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adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-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
This is one of the most enjoyable books I've read this year. Abercrombie crafts an amazing cast of characters, all of which are highly compelling and share wonderful chemistry. Most of the cast undergoes a lot of development throughout the book, while still not straying from what makes them unique.
The book reads almost like an excellent Dungeons and Dragons campaign, from the classic quest premise to the unexpected turns the journey takes, including the sometimes unforeseen and hilarious solutions the characters come up with, either to progress forward or defeat their (numerous) enemies. Not to mention its eclectic mix of characters, which includes a self-important necromancer, an oversexed Viking werewolf, and of course, the invisible elf.
That is not to say the appeal of the cast lies solely in their eccentricity. Abercrombie gives each character incredible depth and unforgettable personality, so that you are cheering for each and every one, reveling in their victories and praising their development. Each member of the group forms a bond with one another, with their chemistry undeniable. I look forward to the sequel.
The book reads almost like an excellent Dungeons and Dragons campaign, from the classic quest premise to the unexpected turns the journey takes, including the sometimes unforeseen and hilarious solutions the characters come up with, either to progress forward or defeat their (numerous) enemies. Not to mention its eclectic mix of characters, which includes a self-important necromancer, an oversexed Viking werewolf, and of course, the invisible elf.
That is not to say the appeal of the cast lies solely in their eccentricity. Abercrombie gives each character incredible depth and unforgettable personality, so that you are cheering for each and every one, reveling in their victories and praising their development. Each member of the group forms a bond with one another, with their chemistry undeniable. I look forward to the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Gloriously funny, quietly poignant, sharply critical of religion, deliciously gory, and an utterly fantastic queer romance that I was not expecting. This was my first Abercrombie and I fell in love with his character work. By 50% I was willing to defend Sunny to the death (disparaging her in my presence = on sight) and by the end I just want to sponsor Grandpa Jakob’s health bills (please Joe get that man on anti-depressants). I cannot wait for more in this world, and yes yes I promise to read all of his adult backlog.
I do want to note that this will very much not be for everyone, you have to be in the mood for a raunchy good time and if you are not it will come off as British teenage boy humor. This is perfect for Baldurs Gate 3 and D&D fans, as each character feels very clearly classed (Sunny is an elf rogue, Vigga a werewolf barbarian, Jakob a human monk, etc). This video game/D&D styling is part of my one small critique: the plot is almost choppy where I felt we were dropped from on location to the next and almost felt like we were going through loading zones, which in a novel felt weird and frustrating. I would frequently flip back a page or even a chapter bc I felt like I had missed something.
The audio is absolutely incredible, and I think might beat out Project Hail Mary as my favorite audiobook of all time.
I do want to note that this will very much not be for everyone, you have to be in the mood for a raunchy good time and if you are not it will come off as British teenage boy humor. This is perfect for Baldurs Gate 3 and D&D fans, as each character feels very clearly classed (Sunny is an elf rogue, Vigga a werewolf barbarian, Jakob a human monk, etc). This video game/D&D styling is part of my one small critique: the plot is almost choppy where I felt we were dropped from on location to the next and almost felt like we were going through loading zones, which in a novel felt weird and frustrating. I would frequently flip back a page or even a chapter bc I felt like I had missed something.
The audio is absolutely incredible, and I think might beat out Project Hail Mary as my favorite audiobook of all time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, War
Minor: Incest
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was my first Joe Abercrombie book, and I can see why his writing is so popular! I’ve always been a fan of fantasy, but The Devils took that love and twisted it into something darker, sharper, and a whole lot funnier than I expected. I was told this is medieval fantasy smashed together with “Suicide Squad”- and I can’t see a better way to describe it.
Abercrombie doesn’t just slap together a group of antiheroes and call it a day. Each character feels distinct and layered, and over the course of the book, you see the warnings about them come to life. I found myself audibly gasping about some characters’ actions in the final 100 pages.
The worldbuilding is fantastic, and the tone walks a perfect line between serious stakes and often hilarious banter. There’s this gritty, lived-in feel to everything—like the characters have been surviving in this world long before the book starts. And the dialogue? Genuinely funny, with plenty of quotable one-liners and character dynamics that kept me turning pages.
That said, a few of the fight scenes started to blur together. Some battles felt a little repetitive in terms of how each character handles combat—like we were seeing variations of the same moves with slightly different scenery. But to Abercrombie’s credit, even the familiar moments were written with such style that they never dragged.
The ending is probably the only part I saw coming. It wasn’t bad, just a bit expected. But with so many strong chapters, great character moments, and twists along the way, I didn’t mind.
If you want a fantasy that mixes grit, dark humor, and a misfit crew on a mission that has the “won’t work but somehow does” trope then this is for you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-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
I LOVED this book! Once again, Joe Abercrombie created a fantastic group of heathens, had them spout off a limitless amount of wonderful, (sometimes hilarious) dialogue, put them into a multitude of nail bitingly tense scenes, and makes you fall in love with them as if they’re old friends.
I really loved all of the characters and can’t decide which is my favorite (but it’s Balthazar).
11/10 will read again.
I really loved all of the characters and can’t decide which is my favorite (but it’s Balthazar).
11/10 will read again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Excrement, Religious bigotry
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Today is THE DAY !!!🔥
I've finally finished reading The Devils !😈🔥😈🔥..and my rating is...🥁...4 ⭐ !🙃
General info : adult fantasy, 1st in a series; this is a dark fantasy..or better yet. grimdark fantasy 😅..with lots of horror elements, set in an alternative world to ours and focused on a quest-like plot;
CW: LOTS of death ( very graphic)😅, body horror, violence, sexual continent, crimes of war, assault, body fluids everywhere..and also other stuff ( excrements were involved in the making of this book🥲); mentions of slavery, child abuse, genocide, crusades, religious bigotry, etc...Basically a Joe Abercrombie title 🤷🏼♀️
#bookthoughts
OK...so...😅...this one took me a while 🫣..and I'm not really sure why🤷🏼♀️
The writing is really great, and I don't have a weak stomach when it comes to these kind of books, but I feel, in this particular case, the middle of the book was very difficult for me to get through 🫠.
Where to start...well, with the characters!🧐🔥
We have the members of the Chapel of the Holy Expediency...Jakob of Thorn, Baptiste, Baron Rikard, Sunny and Balthazar...and their newest leader..brother Diaz. These nice people have received an important mission from the Pope herself...to take Alex, a thief and orphan..and Heir to The Serpent Throne, back to Troy to be crowned.
I'm sad to say that Joe managed to fully flesh out only some characters .
Unfortunately, and maybe due to the amount of action and gore, I felt the majority of them weren't complete people 🧐.( And this is only for the guys I mentioned above.. The others...well, they served a purpose and what screen time they got was just the right amount 🤣😅)
From those...I'm most frustrated by Alex..she should have been complex, but I felt her held at distance from the reader 🥲..I couldn't connect with her 😫 and I've tried 🫠.
The Baron and Baptiste were there to offer either some flavor to a grim situation with on-liners, or make us laugh with their strange abilities ( I won't lie...The Baron is pretty high on my list 🫣🤭)
Now...MCs I liked/ loved: nr 1....🥁..brother Diaz😁..I know 🫣..don't kill me!, but he grows and actually becomes something respectable and responsible. He makes strange decisions, is weak to some things 😂 ( iykyk🤣) and clearly has a ton of flaws...and they're not always what you want to see/ read...but overall I feel he's the most human of them all.☺️
Next! ⚔️ Jakob 😌👌...I really love and appreciate the voice of wisdom..especially when it's jaded and melancholy... He saw them all, and he'll see them again and again...but he's truly a romantic at heart, just like Cardinal Ziska said..and I love him for that!🥰 Don't get me wrong..he's largely defined by his curse🥹 ( and I'm dying to know more about that 👀😫) but he's well-written.☺️
In our 3rd place...🥁...Balthazar ..our 3rd necromancer in the whole of Europe 🤣🤣🤣. He's once again a character who develops throughout the book🙂 and makes us care about him and his petty grievances 🤭. I'm really sad for him now😢...and I bet his hubris will bite him in the ass worse than Vigga...😅🤷🏼♀️
Speaking of Vigga...🥹...quite a difficult personage to write 🧐..she's constantly confused, stuck in limbo with her memory and an optimist by necessity ( it's soo funny that I describe her like this 😂but oh well 🤷🏼♀️)...until she isn't 🥲.
The last one is Sunny...she's interesting but I feel I don't know enough for her to be higher in the ranking 🧐...I felt for her for quite a number of instances..but I wanted more.
Hope you noticed how much time I spent on characters 🫠...and yes, I believe this is the strength of this book.
The plot was good, not great but not mediocre 🧐..good. I enjoy a quest like this from time to time and this delivered..and in some aspects took me by surprise ☺️👌.
HOWEVER!😑... I cannot help but strike the rating due to the villain of the week portion 🫠..it was hard to read through that...and the constant action gets tiring after you saw it twice 😅...maybe that's just me🤷🏼♀️.
I just feel like something is missing.🧐
The atmosphere is great, until you want to put the book down due to the battles🥹 and the intrigue definitely dips in the middle...at least for me it did 🫣..so maybe don't bet on it as a fast read.
What can I say🤭,... despite guessing some stuff, I still got some surprises and I was revitalized for the last 150 pages ( cannot wait to see what happens in the next one😆).
Themes : we have a lot of things discussed...in a typical Joe Abercrombie 's way🤣...the evils of war, human greed, hypocrisy, what is a monster, religious bigotry, the price small people pay for the whims of the rich, which side is the right one, what makes you someone worthwhile... I highly recommend you try this if you enjoy your cynical and frankly accurate view on the world.😌👌
Don't worry 😉. This book is also funny, albeit in a grim kind of way 😅🤷🏼♀️.
World-building : strong but not in the let me shove all this info in your face kind of way 🤣...but more on the ' now this deserves attention'☺️ the description is detailed when need or brief and brutal 🤷🏼♀️
Overall, a good start to reading Joe Abercrombie. This title can give you lots of things for your time ; make you wonder why other writers don't mention more excrements and such, and even force you to cheer for some devils.🙃
I highly recommend if you want to question your taste!😈
I've finally finished reading The Devils !😈🔥😈🔥..and my rating is...🥁...4 ⭐ !🙃
General info : adult fantasy, 1st in a series; this is a dark fantasy..or better yet. grimdark fantasy 😅..with lots of horror elements, set in an alternative world to ours and focused on a quest-like plot;
CW: LOTS of death ( very graphic)😅, body horror, violence, sexual continent, crimes of war, assault, body fluids everywhere..and also other stuff ( excrements were involved in the making of this book🥲); mentions of slavery, child abuse, genocide, crusades, religious bigotry, etc...Basically a Joe Abercrombie title 🤷🏼♀️
#bookthoughts
OK...so...😅...this one took me a while 🫣..and I'm not really sure why🤷🏼♀️
The writing is really great, and I don't have a weak stomach when it comes to these kind of books, but I feel, in this particular case, the middle of the book was very difficult for me to get through 🫠.
Where to start...well, with the characters!🧐🔥
We have the members of the Chapel of the Holy Expediency...Jakob of Thorn, Baptiste, Baron Rikard, Sunny and Balthazar...and their newest leader..brother Diaz. These nice people have received an important mission from the Pope herself...to take Alex, a thief and orphan..and Heir to The Serpent Throne, back to Troy to be crowned.
I'm sad to say that Joe managed to fully flesh out only some characters .
Unfortunately, and maybe due to the amount of action and gore, I felt the majority of them weren't complete people 🧐.( And this is only for the guys I mentioned above.. The others...well, they served a purpose and what screen time they got was just the right amount 🤣😅)
From those...I'm most frustrated by Alex..she should have been complex, but I felt her held at distance from the reader 🥲..I couldn't connect with her 😫 and I've tried 🫠.
The Baron and Baptiste were there to offer either some flavor to a grim situation with on-liners, or make us laugh with their strange abilities ( I won't lie...The Baron is pretty high on my list 🫣🤭)
Now...MCs I liked/ loved: nr 1....🥁..brother Diaz😁..I know 🫣..don't kill me!, but he grows and actually becomes something respectable and responsible. He makes strange decisions, is weak to some things 😂 ( iykyk🤣) and clearly has a ton of flaws...and they're not always what you want to see/ read...but overall I feel he's the most human of them all.☺️
Next! ⚔️ Jakob 😌👌...I really love and appreciate the voice of wisdom..especially when it's jaded and melancholy... He saw them all, and he'll see them again and again...but he's truly a romantic at heart, just like Cardinal Ziska said..and I love him for that!🥰 Don't get me wrong..he's largely defined by his curse🥹 ( and I'm dying to know more about that 👀😫) but he's well-written.☺️
In our 3rd place...🥁...Balthazar ..our 3rd necromancer in the whole of Europe 🤣🤣🤣. He's once again a character who develops throughout the book🙂 and makes us care about him and his petty grievances 🤭. I'm really sad for him now😢...and I bet his hubris will bite him in the ass worse than Vigga...😅🤷🏼♀️
Speaking of Vigga...🥹...quite a difficult personage to write 🧐..she's constantly confused, stuck in limbo with her memory and an optimist by necessity ( it's soo funny that I describe her like this 😂but oh well 🤷🏼♀️)...until she isn't 🥲.
The last one is Sunny...she's interesting but I feel I don't know enough for her to be higher in the ranking 🧐...I felt for her for quite a number of instances..but I wanted more.
Hope you noticed how much time I spent on characters 🫠...and yes, I believe this is the strength of this book.
The plot was good, not great but not mediocre 🧐..good. I enjoy a quest like this from time to time and this delivered..and in some aspects took me by surprise ☺️👌.
HOWEVER!😑... I cannot help but strike the rating due to the villain of the week portion 🫠..it was hard to read through that...and the constant action gets tiring after you saw it twice 😅...maybe that's just me🤷🏼♀️.
I just feel like something is missing.🧐
The atmosphere is great, until you want to put the book down due to the battles🥹 and the intrigue definitely dips in the middle...at least for me it did 🫣..so maybe don't bet on it as a fast read.
What can I say🤭,... despite guessing some stuff, I still got some surprises and I was revitalized for the last 150 pages ( cannot wait to see what happens in the next one😆).
Themes : we have a lot of things discussed...in a typical Joe Abercrombie 's way🤣...the evils of war, human greed, hypocrisy, what is a monster, religious bigotry, the price small people pay for the whims of the rich, which side is the right one, what makes you someone worthwhile... I highly recommend you try this if you enjoy your cynical and frankly accurate view on the world.😌👌
Don't worry 😉. This book is also funny, albeit in a grim kind of way 😅🤷🏼♀️.
World-building : strong but not in the let me shove all this info in your face kind of way 🤣...but more on the ' now this deserves attention'☺️ the description is detailed when need or brief and brutal 🤷🏼♀️
Overall, a good start to reading Joe Abercrombie. This title can give you lots of things for your time ; make you wonder why other writers don't mention more excrements and such, and even force you to cheer for some devils.🙃
I highly recommend if you want to question your taste!😈
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Religious bigotry, War
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Genocide, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Hate crime, Misogyny, Torture, Medical content, Death of parent, Colonisation, Pandemic/Epidemic
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
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:
Complicated
Давненько не було такого, що я намагалася повільніше читати книжку, щоб розтягнути від неї задоволення. Ще давніше було таке, що я вболівала по-своєму за всіх персонажів. Ніколи такого не було, щоб канонічні пари були моїм першим та єдиним вибором.
Найбільше мені не подобається, що це перша книга з трилогії, і тепер треба чекати продовження.
Найбільше мені не подобається, що це перша книга з трилогії, і тепер треба чекати продовження.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting
Minor: War
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
I didn't realize The Devils was the book I was missing in my life. This is for all the people who are constantly replaying Baldur's Gate 3, for all the people who love a Grimdark setting, who love a band of morally grey characters who absolutely should not work, yet some how do.
Abercrombie's delightful character development, story progression and gore make this story unforgettable. Readers will be left with a Vigga sized bite out of their chests wanting a sequel asap.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Murder
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol