Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and Killer Croc: just a few of the nefarious characters making up a diverse cast of villains in DC’s Suicide Squad, a multilayered, dark story that digs deep into our shared understanding of the often horrific cost of getting important things done and the morally ambiguous characters entrusted to do them. The protagonists are what we call anti-heroes, people with questionable motives and behaviors, with ultimately criminal and sometimes monstrous pasts. Those same complications are why we loved the story so much.
Now enter Joe Abercrombie’s 2025 deeply dark fantasy, The Devils.
A well-meaning but seemingly useless man is tasked with bringing together a group of villainous characters on a secret quest. The villains are given little to no choice, and it’s implied that if they cooperate, there could be a measure of redemption in it for them.
One would have a difficult time determining whether the above plotline describes Suicide Squad or The Devils, because they both use strikingly similar formulas, including the exploration of the deeply flawed, horribly traumatized natures of their protagonists.
In Suicide Squad, the force that brings the villains together is a secret government organization. In The Devils, it’s a secret organization within the Church—well, Abercrombie's version of the church, in any case. The people who run these organizations might have more questionable motivations than the villains.
Like Suicide Squad, Joe Abercrombie brings us a diverse group of characters rich in background and nuance. My favorite character, Vigga, is a fierce warrior who also happens to be cursed with lycanthropy. She is a true werewolf who doesn’t need the moon to transform, and frequently refers to that part of herself as “the wolf.” Vigga has to be careful to keep a tight rein on her emotions or risk letting the wolf out, a state in which she has very little control. But she’s also vulnerable at times, hilarious, naive, horny almost all the time, and, as all werewolves are, tragic.
Vigga is just one of the seven members who make up the Chapel of the Holy Expediency, the group the church has charged with delivering a thief turned princess, Alexia, to her royal throne in Troy. There’s Brother Diaz, a seemingly useless monk who’s been given charge of the party; Jakob, an immortal Templar knight; Baptiste, a church agent who seems to have done a little of every career imaginable; Baron Rikard, an ancient vampire; Balthazar, a brilliant necromancer; and Sunny, a member of the race of elves, bitter enemies of the human race.
Every one of those characters is complicated and unique. The antagonists appearing throughout are anything but flat. Abercrombie’s storytelling style brings them to life with action, humor, a flair for the dark and mysterious, and fast pacing. If you loved Suicide Squad, I can almost guarantee you’ll love The Devils. 5 Stars.
Have you read The Devils? Tell me what you thought in the comments below!