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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
This book had so much potential to be 5 starts for me. The characters are so amazing and I was invested in them completely. I suppose the issue with having so many great characters is having to give their backgrounds and developments plenty of time. Which, unfortunately, meant a lot of a drag in an otherwise very fast paced book. The conclusion of this book took way too long to reach, although it was a fantastic and gut wrenching end. This book took me
so long to finish though because of all the in-between on the journey the characters took. I really believe this book could have been at least 150 pages shorter and it would have been better for it.
Overall, I still had a lot of fun. Theres a lot of comedic relief with some fun, gory battles. If you read this, try not to take everything so seriously and enjoy the ride. And - if you can - I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook. I would've finished this nook so much sooner had I been able to get the audiobook from
the library sooner.
so long to finish though because of all the in-between on the journey the characters took. I really believe this book could have been at least 150 pages shorter and it would have been better for it.
Overall, I still had a lot of fun. Theres a lot of comedic relief with some fun, gory battles. If you read this, try not to take everything so seriously and enjoy the ride. And - if you can - I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook. I would've finished this nook so much sooner had I been able to get the audiobook from
the library sooner.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Had a really good time with this book, first Abercrombie Ive read and it was so fun! Man has a way with characters, I was a bit stressed about having to read about eight (8!) separate characters and how was I gonna tell them apart but they were all pretty well rounded. Also funny as hell!
Had a bit of a hard time getting used to his humor, I dont read a lot of books with that much vulgar language (I promise Im not 12 it just never comes up in most of the things I read) but after the initial shock I came to really appreciate it, absolutely Vigga talks about her twat obviously haha
Really cool descriptions of all the gore and monsters as well, I am a bit of a horror enthusiast and this scratched the itch. Also really cool writing style in general, the short chapters + the switching from multiple POVs was done really masterfully with some repetition between characters which I really enjoyed!
Overall really fun read, looking forward to the next one!
Had a bit of a hard time getting used to his humor, I dont read a lot of books with that much vulgar language (I promise Im not 12 it just never comes up in most of the things I read) but after the initial shock I came to really appreciate it, absolutely Vigga talks about her twat obviously haha
Really cool descriptions of all the gore and monsters as well, I am a bit of a horror enthusiast and this scratched the itch. Also really cool writing style in general, the short chapters + the switching from multiple POVs was done really masterfully with some repetition between characters which I really enjoyed!
Overall really fun read, looking forward to the next one!
Honestly this is probably 4.5 stars, I really really enjoyed this book, more than any Abercrombie book yet. I loved every character, but this book really excelled in its imagery and humor. I swear every scene was painted so vividly and with such tone that I was consistently laughing out loud at it. the only thing that got me was that in typical abercrombie fashion, the characters, many of them at least, ended up in the same position as where they started the story, in an internal level. they go through such an emotional arc and are nearly grown at the end before they fall back and revert to their old ways in this cycle. it’s very unsatisfying as a reader, while also being impressive to witness . i’m excited to see more of the devils.
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It had very quirky characters and intrigue. Yet it was pushing humor a little too hard for me.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm a big fan of Joe Abercrombie. Ever since I pulled _The Blade Itself_ off the shelf because the cover looked pretty cool, I've been addicted to his style. I think it's because he writes such engaging and interesting characters. His plots often meander all over the place and sometimes leave you with more questions than answers, but I have the best time getting to know the cast of weirdos he tends to throw at you in every book.
The Devils is a refreshing work of art in his catalog. It's a simple story that really at the end of the day is a journey from point A to point B with a cast of legendary characters that aren't unlike The Avengers in a way. All these monsters have to do is get someone from one place to another but the entire journey is frought with interruptions and people trying to stop them. It's simple on its face, but there's complexity in the way he writes these people and in the reason they are on this journey in the first place.
We're lumped in with a pretty incredible group of dark fantasy superheroes. We have a werewolf, a vampire, a necromancer, an immortal, an invisible elf, and a bad ass. It sounds like a perfect D&D crew to me and it works. We also have Brother Diaz, who is mainly our human proxy so we know how to feel in this weird world. And then we have Alex, who is a bit of a McGuffin in this story and the person we want to get to the destination.
If you like other Joe Abercrombie books, you'll definitely love The Devils. I actually think its his best book since Red Country. I adored Red Country, and this is very similar in that we're making our way across the world and learning things along the way, but this is outside that First Law world that we've come to know. It's kind of an alt-history world where some places and names seem familar but they've been twisted around as if they happened in an alternate reality. The biggest player here is what I'll just call "The Church." There's a Pope, a savior, a hierarchy and all that, but it's vastly different from what we would recognize as The Church here. There's definitely a snarky view of how all that works, but it definitely works for this world, and I guess ours as well most of the time.
It did take me a little while to get into this one. It was probably well into the second act before I figured out what we were really doing and what the point was. That's not unusual for his books for me, but I'm glad I pushed through this one. By the time I was in the middle of the story, I was fully invested in what was going on with these people, and I was rooting for them. Particulary for Jakob of Thorn, who I'd compare to our Captain America in this scenario.
I love that the archetypes that we know and love from other genres are all here, but just turned on their head enough that they seem new and fresh. Telling a story about a group of overpowered heroes is not a new thing, but the way Abercrombie tells it, it feels like something novel. I think if you're a fan of his work and adventure stories, you'd get a kick out of this.
Shortly after the book came out, James Cameron announced that he'd acquired the rights to produce this into a movie. I'm not sure if we'll see that happen because we see books get optioned all the time, but I'm hoping it does. I'd definitely watch this thing. It plays out so cinematically anyway that it lends itself really well to adaptation.
I had a good time with this and I'm looking forward to more adventures with the Chapel of the Holy Expediency in the future.
The Devils is a refreshing work of art in his catalog. It's a simple story that really at the end of the day is a journey from point A to point B with a cast of legendary characters that aren't unlike The Avengers in a way. All these monsters have to do is get someone from one place to another but the entire journey is frought with interruptions and people trying to stop them. It's simple on its face, but there's complexity in the way he writes these people and in the reason they are on this journey in the first place.
We're lumped in with a pretty incredible group of dark fantasy superheroes. We have a werewolf, a vampire, a necromancer, an immortal, an invisible elf, and a bad ass. It sounds like a perfect D&D crew to me and it works. We also have Brother Diaz, who is mainly our human proxy so we know how to feel in this weird world. And then we have Alex, who is a bit of a McGuffin in this story and the person we want to get to the destination.
If you like other Joe Abercrombie books, you'll definitely love The Devils. I actually think its his best book since Red Country. I adored Red Country, and this is very similar in that we're making our way across the world and learning things along the way, but this is outside that First Law world that we've come to know. It's kind of an alt-history world where some places and names seem familar but they've been twisted around as if they happened in an alternate reality. The biggest player here is what I'll just call "The Church." There's a Pope, a savior, a hierarchy and all that, but it's vastly different from what we would recognize as The Church here. There's definitely a snarky view of how all that works, but it definitely works for this world, and I guess ours as well most of the time.
It did take me a little while to get into this one. It was probably well into the second act before I figured out what we were really doing and what the point was. That's not unusual for his books for me, but I'm glad I pushed through this one. By the time I was in the middle of the story, I was fully invested in what was going on with these people, and I was rooting for them. Particulary for Jakob of Thorn, who I'd compare to our Captain America in this scenario.
I love that the archetypes that we know and love from other genres are all here, but just turned on their head enough that they seem new and fresh. Telling a story about a group of overpowered heroes is not a new thing, but the way Abercrombie tells it, it feels like something novel. I think if you're a fan of his work and adventure stories, you'd get a kick out of this.
Shortly after the book came out, James Cameron announced that he'd acquired the rights to produce this into a movie. I'm not sure if we'll see that happen because we see books get optioned all the time, but I'm hoping it does. I'd definitely watch this thing. It plays out so cinematically anyway that it lends itself really well to adaptation.
I had a good time with this and I'm looking forward to more adventures with the Chapel of the Holy Expediency in the future.
adventurous
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes