Joe Abercrombie’s new fantasy novel The Devils gets cover and release month!

Joe Abercrombie is best known as the author of The First Law, a long-running grimdark fantasy book series that spans more than ten novels as of this writing. But next year, he’ll be embarking on a different sort of adventure with The Devils. This new book is set in an alternate version of Europe where a boy pope has to rely on a crack team of supernatural antiheroes to do the jobs no one else can, like fending off an invading army of Elves. Abercrombie’s always had a great sense of how to balance drama and dark comedy, and The Devils seems primed to continue that trend.

This week, Tor Books revealed the cover art for The Devils, created by Will Staehle, along with the release month! Feast your eyes:

Abercrombie’s UK publisher, Gollancz, dropped a video reveal for the UK cover as well:

And Abercrombie himself gave us a side-by-side, perhaps the best option for ogling of The Devils:

I’m a fan of both covers, though if I’m being honest I think I may be more partial to the UK one since it’s a bit more colorful. Regardless, it’s always nice when covers on both sides of the pond match thematically, and I love the look the publishers decided to run with for this comedic dark fantasy.

The cover reveal also comes alongside an updated back-of-book description for The Devils, which you can read below:

“A brand-new epic fantasy fromNew York Timesbestselling author Joe Abercrombie, featuring a notorious band of anti-heroes on a delightfully bloody and raucous journey

Holy work sometimes requires unholy deeds.

Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters. The mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.

Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it’s a good thing Brother Diaz has the devils on his side.”

Consider me very intrigued. Abercrombie’s last trilogy, The Age of Madness, continued the story of his popular First Law universe by following a new generation of characters as their world moved into an industrial revolution. That trilogy was extremely well received, which wasn’t at all surprising considering the enduring love many fantasy readers have for The First Law. But after revisiting that universe, it’ll be cool to see Abercrombie do something so completely new and different.

The Devils is due out in May 2025. Pre-orders for the book are now live, so you can ensure you’ll be spending time with the Devils right from the first day they leave the crypt.

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