CW: violence, cursing, blasphemy, werewolves, effusive praise

Who better to lead us through the darkest timeline than Lord Grimdark himself, Joe Abercrombie? Like a trusted friend who would help you bury a body, Abercrombie doesn’t hesitate to get his hands dirty and do whatever it takes to steer you through a hellish reality. 

With Abercrombie, nothing is sugar-coated or laced with sunshine-and-rainbows optimism. You can rely on him to portray people at their nastiest, the world at its bleakest, and violence in all its dirty, smelly, bodily fluid-filled detail. No one ever wins or is truly happy, but it’s OK once you accept that, and more often than not, it’s kind of funny.

Grimdark is not for the faint of heart, maybe, but as a reader with a heart prone to fainting, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that Abercrombie’s writing brings me joy in a way no other author can. His prose is sharp, funny, refreshingly real, and strangely hopeful. No one can make me laugh out loud, snort with cynical agreement, or cry at the smallest act of kindness like Abercrombie can.

But when your favorite author releases something completely new and different, you worry a little. Other than a quick detour to publish the YA Shattered Sea trilogy, The Devils is Abercrombie’s first book in 19 years to deviate from the world of The First Law, which consists of two trilogies, three standalone novels, and two sets of short stories. Turns out, when Abercrombie pivots, he just finds new ways to be awesome.

The Devils is the first of three in a set of interconnected but self-contained novels. Departing from the fictional “Circle of the World” setting of The First Law, The Devils takes place in a reimagined version of historical Europe, with one dominant religion worshipping a female Savior (but divided over which gender the clergy should be), leading Crusades against elves, and forming secret societies to do their dirty work for them.

It’s within this “real world” setting that Abercrombie introduces more fantastical elements than ever before. The First Law books are mostly character-driven political intrigue with some magic. The Devils is a character-driven adventure with a lot of magic. It’s the perfect recipe for a twisted fairytale in which the scary monsters are the heroes saving the princess from a handsome prince—or multiple evil cousin princes, in this case. 

The Devils brings to mind William Goldman’s classic twisted tale, The Princess Bride, in which a giant, a pirate, and a vengeful swordsman fight corrupt noblemen to rescue the princess. And with a young female protagonist completely out of her depth but surrounded by quirky friends, and with a good chunk of the action taking place on a boat, it’s almost like a warped version of Brandon Sanderson's Tress of the Emerald Sea (also inspired, of course, by The Princess Bride).

Perhaps it’s a case of a talented author making it look easy, but The Devils seems like it must have been so much fun to write. Released from the bindings of his own First Law (“It is forbidden…to summon demons, and forbidden to open gates to hell”), Abercrombie is now free to wreak bloody havoc. It’s only with that level of reckless abandon that someone would decide to write a 560-page answer to the question of what would happen if a necromancer, a vampire, a werewolf, an elf, a boastful pirate, a lying thief, and a cursed soldier walked into a bar…and a monk was their designated driver.

And so our heroes are not exactly a found family, but a Congregation of sinners forced together into the “Chapel of the Holy Expediency” by clergy with questionable motives. A traditional found family trope might have heroes bonding over personal stories shared by the campfire. The Devils’ devils bond by harassing each other, lying to each other, throwing up on each other, f***ing each other, and trying to kill each other. It’s really very sweet. No, really.

Together, the devils face some of the most disgusting creatures you could imagine—think failed science experiments—doing the most appalling, horrific things, and yet this somehow manages to be the most heartwarming book Abercrombie has written. The Devils, ironically, has a lot to teach about friendship, loyalty, humility, honor, courage, and sacrifice. It poses the question of who are truly the monsters in the story (short answer: it’s Abercrombie, so everyone is bad).  

And, as is so often the case, we find that those who proclaim themselves to be good are the ones to distrust the most, while those who seem evil on the surface may be hiding a heart of gold—or at least bronze. It’s no wonder then that the “worst” of the bunch, Vigga, the savage and bloodthirsty Swedish Viking werewolf, is easily the most lovable character. 

Even then, it’s not that simple in The Devils. No preconception of any character is safe—no one is exactly who they seem, and there’s always another layer of complexity to uncover. And the twists (there are multiple) are brilliantly executed.

Make no mistake, you should never expect a happy ending from Abercrombie. The world is still under threat of war, the people in power are still corrupt, and not much changes for those deemed to be outcasts. But it’s only in a setting so bleak that readers can actually find courage to face the truths Abercrombie never shies away from: people do bad things, you rarely get what you want, life is painful, and sometimes the most you can hope for is not being dead. 

In a surprisingly philosophical moment, Vigga the werewolf advises us to “clutch with both hands at any flicker of warmth that can be clawed from the uncaring darkness of existence.” Being in the dark is what makes those moments of light—from the smallest gesture of kindness to the greatest sacrifice—all the more meaningful. That’s why The Devils is so unexpectedly sweet, and it’s why we can turn to Lord Grimdark and his monsters to help us find hope and humor in the darkest of times.

Grace is a licensed mental health counselor who believes in the healing power of found family in fantasy novels and IRL. Also known as Bain & Chiad, Grace has been reading The Wheel of Time since 1998, when she and her high school sweetheart dressed up as Elayne and Rand for Halloween. She fell in love with present-day WoT fandom and was inducted into Far Dareis Mai in 2019. She is the writer of Maidens’ List and a cohost of The Light’s Work.