The Devils

This book was, overall, really great. It had moments where the story got bogged down, and lost its way a bit. I don't think that made it bad, it just could have been a little tighter.

The worldbuilding was my favorite part. The bizarro version of medieval Europe was really cool. The religious aspect was fun and original.

The cast of characters was where this book really shined. Each member of ye olde suicide squad was unique and had a fun story to tell. I really liked that we spend so much time in the head of the thoroughly unlikable necromancer. Seeing other people's reactions to him, and how they didn't match up with his thoughts about himself was really funny.

I would say this book is for sure a 4. It was almost a 5, but it just struggled with the pacing at moments.

Having lingered in Joe Abercrombie's FIrst Law and Shattered Sea settings for many thousands of pages, I am not surprised to find that "The Devils" is another highly entertaining and vividly imagined fantasy novel. I think I like it even more than the other books by him that I've read.

The betrayal, greed, lust and megalomania in Abercrombie's books is a reflection of the villainy we see in the highest offices of our real world. In this novel the vile corruption and hypocrisy of the church is at the centre of the plot. The enemies of the church - the mutants, aliens demons, and other undesirables are considered anathema whose lives are forfeit. Yet they are the ones who are led by loyalty and love. This is not to say they are prefect heroes - far from it. But when they manage to do good and support each other, it is a lesson they take to heart.

At the same time, the book is frequently hilarious, and there is lots of sex and violence. Other readers might find that it lacks some of the gravitas of the First Law series, but I don't think it's any the worse for that. It's high quality fun!