The premise is simple: a long lost princess escorted by a ragtag group of rejects to reclaim her place on the throne. Except the princess is an orphan that grew up on the streets as a thief and a liar and doesn’t believe in her royal destiny but is simply using it as a way to con her way into some coin and not being beaten or, for once, not being hungry. The ragtag group of rejects are a magician/necromancer hell-bent on escaping this task, a warrior cursed to not being able to die, a pirate wench with unparalleled skill with daggers, a vampire, a Viking werewolf, a vanishing elf, and a self-serving monk.

The delivery is a hilarious tale filled with gratuitous violence, repeated jabs at organized religion in general and Catholic religion in particular, self-loathing protagonists, a pinch of mythology, a dash of fantasy, and a tablespoon of magic. This may sound like a bizarre recipe for a book, but Joe Abercrombie has cooked up quite possibly my favorite tale of all time.

If you’ve read any of Abercrombie’s books you may be familiar with his signature humor and ability to inject comedy into even most dark, violent, and desperate situations. His ability to do so in The Devils is dialed up considerably and is non-stop. The best way to describe this tale for someone that is into dark and inappropriate humor is that it’s an occult mishmash of The Boys, Suicide Squad, and the Peacemaker set in a twisted alternate reality of medieval Europe and Middle-East.

I can’t think of any other book I’ve ever read that has entertained me more than The Devils. Already, I can’t wait for the next entry. I want to hear more about those dumplings…