to eat, to do whatever it takes to survive. She is about to be beaten by someone she owes money to when she is saved by a nobleman. He tells her that he is her uncle and that she is the long lost empress of an empire far away. Alex cannot believe him but she needs some help so she goes along.

The uncle isn't the only person who believes that Alex is the princess/empress. She is brought to the home of the ten year old pope and soon she is sent on a trip to her new kingdom with a surrounding of nefarious individuals to protect her. There is Brother Diaz, a young monk who is put in charge of the journey. Jacob is a soldier who cannot die and who has taken part in every crusade and military operation for centuries. Vigga is a female werewolf. When she lets the wolf out, she will kill any and everybody around. Baron Rikard is a vampire, incredibly old. He prefers to remain remote from the battles the group encounters. Sunny is an elf, the beings that everyone fears and loathes. She has the ability to be invisible and uses it much of the time. Baptiste is another woman, one who has been with the group for years and is a pirate and many other things in her past life. Baltazar is a necromancer who is indigent to be forced into the group.

The group sets out on their journey. Not only will they face the rigors of the road but Alex has four cousins each of whom believe they have a better claim to the throne than she does and who want nothing more than to get rid of her once and for all. As the group moves and faces dangers, they start to form alliances and friendships. Can they get Alex to her throne?

Joe Abercrombie is known for his fantasy writing although he hasn't published anything in a couple of years. I loved this book from beginning to end. Each of the characters is fascinating in themselves and the entire group works like a well-oiled machine to face the dangers encountered. There is danger and love and betrayals, everything that a reader could want. The adventures and creatures the group encounters along the way are imaginative and the reader will find themselves holding their breath as each challenge is met. I really hope this book is the first in a series as I'd love to read more about these characters. This book is recommended for fantasy readers

The Devils is the beginning of a new franchise by excellent fantasy author Joe Abercrombie, and it introduces a new band of characters that you'll hate yourself for rooting for. Think of a Suicide Squad with special powers and supernatural elements, and you'll be on the right track!

Abercrombie can do no wrong. I've been reading him since his First Law trilogy and, while dark, he writes these characters that you just immediately care about. This was such a cool story and I'm excited for the next one.

In Joe Abercrombie's The Devils, we have a strange twisting of our familiar reality. In this dark fantasy, Abercrombie gives us a Catholic Church which only has female priests and a female pope (who is barely more than a child). Her friends and protectors include vampires and werewolves.

In this world, the Crusades are being waged against Elves - a race thought to eat the flesh of people.

Brother Diaz arrives in the Holy City, intent on serving Pope Benedicta to the best of his abilities. He is thrust, unceremoniously, into a position higher than he's really capable of serving, tasked with helping Pope Benedicta seat a long-lost child on the recently vacated Serpent Throne in Troy.

When the sorceress, Empress Eudoxia, died, her sons were fighting across the land, each vying for their own power. Having a foothold in Troy would help the Christian movement but it's going to be a tough haul putting this distant claim on a throne when the sons, who are accustomed to fighting, are ready to make the claim themselves (if only they can stop fighting).

Fans of Abercrombie's work will see everything they love about his writing here, but in different doses than one might expect. I've read and really liked Abercrombie's work in the past, but it's been a decade and I'm hardly a devoted fan so perhaps this shift has been going on for some time.

We've got a clear goal for our story, though the path to that goal may be a bit circuitous. There's plenty of blood-letting action, and the characters are a lot of fun. In fact, the characters are key to the enjoyment of this book.

This isn't a goal-driven adventure fantasy, although there's definitely a goal. This isn't an action book, although there's plenty of action and battles. This isn't even quite a character-driven story where our protagonist(s) grow through the course of the story, although Brother Diaz definitely steps up and grows into his role.

This is a buddy book. This is about the relationships between our central characters, their growth and their adventures together. Think Avengers, or Justice League, but with elves, werewolves, vampires, and a little girl Pope.

I enjoyed the characters a lot. The female Swedish vampire, Vigga, was probably my favorite. She had a surprisingly blasé attitude but was a force to be reckoned with when the time came. Brother Diaz is also well worth following. If there's a central character amid the chaos of characters, it is Diaz, and it works.

Pope Benedicta grew on me. The more we got to know her the more I liked her.

Unfortunately, for a 500+ page book, the strength of the character vibes wasn't enough to keep me appropriately engaged. Moments of fun dialog, moments of exciting action, and lots and lots of plotting. Perhaps the fact that this is the first in a series explains why it's so much set-up. But for me, it's not setting me up to want to invest this much time with the next book.

Looking for a good book? The Devils by Joe Abercrombie has a lot going for it, especially a great group of characters, but there's just enough slowing it down to make it a challenging read.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this one! It is only my second Joe Abercrombie book ever but I loved this so much. The dynamic of all of the characters was so fun and kept me invested for the entirety of the novel (that's saying a lot since this is a chonky book). I loved the difference in all of the characters, werewolf, gnome, vampire, and a lowly human. Haha. I had such a blast and I'm so excited to see how this series continues. I am so happy to hear that this book is being made into a movie by the infamous James Cameron. I can't wait to see this group on the big screen.

This was my first time reading Joe Abercrombie and let me tell you, it was a wild ride. I absolutely could not put this down because it was nonstop action. That said, there were one significant issue I had with it.

We have a woman on her way to claim a crown, if no one manages to kill her on the way. She is joined by a wild cast of characters of every variety. As expected she is attacked multiple times on the journey and at first each attack/fight brought out a new aspect of the crew she is with. It was surprising and just a blast to read these fight scenes and see new powers/abilities/monstrosities appear. After a while though, the shock value wore off and the payoff for me as a reader, from a fight scene just wasn’t there. I say that as someone who loves a good fight in my books. The fights here became repetitive. Fight, someone does something crazy, recover, rinse and repeat.

The repetitiveness of the fight scenes started to feel like they were there to fill page space and didn’t serve much of a purpose after enough of them.

Overall, I will definitely be continuing the series and will be reading more Joe Abercrombie

One of my favorite books of the year! A hell of a ride from start to finish, I love this rag tag group of losers. I’m so intrigued and ready for book 2 and where the story will go, so many seeds were planted for future storylines. I hope we see more of all the characters, I’m so endeared by them. Truly truly excellent!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie is a wild, fun, yet kinda weird ride. And I was all in from page 1!

Joe Abercrombie's The Devils follows Brother Diaz as he goes on a journey with an interesting (to say the least) group of followers. I love stories where there are a lot of random people thrown together and told, "make it work".

If you enjoy dark humor and adventure, this book is for you!

Great world building with well developed characters. That was mixed with a well developed plot. Made an interested story line.

Unfortunately this is a case of "not a bad book but I'm not the right audience for it" even if I have enjoyed his other work.

The lowbrow humour wasn't my cup of tea, the repetitiveness of some of the dialogue took me out of the story and wasn't invested in the characters enough to compensate.

It seems to be the unpopular opinion though.

I won’t forgive you, Joe Abercrombie, for what you did but I will absolutely continue to read your books.

This is my first Abercrombie read, and I never knew someone could weave character development, gore, action, emotion, and humor so expertly together. This book both made me full belly laugh but also left me in desperate suspense. And the characters, despite having many, many, many…. flaws, were such fun to go along with. Among them my new favorite foul- and oft bloody - mouthed werewolf.

Can’t wait to see where the Devils go next!

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC!

4.5/5 stars

This was unique, fun, and an absolutely WILD ride. I never quite knew what was coming next, but really that was okay. The characters were all very well developed and interesting; the plot was both straightforward and chaotic (simple goal, crazy path getting there); and the world, while fairly straightforward, was well built. The action was well written so it was easy to tell what was going on. The relationships (personal, professional, romantic) were all fascinating and I am very excited to see how our team moves forward after the end of the first book.

This was my first Joe Abercrombie book and I was very impressed - excited to see what comes next because I'm sure I'll never guess it!

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie is a dark, action-packed fantasy that blends grim humor with gritty adventure. The story follows Brother Diaz, a monk leading a group of monstrous outcasts—including a werewolf, vampire, and necromancer—on a perilous mission to escort a former thief to the throne of Troy. As they navigate treacherous landscapes and political intrigue, the line between hero and villain blurs, leading to a bloody and morally complex journey.

Abercrombie's sharp prose and vivid world-building shine, though some readers may find the plot's repetitiveness a drawback. Nonetheless, fans of morally gray characters and high-stakes fantasy will find much to appreciate in this novel.

Rating: ★★★★☆

The Devils marks a departure for Joe Abercrombie, venturing into supernatural territory with mixed results. While his signature grit, sharp dialogue, and morally grey characters remain, the novel struggles to find the balance that made his earlier work so compelling. The world-building feels thinner than expected, and the supernatural elements -though intriguing in concept -are underdeveloped, lacking the depth or originality needed to fully land. The snarky humor gets repetitive, and is a barrier to connecting with the characters. Disappointing.

I'm a little confused on the mixed reception to this one. I thought it was great, if a little too long in the middle for what it was trying to do. I loved our band of Devils and the banter was great. I thought the climax was very good and I honestly enjoyed every POV. I thought this was Abercrombie at his most cinematic so I am excited to hear that James Cameron is going to be producing a movie of it!

Not as good as the best of First Law, but a great action romp with an alternative history setting!

9.5/10

The Devils was rich in its setting and premise. A band of eccentric misfits come together in order to complete a greater quest. In theory this book should have been exactly what I was craving, however I had a few qualms that caused it to fall a bit short for me.
We follow a relatively large cast of characters, which I wish each felt more distinct. It took time for me to care about some of our characters, while others I never grew to feel for. There were moments in backstories specifically that helped me connect to our characters, and I wish we got more of that! The potential was there, the execution could have been further developed.
I also found the plot, particularly in the middle of the book, to lag a bit. The beginning set up and conclusion of The Devils were strong, and this saved it for me. However our middle plot felt a bit like we were checking of items on a to do list - kill him (check), go here (check)...
Overall I did enjoy my time with The Devils & will continue to seek out more of Abercrombie's future books. This book was just -so close- to being amazing that I can't help but hope for improvement in the areas I found lacking.
3.75stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and TOR for the arc.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher @torbooks for the digital arc of 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓓𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓵𝓼 by Joe Abercrombie 🙌
.

I love my Fantasy served up with a side of humor, and this one certainly has it! Added to the witt, this book is dark, gritty, fast paced and contains an unhealthy amount of vulgarity and violence 😝.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦.”

I can’t even begin to describe how rich this cast of characters is; dripping with personality and steeped in charm. This morally grey group includes a horny werewolf, a monk with questionable values, a narcissistic sorcerer (I mean magician 😝) that specializes in necromancy, a geriatric vampire, an orphan thief, a pirate, a cursed knight and an invisible elf.

Travelling across the land to claim the throne of Troy carries an element of found family, some love connections, and even some heartfelt and touching shared moments. The world building was pretty good, but I kind of got lost in all the characters shenanigans to pay attention as much as I should have 😜.

“𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥’𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.”

My only regret? Why did it take me so long to read any of Joes books?! 😱. I cannot WAIT to get my hands on the sequel, and definitely plan on listening to The Devils audiobook as a refresher since I’m sure I missed a lot! This has definitely become a top favorite for the year 🙌

Buddy-read this one with SP — this was my first Joe Abercrombie, but it won’t be the last. Fun, funny, irreverent fantasy with a motley crew cast of characters, all of whom become lovable in their own imperfect way. Very much if Suicide Squad had a baby with Hammer Horror in terms of the vibes, but also the character archetypes. And I’m assuming there will be a sequel that I will need to get my hands on IMMEDIATELY when it comes out.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this edition from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.