The Devils (book 1) by Joe Abercrombie (book review).
Joe Abercrombie is back with a new potential, probable series of books about unlikely heroes. The Pope is a ten year-old girl who just be the second coming of the female Saviour and this is a world where the rule of law is rough and there are elves at the borders of civilisation.
Alex is minding her own thieving business but, damn it, there’s always geo-politics to get in the way. Plucked from likely death on the streets of the Holy City, she’s quickly sized up by her uncle, the Duke Michael, and pronounced to be the long lost heir to the kingdom of Troy.
The Pope is keen Alex should get there to stake her claim and appoints her some bodyguards to give her some jolly good guarding,. The man in charge of the devils, seeking to continue quiet and studious life especially after this ‘opportunity’ knocks is Brother Diaz. The insufferable boredom of prayer and study is looking more attractive by the minute. ‘My thing is really…mostly…bureaucracy.’ Worst job interview ever.
Incredibly things go wrong right from the start. The devils are reluctant bodyguards but the Pope has a handy binding spell for that. Balthazar Sham Ivam Draxi, the necromancer with a highly inflated opinion of himself and has been offered the chance of redemption for service to the aforementioned Pope. ‘You bargain with one demon and that’s all anyone talks about!’ says the vampire Baron Rikard, who is such a charming man and would like to talk to you very much.
There’s a barely visible elf who is on the side of the angels it seems and not to mention whatever is in the locked carriage-in case of extreme danger, to be used sparingly. It’s a complex mix of attitude and violence.
The actual guard are soldiers who don’t need the oath to bind them. They have other concerns. Baptiste is a battle-scarred soldier of fortune and she has a story for everything, hard as nails, soft as butter. She carries many, many knives, ‘it’s a bad idea to run out’ and Jakob of Thorn seems to have been fighting forever. That’s true, more or less. ‘He looked like a man who had spent half a century falling down a mountain. One made of axes.
All in all, this is an entertaining romp with some excellent characters. Joe Abercrombie never disappoints. The fights are brilliant, the banter fresh and the humour dark and often served raw. If you’re bored with gallant soldiers on quests but enjoy the nitty gritty of self interest, projectile vomiting and the downright disgruntlement of indentured labour then this will entertain you, too.
Although this is a completed story, thank the dog for that and just wanted to see the words…the devils will return.
This is the sort of drama that we need over the po-faced fantasy currently all over. Meanwhile, I’m going to have to read it again to satisfy my casting instincts and maybe find some living actors to fill those roles.
Sue Davies
April 2025
(pub: Gollancz, 2025. 361 page enlarged paperback. Price: £16.99 (UK only). ISBN: 978-1-39960-357-7)
check out websites: www.gollancz.co.uk and www.jpeabercrombie.com
