What to read next
10 books like The Devils
The Devils works through incompatible people who have to keep traveling together. These picks follow the unruly company, the collision of religion and violence, or loyalty under political pressure. Several are considerably warmer; others are harder to enter or require earlier series books.
Read my review of The Devils by Joe Abercrombie.
Best matches
Three strong places to start
If you only want three picks, start here.
Best overall
Smaller story
Best alternative
Choose by reading mood
Where to start
For the fastest pace
A Sorceress Comes to Call
BalancedFor the darkest read
Between Two Fires
Very darkFor minimal romance
Katabasis
MinimalFor the easiest entry
Nettle & Bone
AccessibleThe full shortlist
Why each book belongs here
Nettle & Bone is the shorter, kinder quest. Between Two Fires takes religious horror much more seriously. A Sorceress Comes to Call narrows the action to a household. Later volumes below are routes for readers already invested in those series, not easy substitutes for a new adventure.
1
Nettle & Bone
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- Nettle & Bone gathers an unlikely company whose practical differences make the journey possible. It keeps the cooperative pleasure of The Devils while giving kindness more authority than provocation.
- Different because
- Nettle & Bone is shorter and warmer, with a rescue quest and a practical heroine. Grim material remains, but the humor does less to celebrate gore or insult.
- Choose this if
- I'd start here if the strange company was your favorite part. This standalone keeps the resourcefulness and loyalty while making the journey shorter, kinder, and less punishing.
2
Between Two Fires
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Very dark
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- Between Two Fires also sends damaged travelers through a landscape where religious conflict becomes physical horror. It makes The Devils' mixture of monsters, faith, and road danger more severe.
- Different because
- Between Two Fires treats damnation and redemption with dread rather than profane team comedy. Plague, hunger, and sexual violence make the historical journey brutally exposed.
- Choose this if
- For religious horror with more moral weight and less profane team comedy. It stands alone, but plague, hunger, and sexual violence make the road far bleaker.
3
A Sorceress Comes to Call
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Dark
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- A Sorceress Comes to Call lets black humor survive beside dangerous magic and coercive power. Its people must work together against an abusive threat, as cooperation drives The Devils.
- Different because
- A Sorceress Comes to Call confines the conflict to a household and social maneuvering. A smaller cast allows menace and resistance to develop without the crowded opening or sprawling travel.
- Choose this if
- A smaller standalone when the group friction appealed but the crowded opening did not. The threat is still magical; resistance depends on reading people inside one household.
4
Katabasis
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Moderate
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Why this matches
- Similar because
- Alice and Peter have to make a hostile partnership work on the way through Hell. Like the quarrelsome company, they survive partly by interpreting rules nobody can afford to treat as benevolent.
- Different because
- Katabasis follows two scholars rather than a monstrous ensemble. Intellectual interpretation, abusive mentorship, and explanatory debate slow the action and make the institutional satire more pointed.
- Choose this if
- A separate novel for difficult cooperation and arguments about power. References and footnotes interrupt the descent, so this is a turn toward ideas rather than constant violent momentum.
5
Queen Demon
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Why this matches
- Similar because
- Queen Demon makes old allies disagree about responsibility without losing their shared loyalty. It offers The Devils readers a more established company whose friction carries political history.
- Different because
- Queen Demon is denser in factions and inherited obligations, with less profane comic action. Its journey toward the Hierarchs' Well depends on the relationships built in Witch King.
- Choose this if
- Read Witch King first. The established allies have richer political memories here, but that makes this sequel a demanding place to meet them.
6
The Lion & the Deathless Dark
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- The Lion & the Deathless Dark also makes a dangerous magical bargain affect whom a person can trust. That is a narrow connection to The Devils' survival under powers that cannot be treated as benevolent.
- Different because
- The Lion & the Deathless Dark centers intense attraction, court power, and a deathless threat. Familiar romantasy beats replace the profane ensemble's competing ways of solving problems.
- Choose this if
- The bargain redirects magical danger toward attraction. This is Crowns of Nyaxia book five, opening the Bloodborn Duet: start with The Serpent and the Wings of Night and read the four earlier core novels first.
7
The Hobbit
- Pace
- Measured
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Why this matches
- Similar because
- The Hobbit also discovers character through the friction of a traveling company. Bilbo's observation and restraint give him a place among companions with different strengths, much as usefulness is contested in The Devils.
- Different because
- The Hobbit has a warm storyteller's voice, songs, comic understatement, and much less gore. Greed still has consequences, but its moral atmosphere is far less abrasive.
- Choose this if
- For a kinder company on a dangerous road. Bilbo's adventure works independently, with no earlier Middle-earth reading needed and far less adult violence.
8
Witch King
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Why this matches
- Similar because
- Witch King follows a demon whose survival depends on the allies around him. It gives The Devils' unlikely-company appeal a political foundation in a coalition built through shared struggle.
- Different because
- Witch King alternates past and present, introducing factions and unfamiliar magic with limited explanation. Its history is richer than its immediate mystery, and the opening is more demanding.
- Choose this if
- For old loyalties with political history behind them. This opens Rising World without prerequisites, but names and factions arrive before their significance is clear.
9
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows also removes familiar companions from institutional shelter and tests loyalty on a dangerous road. It shares The Devils' interest in a group whose survival requires cooperation.
- Different because
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a YA series finale with a slower camping middle and accumulated mythology. Its tone is less profane, and its emotional force depends on six previous novels.
- Choose this if
- Friendship without institutional shelter is the link, but the emotional payoff needs the earlier books. Start with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone if new; this is book seven.
10
A Feast for Crows
- Pace
- Measured
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Why this matches
- Similar because
- A Feast for Crows shares The Devils' skepticism about respectable power and its attention to the damaged people left around violence. Faith and political institutions become problems characters must live inside.
- Different because
- A Feast for Crows studies aftermath through scattered viewpoints rather than one lively traveling team. Long journeys, missing central characters, and unreliable self-justification intentionally resist momentum.
- Choose this if
- For readers already following A Song of Ice and Fire who want the aftermath of violence. This is book four: begin with A Game of Thrones, and expect long journeys rather than Abercrombie's comic speed.
Side-by-side
Pace, darkness, romance, and difficulty
| Book | Pace | Darkness | Romance | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Devils | Balanced | Moderate | Minimal | Accessible |
| Nettle & Bone | Balanced | Gentle | Minimal | Accessible |
| Between Two Fires | Balanced | Very dark | Minimal | Accessible |
| A Sorceress Comes to Call | Balanced | Dark | Minimal | Accessible |
| Katabasis | Balanced | Moderate | Minimal | Moderate |
| Queen Demon | Balanced | Gentle | Minimal | Moderate |
| The Lion & the Deathless Dark | Balanced | Gentle | Central | Accessible |
| The Hobbit | Measured | Gentle | Minimal | Moderate |
| Witch King | Balanced | Gentle | Minimal | Moderate |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | Balanced | Gentle | Minimal | Accessible |
| A Feast for Crows | Measured | Gentle | Minimal | Moderate |
Keep exploring
Explore another Books Like guide
Pick another book you know and see what to read next.