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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
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
God did I want to enjoy this book, I really did.
The writing was great, the characters diverse and unique, the environment gritty but oddly cosy (maybe because it’s a misfits on a quest story line), but I just could not get into it 😭
I think I struggled with having such an wide array of morally grey characters, none of which I felt like I could root for, and without that fire behind me I struggled to keep entertained/focused. I think this is quite common for characters in Grimm fantasy, so perhaps the genre isn’t for me, but it was really great to try it from “the father of Grimm fantasy” - he does write really well
The writing was great, the characters diverse and unique, the environment gritty but oddly cosy (maybe because it’s a misfits on a quest story line), but I just could not get into it 😭
I think I struggled with having such an wide array of morally grey characters, none of which I felt like I could root for, and without that fire behind me I struggled to keep entertained/focused. I think this is quite common for characters in Grimm fantasy, so perhaps the genre isn’t for me, but it was really great to try it from “the father of Grimm fantasy” - he does write really well
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
if you like dungeons and dragons, you’ll like this!
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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:
No
This was one of my most anticipated books for 2025 and it did not disappoint. Well, mostly. Firstly, it is definitely bears Abercrombie's fast and furious style with lots of blood and snappy dialogue. But. There is a but. I said this in the group that I'm buddyreading it with, I found the book to be quite repetitive in the storytelling. It is divided into several parts and parts 1-3 are almost identical. It's a quest story, an adventurous tale of a band of misfits (favorite trope, yay!) bodyguarding an Empress-to-be. They found an obstacle, they worked together, then they found another obstacle and you know what comes next. The plot was too simple it became predictable, even with most of the twists in part 4. Even the dialogue came to a point when I thought, oh gosh they said that lines ten pages ago!
Anyway, I guess I was comparing with the previous trilogy (Age of Madness was brilliant with a capital B and an exclamation point). Yet, I could not deny that The Devils mostly remain entertaining, made me chuckled quite a few times (no wonder it is dubbed as GrimCom), plus I was actually losing sleep over it - which is a mark of a good book, despite my incessant whining. All in all, I cannot wait for the sequel and hopefully it would have more complicated plots and unpredictable characters.
Anyway, I guess I was comparing with the previous trilogy (Age of Madness was brilliant with a capital B and an exclamation point). Yet, I could not deny that The Devils mostly remain entertaining, made me chuckled quite a few times (no wonder it is dubbed as GrimCom), plus I was actually losing sleep over it - which is a mark of a good book, despite my incessant whining. All in all, I cannot wait for the sequel and hopefully it would have more complicated plots and unpredictable characters.