‘Magic… may be the ultimate expression … of man’s triumph over nature,’ she forced through gritted teeth. ‘But sometimes you’ve just got to stab a bastard.’ 

Nils: Hey Beth, The Devils is going to be devilishly fun, isn’t it? Eh? Eh? 

Beth: *boops you on the nose with a rolled up newspaper*

Nils: But we’re going to have a hell of a time with these characters!

Beth: Dear gods it’s going to be one of those reviews isn’t it…

That’s right, Nils and Beth are back with another buddy read review for you; this time of one of their most highly anticipated books of the year: The Devils by Joe Abercrombie. As always, we try to keep these reviews spoiler free. Nils has also included some photos of the goodies she was sent and Beth definitely doesn’t hate her for.

Europe stares into the abyss.

Plague and famine stalk the land, monsters lurk in every shadow and greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions. Only one thing is certain: the elves will come again, and they will eat everyone.

Sometimes, only the darkest paths lead towards the light. Paths on which the righteous will not dare to tread . . .

And so, buried beneath the sacred splendour of the Celestial Palace, is the secret Chapel of the Holy Expediency. For its congregation of convicted monsters there are no sins that have not been committed, no lines that will not be crossed, and no mission that cannot be turned into a disastrous bloodbath.

Now the hapless Brother Diaz must somehow bind the worst of the worst to a higher cause: to put a thief on the throne of Troy, and unite the sundered church against the coming apocalypse.

When you’re headed through hell, you need the devils on your side.

The Devils is due for publication 6th May – you can pre-order your copy HERE

First Impressions?

Nils: I fucking love this! Within one chapter I can picture the setting of the Holy City so vividly. The bustle of beggars, thieves, prostitutes and the medley of pilgrims, merchants and priests, the cacophony of sounds and the stench. This is all as we meet Brother Diaz, on his way to the Celestial Palace to meet the Pope. Or so he thinks… He’s an ambitious braggart who deep down is a coward completely out of his depth and immediately I love him so much! 

Beth: Abercrombie always brings out the sweary in you

Nils: He’s a bad influence!

Beth: This was such a strong opening which bombards the senses in all the best ways. We had so much to message each other about, didn’t we Nils! But I think the thing that struck us strongest was the ease with which Abercrombie introduces his characters and their world. It’s fully immersive without being confusing or feeling like an info-dump. He immediately whips up your interest whilst employing such a succinct style of writing.

Nils: Completely agree. Abercrombie’s style is so compelling and draws you into the story in such a way where you can picture it all so clearly in your mind. 

Beth, weren’t you saying that the way the Holy City was being described was so accurate to your own experience of Rome? 

Beth: Yes! Obviously, I didn’t visit during the same time period… but the way Abercrombie describes the crush of pilgrims put me strongly in mind of the numbers of tourists you have to contend with these days. That sense as well of the Holy jostling shoulders with the hawkers of tourist souvenirs… that sense that one minute you could be on a grand street but with the turn of a corner it can get quite grimy and seedy. He transported me right back! 

How do you feel being out of the First Law world?

Beth: Don’t get me wrong, I do love that world, but there’s a freshness to this, like he has a skip in his step as he’s writing… I know if I were a writer, having created a series as beloved as the First Law, I’d feel a lot of pressure writing in that world now; whether or not you’re the kind of person who believes authors have a responsibility to their fans (a contentious subject), I’d feel pressure keeping that ball going? Keeping that world as good as it’s ever been? So stepping out of that and just creating something entirely different – I think I’d feel quite liberated by that, and whether it’s just projection or not, that’s the sense I’ve had so far from The Devils.

Nils: Like Beth, I’m also a huge fan of the First Law books and I was apprehensive about starting something entirely new, yet I needn’t have been because although this is vastly different, it’s still very Joe Abercrombie. 

Beth: oh that’s such a good point actually; they’re such completely different worlds and settings but it’s stamped with Abercrombie’s distinctive style

Nils: Just from the first few chapters I could tell there was still his trademark humour that I love so much, there are still antiheroes in a gritty corrupted world and there’s politics and violence. But also like Beth has mentioned it feels like the author has a sense of freedom, he’s now able to go all out on the fantasy elements, to have more fun with his characters and create a story that’s full of adventure and shenanigans. All of which I’m very much enjoying. 

Let’s talk about the Devils… do you have a favourite yet? Or a favourite character overall? 

Beth: Before we get to the Devils, for me, I thought Alex was going to be an early favourite. I loved our introduction to her, I loved how chaotic and scrappy she was. As events take a turn for her, she understandably flounders a little and we meet the Devils for the first time, and they overshadow her somewhat, but I kept coming back to her as a favourite 

Nils: For me it was Brother Diaz! I really love a cowardly character who lands themselves totally out of their depth and doesn’t quite know how to get out of it. He’s young, ambitious, not quite as pious or theologically inclined as a monk should be, all of which makes his POV downright hilarious. I also feel sympathy for him though because once he meets the Devils, he realises that his life for the foreseeable future will be filled with terrible danger!

Beth: Of the Devils themselves, Vigga is a firm favourite, I loved her the moment we first met her. Yes, for those who’ve read the book, I am concerned what that says about me because christ, what a meeting. But still. I love her, would do anything for her, don’t @ me.

I’m finding Jakob a very interesting character, he’s like an amalgamation of Logan and Glokta. He has all these battle wounds and aches that mean he’s in constant pain, but he also believes he deserves it; it’s not even atonement, he seems to believe he doesn’t even deserve that. 

Tag yourself, I’m feeling middle-right today ~Beth

Of course as suspected, these monstrous people may have done monstrous things but have complexities and moments of such kindness and humanity. It’s a story of exploring who are the real monsters in society. 

Nils: That’s a great point about Jakob of Thorn being a mix of Logan and Glokta, he really does feel like it. It’s really hard to pick favourites here because I like them all for different reasons. However, I’m also with you Beth and I don’t care what this says about me but Vigga is a fantastic character both in her wolf form and in her human form. 

Beth: She just made us laugh so much didn’t she? So many excellent lines from Vigga

Nils: Vigga is the kind of character who has zero inhibitions and therefore just says what she thinks, which was always pretty damn funny!! 

I also immediately loved Balthazar, the magician. When we first meet him he’s completely affronted by how the Pope places a binding on him and no matter his skill in necromancy and the Black Arts, he can’t undo it!

We’re also warming to Sunny the elf, aren’t we Beth?! She seems the kindest of them all and also incredibly lonely. 

“She could make herself invisible. That was her thing. But could she make herself visible? That was the problem.”

Beth: She’s precious and we love her she’s the truest embodiment of the whole “who’s the real monster” theme; she should be the most monstrous of them all, yet she shows the most humanity.

How did your first impressions of these characters pan out for the rest of the story? (Avoiding spoilers!)

Beth: We talked about the growth and development of the characters a lot, didn’t we Nils?

Nils: We really did because they all evolve in such organic ways. 

Beth: Abercrombie’s character work has always been on point, but I felt this time they took a higher precedence over the plot (compared to his previous books). As usual, Abercrombie plays with your expectations; I was expecting him to do this, and I still fell suspect to it. There were some characters I distrusted and I was right to, but there were plenty I distrusted and they surprised me.

Nils: Throughout I kept thinking back to many of the First Law characters and how they would behave given this situation and then I expected these characters in The Devils to do the opposite because Abercrombie likes to shake things up for his readers, he’ll know what we’re expecting and he’ll subvert it! Sometimes I was right to think this way, but a few times I was wrong! Damn you, tricksy Abercrombie!

Beth: The most tricksy of hobbits. 

As for the development of the characters, Abercrombie has worked on two things throughout this story; yes, there are certain characters who they themselves grow and learn and change (Brother Diaz was a notable favourite for us in this regard, wasn’t he?), but then there are other characters for whom our perceptions grow and learn and change. I absolutely loved that he incorporated both in this story, as it’s made me feel, as a reader, closer to their journey because I have experienced the same results and lessons that some of the characters have. 

Nils: That’s an excellent way of putting it Beth. I too feel like I’ve also been on a journey with these characters and as more of their lives, their backstory and their relationship with one another is revealed my view of them also changed. The world may perceive this group of outcasts to be monsters but each of them have faced tragedy, trauma and it has left them with grief and loneliness even when they weren’t to blame. Sometimes in life, shit happens to you and all you can do is make the best of what you have. This is what I feel The Church of Holy Expediency is for the devils. 

Quotes: (all quotes used are taken from an early ARC and are subject to change upon publication.)

Beth:

Start the evening looking for fun and the morning begging forgiveness

‘Perhaps evil men can do good, still.’

‘If they do enough, don’t they become good men?’

‘Maybe,’ said Jacob. ‘Maybe one day.’ Because she wanted to believe it. He wasn’t sure he could.

Nils:

In Alex’s experience, the Almighty sides with the favourites, and once you’re hoping for angels to even the odds you’re proper fucked. But she had a sinking feeling shed been proper fucked for a while and had only just realised.

Where was the line? Was there a line? Brother Diaz really didn’t want to live in a world without lines and yet, through no apparent fault of his own, here he was, wondering if a severed head had always had a lisp.

Perhaps there had never been any lines. Perhaps the whole idea of lines was a consolatory fairy tale it had suited him to believe.

Overall thoughts

Beth: Going into this, for some reason I had the impression it was going to be a vampire book? And although we do have a vampire, I’m so relieved it wasn’t just “a vampire book.” Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind a vampire book, but it was exciting having this A-Team of different creatures and abilities coming together against their will to babysit a princess.

Another thing I had been expecting, and was a little more concerned about, was grimdark. Abercrombie is, after all, Lord Grimdark. But I’ve really struggled to engage with dark fantasy for some time now, and I was so worried that this, finally, would be an Abercrombie I couldn’t read. But I should have had more faith, because say one thing about Joe, say he can evolve. The Devils has plenty of darkness, it has plenty of fights and gore and morally questionable antiheroes… but this time, Abercrombie has ramped up the humour. The violence goes hand in hand with this kind of slapstick comedy, so we get the gritty reality of grimdark we all loved, but it lifts you and doesn’t stray into bleak or overwhelming. He pulls it back every time, without sacrificing any emotional impact the characters’ arcs still contain. Jonathan will be glad to know, and TO proud, that Nils and I workshopped some new genre names for this blend – I like hers best: Grimcom. 

I was expecting a good story, and what was delivered was a great one. Abercrombie has proven once again that he is adaptable, he can still deliver fresh and relevant stories; that he is a true master of the genre. 

Nils: Abercrombie is a master of his craft, he’s the kind of author who never feels stale nor ever fails to entertain. The Devils plunges readers into a familiar world of backstabbing politics, morally grey characters and an abundance of sardonic humour. Yet this time around Abercrombie also gives us characters to empathise with, he gives us an adventure that’s ultimately fun and exciting and he twists well known fantasy monsters. As Beth and myself have realised this is not just grimdark it’s Grimcom and it’s simply superb storytelling. 

The Devils is due for publication 6th May – you can pre-order your copy HERE

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