The Devils Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of This Dark Fantasy
Test your recall of Joe Abercrombie's The Devils with these twenty questions covering plot, character motivation, themes, and big-picture ideas. Each question draws on the full story, from Saint Aelfric's Day to the final cages. Answers and explanations follow the quiz.
Quiz Questions
1. (Plot / Multiple Choice)
What event closes the first chapter on Saint Aelfric's Day?
- A. Brother Diaz is granted an audience with the Pope.
- B. A thud lands on the carriage roof and throws Diaz forward.
- C. The driver successfully navigates through the crowd.
- D. Diaz prays to Saint Beatrix and immediately feels safe.
2. (Plot / Multiple Choice)
How does Alex avoid having her teeth pulled by Bostro in Chapter 2?
- A. She pays back the loan with stolen relics.
- B. Duke Michael arrives and announces she is Princess Alexia.
- C. She slips into a sewer and escapes the Holy City.
- D. Bostro has a sudden change of heart and lets her go.
3. (Plot / Short Answer)
In Chapter 7, who performs the binding ritual that forces the group to escort Princess Alexia to Troy?
4. (Plot / Multiple Choice)
During the ambush at the Rolling Bear inn in Chapter 9, what breaks through the gates?
- A. A squad of Imperial guards
- B. A goat-headed giant
- C. A phrenomancer with a control needle
- D. Duke Marcian on horseback
5. (Plot / Multiple Choice)
How does Balthazar defeat the pyromancer in Chapter 10?
- A. He tricks her into a magical trap.
- B. He reanimates the corpses of guards and the innkeeper.
- C. He negotiates a truce using the papal binding.
- D. He sets the inn on fire and escapes.
6. (Plot / Short Answer)
What name does Duke Sabbas call himself when he confronts Jakob in Chapter 50?
7. (Plot / Multiple Choice)
After Arcadius is assassinated on his wedding night (Chapter 63), what signal does Alex trigger?
- A. She rings the bell of the Basilica.
- B. She lights Saint Natalia's Flame (blue).
- C. She sends a courier to Duke Michael.
- D. She prays for the Chapel to return.
8. (Plot / Multiple Choice)
What happens to most of the Chapel team at the end of Chapter 71?
- A. They are knighted and given estates in Troy.
- B. They are imprisoned in cages aboard a ship.
- C. They sail freely back to the Holy City.
- D. They escape into the wilderness.
9. (Character Motivation / Short Answer)
Why does Brother Diaz agree to become vicar of the Chapel of the Holy Expediency in Chapter 3?
10. (Character Motivation / Multiple Choice)
Why does Alex (the thief) decide to play along with the claim that she is Princess Alexia?
- A. She genuinely believes she is the lost princess.
- B. She is deeply in debt and plans to abandon the party later.
- C. Duke Michael threatens to kill her if she refuses.
- D. The Pope orders her to take the throne.
11. (Character Motivation / Multiple Choice)
What drives Balthazar to try repeatedly to break the papal binding?
- A. He wants to serve the Church more freely.
- B. He values his freedom and pride as a sorcerer.
- C. He believes the binding is killing him.
- D. He wants to prove his loyalty to Cardinal Zizka.
12. (Character Motivation / Short Answer)
Why does Vigga warn Alex that she must run if Vigga says to, even down a well (Chapter 18)?
13. (Character Motivation / Multiple Choice)
Why does Jakob choose to fight Duke Constans even though he knows he is outmatched?
- A. He hopes to bargain for the princess's safety.
- B. He is bound by his oath and accepts that a draw is enough.
- C. He believes Baron Rikard will save him.
- D. He wants to die in battle.
14. (Theme/Symbol / Multiple Choice)
What does the "Chapel of the Holy Expediency" most clearly represent in the story?
- A. The corruption and greed of individual cardinals
- B. The need for moral compromise to fight greater evils
- C. The ultimate triumph of traditional virtue
- D. The irrelevance of the Church in politics
15. (Theme/Symbol / Short Answer)
How are elves portrayed in the book? Give one key detail from the outline about their nature or beliefs.
16. (Theme/Symbol / Multiple Choice)
What does Saint Natalia's Flame symbolize in Troy?
- A. Victory in battle
- B. Imperial legitimacy and the signal for an elf invasion
- C. The Pope's authority over the Eastern Church
- D. The death of an Empress
17. (Theme/Symbol / Short Answer)
The brown binding mark on each team member's wrist symbolizes what central constraint imposed by the Church?
18. (Synthesis / Short Answer)
How does the book subvert the typical "chosen one" hero story? Name one way Alex is not a traditional heir.
19. (Synthesis / Multiple Choice)
Cardinal Zizka argues for "the thirteenth virtue"—expediency. Jakob clings to his oath of honesty. Their conflict best illustrates which theme?
- A. The power of friendship over dark magic
- B. The tension between pragmatism and idealism
- C. The superiority of Eastern over Western faith
- D. The inevitability of betrayal among allies
20. (Synthesis / Short Answer)
In Chapter 71, when Alex asks whether Saint Beatrix or the devils saved her, what conclusion does Father Diaz offer?
Answer Key
1. B.
A thud lands on the roof, throwing Brother Diaz forward and ending the chapter on a cliffhanger (Chapter 1).
2. B.
Duke Michael pays off Bostro and declares Alex is the long-lost princess (Chapter 2).
3. Pope Benedicta I
The ten-year-old Pope uses a red line drawn on each wrist to bind the party to escort Princess Alexia (Chapter 7).
4. B.
A goat-headed giant smashes through the inn gates (Chapter 9).
5. B.
Balthazar reanimates two dead guards and the innkeeper, using their corpses to overpower the pyromancer (Chapter 10).
6. The Angel of Troy
Duke Sabbas reveals wings and declares himself the Angel of Troy (Chapter 50).
7. B.
Alex lights Saint Natalia's Flame, which burns blue—the signal for an elf invasion (Chapter 63).
8. B.
They are imprisoned in cages: Balthazar, Vigga, Sunny, and Baron Rikard are locked aboard the ship (Chapter 71).
9. He tells Cardinal Zizka he will "do good,"
partly to please her and partly because he wants to advance his own career (Chapter 3).
10. B.
She is in debt, suspicious of the claim, and plans to abandon Duke Michael when it becomes convenient (Chapter 4).
11. B.
Balthazar is proud and values his freedom; he cannot accept being compelled by the Church (Chapters 7, 16, 25).
12. Because the papal binding does not control the wolf inside her.
Vigga fears she may lose control and cannot stop herself from killing Alex (Chapter 18).
13. B.
Jakob knows he cannot die, so he accepts a draw: he pulls Constans onto his own sword to kill them both (Chapter 30).
14. B.
The Chapel uses morally questionable methods (necromancy, binding, containing monsters) to fight devils (Chapter 3).
15. Elves consider eating humans a holy duty.
They are described as soulless beings who butchered humans without hatred during the Second Crusade (Chapter 15).
16. B.
It signifies imperial legitimacy and, when lit blue, warns of an elf attack (Chapters 6, 63).
17. The Church's magical control over its agents.
The binding forces the bearer to obey the Pope's commands (Chapters 7, 71).
18. Alex is actually a thief and con artist.
The real princess died, and Alex stole her identity (Chapters 4, 60).
19. B.
The book repeatedly pits pragmatic, expedient action against strict adherence to vows and virtues (Chapters 3, 39, 71).
20. He suggests the devils may be tools Saint Beatrix chose to save Alex.
A saint sent devils to turn a thief into an Empress (Chapter 71, quoting Diaz: "perhaps… the werewolf, and the necromancer… are the tools Saint Beatrix chose").