Devils in the Holy City

The story opens in the Holy City, a place of swirling crowds, religious fervor, and rampant corruption. Brother Diaz, a minor monk with a talent for administration and a history of personal failings, is summoned to the Celestial Palace for a mysterious new assignment. The city is a paradox: sacred relics and pious rituals jostle with prostitutes, thieves, and fanatics. Diaz's journey through the city is both comic and grim, setting the tone for a world where virtue and vice are inseparable, and where the Church's power is both awe-inspiring and deeply compromised. The city's chaos foreshadows the moral ambiguity and violence that will define the tale.

A Princess from the Gutter

Alex, a streetwise thief and scammer, is introduced as she flees debt collectors and thugs. Her life is a constant hustle, defined by quick wits and a refusal to stay down. In a twist of fate, she is "rescued" by Duke Michael, who claims she is the long-lost Princess Alexia, heir to the Serpent Throne of Troy. Alex is skeptical, but the evidence—a birthmark and a split coin—seems to confirm her identity. She is swept into a world of luxury and intrigue, but her instincts as a survivor remain sharp. The promise of power is both a lifeline and a trap, and Alex's journey from gutter to throne is fraught with danger and deception.

The Chapel of Expediency

Brother Diaz is inducted into the Chapel of the Holy Expediency, a clandestine arm of the Church tasked with handling threats and tasks too unsavory for the righteous. The Chapel's "congregation" is a motley crew: a scarred immortal knight (Jakob of Thorn), a flamboyant mercenary (Baptiste), a vampire (Baron Rikard), a werewolf (Vigga), an elf (Sunny), and a necromancer (Balthazar). Diaz is horrified to find his flock consists of literal monsters, each with their own sins and secrets. The Chapel's mission: to do what must be done, using any means necessary, in the name of the greater good. The line between good and evil is blurred, and expediency becomes the thirteenth, unspoken virtue.

Monsters in the Cellar

The Chapel's members are introduced in detail, each imprisoned beneath the Celestial Palace for crimes against God and man. Balthazar, the necromancer, is arrogant and desperate to escape his magical binding. Sunny, the elf, is an expert at vanishing and has survived as a circus freak. Baron Rikard, the vampire, is charming but predatory. Vigga, the werewolf, is both terrifying and tragic, her violence barely contained. Jakob, the immortal knight, is haunted by his past. Baptiste, the mercenary, is pragmatic and irreverent. Diaz must shepherd this flock on a mission that will test the limits of faith, morality, and survival.

The Papal Binding

The Pope, a ten-year-old girl with immense magical power, binds the Chapel's monsters to her will with a simple but unbreakable spell. The binding is both a leash and a curse: any attempt to disobey results in excruciating illness or death. The Pope's innocence is contrasted with the darkness of her tools. The Chapel is tasked with escorting Alex to Troy, to claim her throne and unite the Church against the looming threat of the elves. The monsters are forced into reluctant cooperation, their fates tied to Alex's success. The journey begins under a cloud of suspicion, resentment, and the ever-present threat of betrayal.

A Flock of Black Sheep

The Chapel and Alex set out, pursued by assassins and hunted by the monstrous creations of Eudoxia, the sorceress-empress of Troy. Along the way, they are ambushed, betrayed, and forced into desperate alliances. The group's internal tensions flare: Vigga's wolf threatens to break free, Balthazar schemes to break his binding, and Diaz struggles to maintain order. The journey is a crucible, forging unlikely bonds and exposing old wounds. The monsters prove both a liability and a salvation, their inhuman abilities the only thing keeping Alex alive.

The Road to Troy

Disguised as pilgrims, the group travels through war-torn Europe, joining a "Blessed Company" of the faithful. The journey is both physical and spiritual: Alex learns to read and write, Diaz finds unexpected courage, and the monsters confront their own natures. The group faces betrayal from within the pilgrimage, attacks by Eudoxia's hybrid beasts, and the ever-present threat of exposure. The road is littered with the bodies of the innocent and the guilty alike, and the Chapel's methods grow ever more ruthless. The line between savior and devil blurs further.

Pilgrims and Pretenders

In Venice, the group must secure passage to Troy by running an errand for a crime lord: stealing a magical artifact from a cursed house. The heist is a disaster, with illusions and traps testing the group's sanity and loyalty. Balthazar's attempts to break the binding fail spectacularly, and the group barely escapes with their lives. The journey by sea is no safer: they are shipwrecked, hunted by Eudoxia's sons, and forced to confront the reality that Alex's claim to the throne is built on lies and expediency. The monsters' humanity is tested, and the cost of survival grows ever higher.

The Blessed Company

The group's time with the Blessed Company exposes the rot at the heart of the Church: pious leaders are revealed as self-serving, and the faithful as desperate sinners. The Chapel's monsters are both feared and needed, their violence the only thing standing between the pilgrims and annihilation. Diaz's faith is shaken, but he finds unexpected strength in his role as vicar. Alex's transformation from thief to leader accelerates, but her doubts deepen. The journey is a microcosm of the world's corruption, and the group's survival depends on embracing their own darkness.

Venice and the Illusionist's House

In Venice, the group's heist in the illusionist's house is a hallucinatory nightmare. Trapped in a maze of illusions, each is confronted by their deepest fears and regrets. Balthazar's magical prowess is both a blessing and a curse, and his attempts to break free of the Pope's binding only tighten its grip. The group's unity is tested to the breaking point, and only by embracing their monstrous natures do they escape. The experience leaves them scarred, but more tightly bound to one another—and to Alex's fate.

Shipwreck and Betrayal

The group is shipwrecked on the Adriatic coast, scattered and hunted by Eudoxia's sons and their monstrous armies. Allies are lost, and the survivors are forced to confront the reality that their mission may be doomed. Betrayals come from within and without: trusted friends reveal hidden agendas, and the Church's support proves conditional and self-serving. Alex's claim to the throne is revealed as a fabrication, but the group presses on, driven by necessity and the hope of redemption. The monsters' humanity is both their greatest strength and their greatest weakness.

The War of the Cousins

In Troy, Alex is caught in a deadly game between Eudoxia's surviving sons, each vying for the Serpent Throne. The city is a powder keg, with factions of nobles, priests, and sorcerers all seeking advantage. The Chapel's monsters are both weapons and liabilities, their presence a scandal and a threat. The final battles are brutal: Vigga's wolf is unleashed, Balthazar commands legions of the dead, and Jakob faces his own cursed immortality. The cost of victory is high, and the line between hero and villain is erased.

The Plague Pit and the Angel

The group's final stand takes place in a plague-ridden monastery, where the dead rise at Balthazar's command and the last of Eudoxia's coven is destroyed. The battle is apocalyptic: the dead boil from the earth, the living are slaughtered, and the survivors are forever changed. The victory is pyrrhic: Baptiste is killed, Vigga is broken by guilt, and the group's unity is shattered. The monsters have saved the world, but at the cost of their own souls.

The Beautiful Compromise

With her rivals dead, Alex is crowned Empress of Troy. The coronation is a spectacle of wealth and power, but the reality is compromise: to secure her throne, Alex must marry Arcadius, the last of Eudoxia's sons. The marriage is a political alliance, not a romance, and both parties are clear-eyed about its necessity. The Church's support is conditional, and the monsters who brought Alex to power are exiled or imprisoned. The price of expediency is high, and the victory is bittersweet.

The Serpent Throne

As Empress, Alex is isolated and haunted by the cost of her ascent. Her friends are gone, her enemies are dead, and her throne is both a prize and a prison. The Church's demands are relentless, and the threat of the elves looms ever larger. The monsters who saved her are caged or cast out, their humanity denied by the very institution they served. Alex's reign is a "beautiful compromise": a victory built on lies, violence, and the sacrifice of those she loved.

The Last Stand

The final act is a bloody reckoning: Duke Michael, Alex's uncle and supposed savior, is revealed as the true villain, orchestrating her rise only to seize power for himself. In a climactic battle atop the Pharos, Alex is saved by Jakob's ultimate sacrifice, and Michael is cast down. The monsters' loyalty is proven in blood, but their reward is exile and imprisonment. The cost of expediency is laid bare: all victories are tainted, and all heroes are devils.

The Price of Expediency

The survivors reckon with the consequences of their choices. Vigga is caged, broken by guilt. Balthazar is imprisoned, still scheming. Sunny is exiled, her love for Alex unspoken. Jakob, the immortal knight, is left to wander, haunted by his failures. Alex, now Empress, is alone on her throne, her victory hollow. The Church's pragmatism is unyielding, and the monsters who saved the world are cast out as devils. The lesson is clear: expediency is both a necessity and a curse, and the price is always paid in blood.

Devils in the Shadows

The story ends as it began: in the Holy City, with a new vicar and a new congregation of monsters. The cycle of sin, violence, and expediency continues, as the Church's need for devils is never-ending. The world is not saved, only postponed. The devils remain in the shadows, doing the work the righteous cannot, and the line between good and evil is forever blurred.

Characters

Alex / Princess Alexia Pyrogennetos

Alex is a streetwise survivor, a liar and a thief who is thrust into the role of Empress by a combination of fate, manipulation, and expediency. Her journey is one of reluctant transformation: she learns to read, to lead, and to wield power, but never loses her sense of being an outsider. Her relationships—with the monsters of the Chapel, with Sunny the elf, with her supposed uncle Duke Michael—are fraught with mistrust and longing. Alex's greatest fear is that she is "nothing," and her greatest triumph is to become "something," even if that something is built on lies. Her arc is a study in the cost of survival and the impossibility of innocence.

Brother / Father Diaz

Diaz is a minor cleric with a talent for administration and a history of personal failings. Thrust into leadership of the Chapel of Expediency, he is horrified by his monstrous flock but gradually finds courage and conviction. His faith is tested by the Church's hypocrisy and the violence of his companions, but he emerges as a pragmatic, compassionate leader. His relationship with Vigga, the werewolf, is both comic and tragic, a forbidden love that exposes the limits of doctrine and the power of forgiveness. Diaz's journey is one of self-acceptance and the search for meaning in a corrupt world.

Jakob of Thorn

Jakob is a scarred, battle-weary veteran who cannot die, cursed by a witch for his sins. He is the embodiment of the old world: honor, violence, and regret. Jakob's immortality is both a blessing and a torment, forcing him to witness the endless repetition of human folly. He is haunted by his failures and driven by oaths he can never fulfill. His relationship with the other monsters is paternal, and his final sacrifice for Alex is both a redemption and a resignation. Jakob's arc is a meditation on the futility of heroism and the burden of memory.

Vigga Ullasdottr

Vigga is a Norse warrior, both terrifying and vulnerable, whose transformations are both a weapon and a curse. She is driven by appetite and impulse, but haunted by the consequences of her actions. Her relationship with Diaz is a rare source of tenderness, but her violence ultimately destroys what she loves. Vigga's arc is a tragedy of self-loathing and the impossibility of being "clean." She is both the monster and the victim, a symbol of the world's cruelty and the limits of forgiveness.

Sunny

Sunny is an outcast, a circus freak who survives by vanishing. She is both the most alien and the most human of the monsters, defined by her longing for connection and her fear of rejection. Her relationship with Alex is tender and doomed, a love that cannot survive the world's hatred. Sunny's arc is a study in loneliness and the cost of survival. She is the conscience of the group, always watching, always holding her breath, always hoping for a place to belong.

Balthazar Sham Ivam Draxi

Balthazar is arrogant, brilliant, and desperate to escape the Pope's binding. His magical prowess is both a blessing and a curse, and his attempts to break free only tighten his leash. His rivalry with Baptiste is both comic and tragic, and his ultimate realization—that he has found purpose in service to something greater—is both a victory and a defeat. Balthazar's arc is a meditation on the limits of power and the necessity of humility.

Baptiste

Baptiste is the most experienced and pragmatic of the group, a woman who has been everything and survived everything. Her irreverence masks a deep loneliness, and her rivalry with Balthazar is a source of both humor and pathos. Baptiste's death is a turning point, exposing the cost of sticking one's neck out and the impossibility of escaping the past. She is the embodiment of expediency: always doing what must be done, never what is right.

Baron Rikard

Rikard is charming, urbane, and predatory, a monster who has learned to live within limits. He is both a mentor and a threat, his power always held in reserve. Rikard's refusal to break the Pope's binding is a statement of self-acceptance: he knows what he is, and chooses to remain. His relationship with the group is one of amused detachment, but his loyalty is proven in the end. Rikard's arc is a meditation on the nature of evil and the possibility of redemption.

Duke Michael

Michael is Alex's supposed uncle, the man who rescues her from the gutter and sets her on the path to the throne. His kindness is a mask for ambition, and his betrayal is the final lesson in the cost of expediency. Michael's arc is a study in the banality of evil: he is not a monster, but a man who will do anything for power. His death is both a victory and a warning.

Cardinal Zizka

Zizka is the Head of the Earthly Curia, the architect of the Chapel of Expediency and the true power behind the throne. She is ruthless, pragmatic, and unyielding, willing to do any evil for the greater good. Her relationship with Diaz and Alex is both adversarial and paternal: she is the necessary devil, the one who does what must be done. Zizka's arc is a meditation on the price of power and the impossibility of innocence.

Plot Devices

Expediency as the Thirteenth Virtue

The narrative is structured around the idea that, in a world of existential threats, expediency becomes the unspoken virtue. The Chapel of Expediency is both a literal and symbolic device: a place where monsters are used to fight monsters, and where the ends always justify the means. The story's structure—episodic, with each chapter a new crisis—mirrors the constant need for compromise and adaptation. Foreshadowing is used throughout: the monsters' presence is both a warning and a promise, and every act of violence is both a solution and a new problem. The narrative's circularity—beginning and ending in the Holy City, with a new vicar and a new set of devils—reinforces the idea that the cycle of sin and expediency is unbreakable.

The Papal Binding

The Pope's binding is both a plot device and a symbol: it forces the monsters to serve, but also exposes the limits of power and the impossibility of true freedom. Attempts to break the binding fail, and the only escape is acceptance. The binding's unbreakability is revealed to be a function of faith, not magic: the world's need for devils is greater than any individual's desire for freedom.

The Monster as Savior

The Chapel's monsters are both the problem and the solution: their violence is necessary, but always comes at a cost. The narrative structure alternates between moments of horror and moments of tenderness, exposing the humanity in the monstrous and the monstrosity in the human. The monsters' redemption is always partial, and their victories are always tainted. The use of first-person perspectives and internal monologue deepens the psychological complexity, allowing the reader to see the world through the eyes of the devils.

The False Heir

Alex's claim to the throne is revealed as a fabrication, but the narrative insists that legitimacy is a function of story, not blood. The use of relics, oracles, and rituals is both a plot device and a commentary on the nature of power: people believe what they need to believe, and the truth is always negotiable. The final compromise—Alex as Empress, the monsters as exiles, the Church as puppetmaster—is both a victory and a defeat.

Cyclical Structure

The story's ending mirrors its beginning: a new vicar, a new congregation of monsters, a new cycle of expediency. The narrative structure is circular, reinforcing the idea that the world's need for devils is eternal. The use of repetition, parallel scenes, and mirrored dialogue creates a sense of inevitability: all victories are temporary, and all heroes are devils in the end.

Analysis

Joe Abercrombie's The Devils is a masterful deconstruction of the fantasy epic, blending grim humor, psychological depth, and relentless violence to expose the cost of survival in a corrupt world. The novel's central thesis—that expediency is the true, unspoken virtue of both Church and State—resonates in every plot twist and character arc. The monsters of the Chapel are both saviors and scapegoats, their violence necessary but never redemptive. The Church's pragmatism is both a strength and a curse, and the line between good and evil is forever blurred. The story's cyclical structure and refusal to offer easy answers reflect a modern skepticism about the possibility of true heroism or innocence. In the end, The Devils is a cautionary tale about the price of power, the inevitability of compromise, and the eternal need for devils to do the work the righteous cannot.

Last updated: May 20, 2025