The Devils
Initial Overview
The Devils is a grimdark fantasy novel set in a version of Europe not unlike our own during the renaissance period. Like other Abercrombie novels, it’s got a good plot, and it’s extremely character driven. Abercrombie is one of the greatest character writers of our time, and he shines again in The Devils. You’d be hard-pressed to find another author who can make you Love/Hate characters the way Abercrombie can.
What The Devils does well
Character growth is a central theme in The Devils where we see a lowly guttersnipe become empress of Troy. Sounds far-fetched but somehow Abercrombie is able to pull it off. One of the things I love most about his novels is you can’t ever really pick a ‘Favorite Character’ because they’re all so damn well written! Even the characters that are unlikable have a tendency to grow on you over time.
Abercrombie is able to combine characters that you would usually consider incompatible, in the case of The Devils we have a Thief (Alex), a Priest(Brother Diaz), a Vampire(Baron Rikard), a Soldier(Jakob of Thorne), an invisible Elf(Sunny), a Werewolf(Vigga), a Magician(Balthazar), and a ‘Jack-of-all-trades'(Baptiste). Each character on their own would be pretty normal for a Fantasy novel – But mix them together and you have a recipe for drama, hilarity, and… awkward sexual tension??
Where The Devils falls short
There are a few moments in the book that feel like an unnecessary amount of meandering. I think this is true for any book with deep character growth though, and definitely not abnormal for Abercrombie.
Final Assessment
If you go into this book expecting fast paced Michael Bay style action, you might be disappointed – but if you go into it looking for interesting character development and great writing I think you’ll be MORE than pleased with the outcome, like I was!
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