Thanks to his series of The First Law novels and the Shattered Sea trilogy, British fantasy author Joe Abercrombie is regarded as one of the most exciting names in the world for epic fantasy. His works have been celebrated by some of the industry's most ubiquitous names, including George R.R. Martin and Brandon Sanderson. After unleashing his latest, a wild fantasy romp called The Devils a year ago in May 2025, the author is already in the midst of penning a sequel (in fact, he's nearly finished already!)
For those unacquainted, The Devils takes place in an alternate, highly fantastical version of Earth. We follow Brother Diaz, a lowly monk who's summoned by to the Sacred City, where he's made to lead the Chapel of the Holy Expediency, a secret team of monsters and criminals. Think of them as a kind of Suicide Squad. Their task? To escort Princess Alexia Pyrogennetos to Troy. It sounds straightforward, but with a team of such unhinged outcasts, nothing goes to plan.
Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils follow-up is titled The Heretics
As Abercrombie fans know all too well, the author is one of the most consistently speedy writers out there. "I’ve now finished a pretty solid second draft of the sequel to the Devils, so I actually have a coherent, consistent book with a beginning, middle and end," he wrote on his blog back in March 2026.
More recently, Abercrombie teased the title of the his sequel. Drum roll... it's called The Heretics. The title certainly checks out. Of course, a “heretic” is someone who's part of a faith but contradicts—or misinterprets—many of its core principles. For the title of the sequel, it could refer to a great number of those within the Chapel of the Holy Expediency, not least Brother Diaz himself.
The title The Heretics certainly presents an ongoing theme of titles for the trilogy. No doubt a third installment will follow the pattern of theological terms.
Abercrombie revealed this news during a Barnes & Noble event, as caught on TikTok and Instagram by user @MaudesBookClub. Along with the book title, he author read an excerpt from the sequel.
The Devils is also being touted for a movie adaptation from James Cameron!
As Abercrombie works away on the next installment of The Devils, the series is already being touted to be the next big fantasy project on our screens. There's a movie adaptation in the works from legendary filmmaker James Cameron (Terminator, Avatar) after his company Lightstorm Entertainment picked up the rights in 2025.
This isn't the first time an Abercrombie novel has been cited for a movie adaptation, with Best Served Cold also getting a movie adaptation (although developments on that project have slowed massively).
Of course, both the sequel novel and the requisite big screen adaptation are still some time away. We'll keep you posted on all the latest updates for both!
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