What a ferocious ride! Blood-spattered battles rage across a reimagined medieval Europe as a group of monsters and misfits attempt to set a thief on the throne of Troy. It feels as though author Joe Abercrombie has had the very best of times creating this world. Humour kicks its heels and dances a wild jig while violence roars with approval. I was plunged straight into the story and rubbed my hands with glee as I settled in. Ready yourself for ruthless savagery, the battle scenes are intense and its all too easy to visualise the action. This story focuses on the characters, they’re not all human, though you may prefer to spend your time with some of the monsters. Each member of the band develops in front of your eyes, apart from one or two who remain in the shadows. You get to know them by spending time with them, and it’s action all the way. The hugely epic fight scenes are tempered by the evolving friendships. I quite simply didn’t want this quest to end. Chosen as a Liz Pick of the Month, it just had to be a LoveReading Star Book too. Ballsy, fierce, and highly entertaining, The Devils is the most colourfully visual read, it comes with a tremendous thumbs up from me!
Plague and famine stalk the land, monsters lurk in every shadow and greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions. Only one thing is certain: the elves will come again, and they will eat everyone.
Sometimes, only the darkest paths lead towards the light. Paths on which the righteous will not dare to tread . . .
And so, buried beneath the sacred splendour of the Celestial Palace, is the secret Chapel of the Holy Expediency. For its congregation of convicted monsters there are no sins that have not been committed, no lines that will not be crossed, and no mission that cannot be turned into a disastrous bloodbath.
Now the hapless Brother Diaz must somehow bind the worst of the worst to a higher cause: to put a thief on the throne of Troy, and unite the sundered church against the coming apocalypse.
When you're headed through hell, you need the devils on your side.
Joe Abercrombie was born in Lancaster on the last day of 1974, the son of an English teacher and a sociologist. He spent much of his youth in imaginary worlds, and left school with a good idea of how to make stuff up. He moved to the big city, learned to brew tea, and ended up as a TV editor, working on documentaries, events and concerts for bands from Iron Maiden to Coldplay. But in the darkness of the night he was still making stuff up, and his first book, The Blade Itself, was published in 2006. He now lives in Bath with his wife Lou and their three children Grace, Eve and Teddy and makes stuff up full-time.
