AvonVilla@ramblingreaders.org reviewed The Devils (The Devils, #1)
Bloody good fantasy, and funny with it
4 stars
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, …
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!
