This is my first Anthony Ryan book, and wow was I blown away! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into it as the blurb is relatively vague (which I like, actually) and was initially worried it would be too grim for me. But it really didn’t take me long to fall in love with Alwyn and his storytelling, and I could tell from the first few chapters that this book was going to take me for a ride. As the blurb says, the story follows Alwyn, the bastard son of a prostitute who was taken in at a young age by famed outlaw Deckin Scarl, and thrives in that life until Deckin’s band comes under attack and Alwyn is forced to flee. This is as far into the plot that I will mention, because so much of the enjoyment of reading The Pariah comes from following Alwyn’s tale and wondering at upcoming twists. This is the first book in a while that took me entirely by surprise at several points, and I definitely wasn’t able to predict the ending.

The story is framed as Alwyn recording his life, often using ‘dear reader’ in his sentences and sometimes making reference to future events to further highlight the importance of those currently taking place. This is quite hard to do well, but Ryan was incredibly successful, and Alwyn has a really unique voice that swept me away in its storytelling. His characterisation is also perfectly balanced; he’s an outlaw, and he does many questionable things throughout the novel, yet he is also loyal to his friends and has a certain nobility to his character that makes him charming. It’s also hard to create a character who is skilful and succeeds at most things they do, without making them too perfect, and again I think that Ryan hit the balance really well. Alwyn is first an outlaw, then a scribe, and later a soldier, and at each new stage in his adventure he rises in the estimation of the leader of whichever group he is part of, and because of this learns new skills that make him even more essential in his role, but we do get to see the way he learns, rather than him picking up everything with ease. The rest of the characters, no matter how minor, are also given a lot of life, partly through the way Alwyn describes them, and it all added to the sense of reality this story has.

The setting of The Pariah is also fascinating: the duchies are ruled by a King, and during Alwyn’s story there is ongoing conflict between King Tomas and the pretender Magnis Lochlain, called the ‘True King’ by his followers. At the same time however, the main religion of Albermaine, the Covenant, is seeing an uprising, with people claiming the second Scourge is close at hand. Alwyn finds himself caught up in both these conflicts, and it’s really interesting how they intersect and come to be at odds. What Anthony Ryan does in The Pariah is probably the most interesting use of religion in a fantasy novel I have seen in quite a while – much of modern fantasy seems to use religion merely as an extra block in world building, applying modern scepticism so that none of the main characters truly believing any of it, but in Alwyn’s world there is true belief in the blessed Seraphile and the evil Malecite, and the first Scourge seems to have actually happened. It’s all incredibly fascinating, especially in the way everything is slowly introduced and then built up throughout the novel. I’m hoping we get to find out more about the religion and the other magic systems present in the world in the next book.

As you can tell, I really loved this book, and would say it has quite a few similar elements to John Gwynne’s books, as well as to Patrick Rothfuss’ Name of the Wind, so if you like those, you’ll definitely enjoy The Pariah. Really, I think that the narrative voice and the fast paced action will appeal to a lot of people, so I urge you to pick this up and give it a go!

The Pariah is a little daunting at 600 pages, and I made the mistake of starting to read this while reading another book and found it hard to get into. However, once I was focused on this, it was a book that sucked me right in.
This is my first Anthony Ryan book so I don't know if it's par for the course, but this was a great read.
The story is told from the perspective of Alwyn Scribe, a man who begins life as an outlaw but he is taken prisoner and finds himself as a soldier. We don't learn much about him initially, and I often got the impression something was being held back, but his interactions with the various characters we meet along the way offer some further details about him.
I found the world-building very precise, and it was easy to imagine this in my head. Some of the details in battle were brutal, but there was an authenticity to this that felt like a cross between a historical narrative and fantasy.
There's plenty here to enjoy, while also being given glimpses of where things might develop. Looking forward to book two, and thinking I might have to look up other books by this author.

Note: This review contains minor spoilers. Many thank you to Nazia and Orbit books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Pariah illustrates the tale of Alwyn Scribe, a thief whose life is set on fire to journey to the corridors of dark power and corruption. To witness events that are beyond him in a grim-dark fantasy world where the concept of chivalry can be safely discarded for greed and corruption. This novel had fantastic action sequences, heart-wrenching moments of characters and a confident stand on where it stood. Alwyn never apologised for any of the actions he did in this novel, but he is not ashamed to admit it.

In one sense, Alwyn’s world is constantly changing. Whether it be serving the famous Outlaw King only to find himself running away as the King’s forces destroy the rebels, whether it be working in the Pit under a very deluded Lord that thinks high and mighty of himself. Alwyn goes through a personal journey of redemption yet commits acts that no one would approve of. This is as much as Alwyn’s story as it is of the companions that often surround him. Alwyn is a man living his life on a rope. He doesn’t trust anybody, and that forms a central arc for the rest of his novel. Most of the time he is confronted with terrible truths that no ordinary human could take. Half the time is spent dealing with horrible people that are the worst of the worst. Perhaps, he has his way with the ladies as well, to an extent. However, there were many memorable characters in this novel: Torah, Shilda, Evadine, Wilhum, Deckin. Each of these characters teaches Alwyn an important lesson along the way.

The writing is great, and the description of the world is more than enough to engage you. However, in some aspects, I felt the pacing of the story was sometimes dragged down by a bit of lengthiness here and there. Some scenes could have been shorter, and perhaps some weren’t needed. I particularly enjoyed the parts where Alwyn kept distrusting characters, but Alwyn did not always want to seem to change. I longed for some time where Alwyn could for once, not see the world as evil. For once, he would experience true bliss. In some cases in this novel, he does. But for most of what he experiences throughout his whole journey is loss, love, and more loss. He gains more than what he bargains for. He’s a very lucky fox. Let that be known, dear reader. He’s like a cat with nine lives. This is an excellent start to a wonderful series that I cannot wait to read and continue because I am sure of one thing. We are not finished with Alwyn’s journey. He has a lot more to give. In a way, I sense he may become the most powerful man in his realm one day. Or he could not, and he could become the most famous thief. Legends will be told of his tales when he passes away. I, for one, wish to read book 2 already. This is worth it! Thoroughly! Without a shadow of a doubt.

My Amazon review has been submitted and is currently awaiting approval.

The Pariah is the first novel in The Covenant of Steel saga by Anthony Ryan. If you’re new to the author’s work, this is as good a place as any to start as both story and setting are all-new.

Here we follow the tale of Alwyn Scribe, raised as an outlaw in the forests of Albermaine, forced by betrayal and hardship to become a soldier in the army under a commander haunted by visions of a demonic apocalypse. The story is told in first person narration by Alwyn throughout.

I found The Pariah quite difficult to engage with at first; it took a good 100+ pages before my interest was captured. I also thought the plot was a little overly-episodic at times, which affected the pace of the novel in places.

That said, this is a very well written book; the prose flows nicely and I enjoyed the narrative voice of the protagonist throughout. Anthony Ryan has also written some excellent battle scenes here.

If you’re looking for a lengthy new fantasy saga to sink your teeth into, look no further. The sequel(s) promise some excellent potential.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, Little Brown Book Group UK, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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I've known of Anthony Ryan's works for a while but unfortunately hadn't gotten around to reading any of them yet. I'm super glad to I requested The Pariah as it's easily one of my favourite reads this year!

The story follows Alwyn as he describes his journey from a member of the infamous Outlaw King's band of thieves to a soldier. I really don't want to say any more to avoid spoilers but rest assured that the pacing of this story is immaculate considering how many years the first book spans.

The worldbuilding was my favourite aspect for the first quarter of the story but then the protagonist's depth of character quickly caught up and surpassed it!

I love that Alwyn is not entirely a good protagonist, both in terms of his morality as well as in terms of his reliability as a narrator of his own story. The former is proven repeatedly as he is driven by his desire for vengeance but is also helpless in the face of the obstacles hindering his path. The latter is acknowledged by himself on many occasions as the story is told from his older self and as such he gives quite a lot of commentary on his thoughts of past events.

This isn't a short book but I practically flew through its pages. The action is wonderfully alive and the side characters are done justice.

This is an exciting start to a new series and I'm eager for book 2!

Overall rating: 5/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rather than meeting my expectations and delivering a pretty standard fantasy story, I ended up really enjoying my time with this book.

Alwyn is an outlaw, and he's good at it. Appreciated by the Deckin, king of the outlaws, for his sharp eyes, ears and mind, he is often sent out to retrieve information. The purpose isn't always clear, but when Deckin's masterplan is revealed and put into action, Alwyn suddenly finds himself on the run, and the life he had imagined for himself forever out of reach.

The story is written like a memoir, or more likely the testament of Alwyn himself, meant for us, the readers. It spans a relatively decent chunk of his life, starting with his teen years as part of Deckin's band of thieves, and ending with him as a young man, set on an entirely different course. We follow him through everything he experiences, and while not every phase of his life is filled with action and sword fights, I found all of it compelling. A huge reason why is Alwyn himself. I found him a fairly likeable character with few aggravating qualities, which in turn made it very easy to root for him. He exhibits a fierce sense of loyalty that attracts others to him, but also lands him in a good amount of trouble. I really enjoyed seeing his relationships with a few of the side characters, especially with Toria. This could easily have turned into a romance, but instead became a delightful friendship and partnership, and I appreciated it all the more for that.

This book was very light on magic, and while it is officially a fantasy, it reads almost like historical fiction. I'm sure there will be more fantasy elements in the next two books; there seem to be some mystical elements related to the religion within this universe that get hinted at but not fully explored, and I'm curious to find out more.

If you're a fan of Robin Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice, I think you might enjoy Alwyn's journey.

The Pariah follows the story of an apprentice outlaw Alwyn Scribe who is both quick with his mind and a sharp knife. As the story progresses, it's told from just Alwyn's POV which I quite liked, and although just having one character POV can sometimes be limiting in terms of characters, I didn't mind as he was written so well and still meets a whole host of interesting people along the way. As a huge Locke Lamora fan I could see a few parallels between him and Locke although Alwyn, as of yet, does not have the same kind of character depth. Also if you're reading this expecting lots of magic like in Anthony Ryan's previous books such as Blood Song then this might not be for you. However, perhaps magic is something that will develop further in future novels again like the Gentlemen Bastard series by Scott Lynch. So if you like a quick witted main character with a somewhat questionable moral compass at times, then I'd say pick this up and give it a go.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The main character is Alwyn, the illegitimate son of a prostitute. Fleeing for his life at an early age, he finds himself in the company of thieves, robbers and murderers in an outlaw band living in the forest. Here he grows and learns his skills in life. Alwyn is content to live amongst the lowest of society until his life takes a sudden twist. Betrayal abruptly results in a dramatic change in Alwyn's life. What follows is Alwyn working his way up, becoming a warrior in a bloody quest for vengeance.

For some reason, I struggled to get into the book at the start; however, I was very soon engrossed in the story. Pages flew past as I sunk into the mesmerising tale. The biggest problem with the story is the delay till the next book in the series. The plot flows smoothly for the most part. As expected from the author of the blood song, the world-building is phenomenal. Similar to blood song, the story is from the protagonists perspective.

The characters have depth; the protagonist, Alwyn, is noted for his intelligence early in the book. Organically this lends to deeper introspection and thought. Women are fascinating and brought to life, unsurprising given the strong female leads in previous books. Throughout a journey set in a medieval world, a variety of individuals appear at pivotal moments. Each one changes Alwyn's life, and thus the story. Magic, surprisingly, is barely present. The tale takes life through the heroes journey. A path through a landscape influenced by faith, politics and battle. Fight scenes are vivid and enchanting, a marked improvement. Maybe Anthony has taken lessons from John Gwynne, whose quote graces the amazon page.

This is a brilliant book and a great start to a new series. Recommended and worth buying.

I will update the review with a link to our blog closer to publication date.
I'd like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of The Pariah in exchange for an honest review. I’ve been a fan of Anthony Ryan since the days of Raven’s Shadow. Getting a chance to review the start of a new epic fantasy series was a blessing.

The Pariah follows outlaw Alwyn Scribe whose life takes a sharp turn after his band falls victim to a traitorous plot. From an illiterate outlaw to a talented scribe to a soldier under a religious banner, Alwyn walks a cruel road. Driven by revenge and then fueled by the mysteries of his world, he tries to survive in a setting that hides a blade ready to cut him at every step.

While the book has a very slow start (thus the 4* rating), it picks up speed after a hundred pages or so and can keep you glued to the pages. It’s a thick book, but those 600 pages feel like they merely set the stage for a truly epic adventure in the sequel. In terms of worldbuilding, it’s a meaty world, but there are things that could’ve been explored more in a way that would’ve benefited the story. Things like the mysterious doom of the Scourge and the strange demonic Malecite. But I expect this to be explored further in the sequel.

All in all, if you’re looking for a classic medieval epic fantasy, go read The Pariah. There’s clearly a lot brewing. The sequel is too far off.

The Pariah is my first Anthony Ryan book, and I've heard that it is set in an entirely new world - which definitely makes it a lot easier for me to catch up.

The book follows the live of the outlaw Alwyn Scribe who later becomes a soldier and....well, as as you know, a scribe. Alwyn's narration and character pulled this book for me, showing that Anthony excels at writing amazingly realistic characteristics as well as easing new readers into an ever-growing world.

I have enjoyed all Anthony Ryan’s previous works, meaty fantasies and strong, usually male, lead characters. His early books had very much a touch of the David Gemmell about them (which was a good thing), heroic brooding stuff.
So, to The Pariah which felt a little different to his previous work. The Pariah is the story of a young man using his wits to survive through a number of life changing events, although he generally becomes known as The Scribe rather than The Pariah.
We start with very much a Robin Hood vibe as our young man is a member of an outlaw gang, led by a man with dangerous ambitions. When the gang is betrayed he manages to escape for a while before a series of adventures end up with him enlisting as a soldier, being sent as a prisoner to the mines and then as a fighter for a mesmerising woman of faith.
The faith thing is an interesting theme here, often used in fantasy as a theme for good or (usually) evil. Here our young man plays the game to survive but ends up embracing the powerful messages and people he meets. And it will change him forever.
A bit different this one and has to be seen as the first in a series. It doesn’t have the big powerful world changing feel of previous books, this is smaller picture (so far) with a reasonably linear story. Right to the end of the book you are not entirely sure what our Hero’s motives are, is he self-serving or becoming a believer in the cause? I did enjoy it, but so it didn’t quite find that uniqueness to make it stand out, that may come in the next books.

ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read every novel by Anthony Ryan, and The Pariah just might have his best prose so far.

"When the task is a killing, be quick and make sure of it. Torment is an indulgence. Save it for only the most deserving."



There were three reasons why I was incredibly excited to read The Pariah. One, excluding novellas and short stories, I’ve read every novel by Anthony Ryan, and I plan to keep it that way. Second, the cover art is illustrated by Jaime Jones, one of my favorite cover artists. Lastly, I heard that Anthony Ryan is sticking with one POV for the narration of The Pariah, and this made me gleeful. I will elaborate more on this later.

“All ambition is folly when it fails to be matched by reason.”



The story in The Pariah is told exclusively through the perspective of Alwyn Scribe. Raised as an outlaw and quick on his wit, Alwyn is content with life on the woods and the comradeship he has with his fellow thieves. At least, until a brutal event changes his life completely. That is pretty much all I can say regarding the premise of the novel. If you’re really averse to spoilers, I suggest you not check out the official synopsis of this novel; there’s plenty of spoilers in there, and frankly, quite a few inaccuracies. There’s close to zero magic in The Pariah, and Alwyn definitely wasn’t skillful with a blade. Seriously, do not start The Pariah expecting a lot of actions, magic, or fantastical creatures; The Pariah takes place in a medieval world, and at times—for now, anyway—it almost felt like I was reading historical fiction. Again, these aren’t negative things to me. I highly enjoyed reading The Pariah. It’s a compelling slow-burn narrative filled heavily with themes of religions, justice, and freedom.

“We fought and we bickered, but we also suffered cold and hunger together, as families do, and family is to be cherished, as is life… And life should not be wasted on pointless feuds or hopeless endeavours. This much I’ve learned.”



Whether you love The Pariah or not, I think, would depends a lot on whether you could click with Alwyn’s narration or not. As I said, Alwyn is the only POV character in this novel, and the novel is told in a diary format written by him, similar to The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell. Sometimes, Alwyn himself mentioned “dear reader” in his narration to remind us of this fact. I personally think that The Pariah exhibited Ryan’s prose at his best. I’ve mentioned it several times now, and this is obviously just my preference, but I feel like I always enjoy reading Ryan’s fantasy books the most when the story is told from the perspective of one or two POV characters. For example, just like Blood Song, The Raven’s Blade duology, and this. I definitely loved it, and I’m excited to find out what’s next in Alwyn’s adventure.

“Every man is a liar, but the worst lie is the one he tells himself.”



However, this doesn’t mean that there weren’t any memorable side characters. Throughout the story in The Pariah, Alwyn encountered several individuals that ended up being crucial in influencing the path of his life. Deckin, Toria, Shirlah, and Evadine Courlaine being the most pivotal of them all. Plus, although I stated that there weren’t a lot of action scenes, the few battle scenes that exist in The Pariah hits immensely hard. Invigorating battle speeches, vivid chaotic battles, and each intense battle sequences were bloodsoaked. If there’s anything that I wanted more out of The Pariah, it would have to be for the series to exhibit more fantasy elements. The Pariah felt like the groundwork for the rest of the series on this aspect. There are hints of these to come; religions and faith are dominant in the narrative, and we’ve heard about the Scourge, Seraphile, and Malecite in this book. I hope the sequels will feature more of them.

“Rage can make us feared and compel the obedience of the weak as a wolf compels its pack, but also it blinds us, as Deckin learned too late.”


The Pariah is a superbly written beginning to The Covenant of Steel trilogy. The first-hand account of Alwyn Scribe is rich with personality and distinction. I definitely loved it, I have no idea where the story will go from here, and I’m excited to find out what’s next in Alwyn’s adventure.

Official release date: 24th August 2021 (US) and 26th September 2021 (UK)

You can pre-order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Blackwells (Free International shipping) | The Broken Binding (Use my code: NOVELNOTIONS121 for discount!)

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel

I can't tell you how much I wanted this book when I first saw it, and having read it I can't tell you how much I want the next book in the series (but it's a safe bet if you double it!). The plot is full of twists that makes this fairly straightforward story anything but, and it was a hard book to put down. The characters are solid, complicated, and brilliant. Of course, there's some fantastic writing which always helps!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

I love love love Anthony Ryan, so I was desperate to get my hands on a copy of his new book as soon as possible. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for making that happen.

The Pariah is the start of a new series and it feels like it's setting up something big. It is the story of Alwyn Scribe, told in first person narrative. I don't know what kind of wizardry Mr Ryan gets up to, but he manages to do fantastic world building and character exploration through a single voice with no blatant info dumps. How does one do that?!? His mastery of the written word is something else. Anyway, Alwyn is a bit of a scallywag (my description) who is a keen observer of the surrounding world. It isn't a fantastical skill, he's just very shrewd in a human way. Alwyn's early life is deprived, until he is recruited into a band of outlaws (a bit Robin Hood-esque) and his keen sense is valued. Then things go awry.

Things happen, but this book mostly feels like it is preparing for a bigger story in the second and third books. I was enjoying it, but not devotedly loving it until the last quarter where it rollicks along to the end. I can't wait to read about what the scamp is going to get up to next!

My first meeting with Anthony Ryan's writing and I am really impressed!

Captivating story with a dash of grimdark is just right for me.

I want a physical copy of this book when it comes out!

Thanks for the eARC!!

I won't add anything new. Anthony Ryan is a pro who knows well what he's doing. The result is immersive, with superb pace, and excellent characterization. I expect this book to do very well!

Before I say anything about the book’s content, let’s take a moment to appreciate how great and eye-catching is this book’s packaging. The Pariah is a title that instantly piqued my interest. The striking cover art foregrounding a mysterious warrior who seems to be both hiding and lying in wait to strike also helped propel this book to the top of my TBR. As far as I’m concerned, fantastic choices were made all around making The Pariah stand out among its fantasy contemporaries. To my relief, the novel’s engaging and intriguing exterior reflects its equally compelling interior.

This is my first foray into Anthony Ryan’s work and I went into it with tampered expectations despite hearing nothing but high praise for his debut Blood Song. I went into it mostly blind, which is what I recommend, and I quickly realised that this was going to be a very character driven story (my favourite kind). It tells us about the life and times – comprised of many adventures, misfortunes and betrayals - of Alwyn Scribe in a harsh, medieval-like world. While he starts out as a naive teenage outlaw in a band of thieves, the journey and development he undergoes in this first book of a trilogy alone is immense. The Pariah’s structure slightly resembles The Name of the Wind in that the titular character is the story’s narrator. It’s told in the first person perspective and Alwyn occasionally directly addresses the reader and breaks the fourth wall when commenting on the outcome of events.

Besides the strong character work, another highlight of this novel for me was Ryan’s gorgeous prose. The book is not afraid to go to some dark places and really show us the brutality of its unforgiving and grim setting, but Ryan manages to balance that with truly beautiful writing; the sentences he crafts to make the action scenes engaging and visceral, as well as Alwyn‘s introspection about his bleak world and the diverse characters around him, are stunning and evocative. The book is not all grim though because Alwyn is not a dark and brooding hero. He is clever, cunning and a literal embodiment of the FML meme, which helps bring humour to the story. The Pariah actually had some really funny moments, especially whenever Alwyn’s friend Toria was present.

In many ways, the world, characters and even the distinctive writing style and witty dialogue reminded me a bit of my favourite Joe Abercrombie, so of course I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I do have a few negatives to mention which could put some readers off.

As the majority of character driven books, despite its numerous (gruesome) action scenes, this is quite a slow-paced story. In roughly the first 20%, it takes its time to establish the outlaw band Alwyn is a part of, only for the story go in a complete different direction and introduce us to a new set of characters later.

Also, this book heavily, and I mean HEAVILY, foregrounds religion as a theme and it’s one of the characters‘ leading motivations that makes the story progress. While I never felt like I was being preached to, it’s just not my personal favourite theme to read about in fantasy, so it took me quite a long time to appreciate its exploration in The Pariah. In the end, I did enjoy the characters‘ complex relationship with religion, especially when contrasted with the protagonist’s lack of faith. I can see why this might not work for other readers, though.

We got only a sprinkling of magic in this installment but I really enjoyed how it fit into the world and can’t wait to read about the consequences of its use in the sequel.

Overall, this is a great and very promising start to a new character driven fantasy series which came just about the perfect time for me as Abercrombie’s Age of Madness trilogy is about to be concluded in a month. Definitely looking forward to the next book and more of Ryan’s backlog catalogue.

I found The Pariah to be quite an interesting book. It follows Alwyn Scribe, a bastard who runs with a gang of outlaws in the forest before a betrayal sends him on a path of revenge. The story is told in first person from Alwyn’s POV so it’s a good thing that I really liked Alwyn as a character. He’s a very interesting character and Ryan writes him in the perfect way. He goes through a hell of a lot over the course of the novel, especially at the beginning so it’s important that you can sympathise with Alwyn.

The other character that I liked was Toria. She has a very strong personality, but she still comes across as likeable. She doesn’t have a problem stating her mind, but she never becomes annoying or insufferable. Ryan did a very good job at creating well-rounded characters with a lot of depth.

The plot has a lot of elements that I really enjoyed. The novel has a bit of a slow start but it allows you to get a good sense of who Alwyn is as a character. I always love stories where the character has a strong desire for revenge so I really enjoyed that aspect of the story. There’s also a plot thread regarding a mysterious prophecy which gives the story an air of mystery. I did find it interesting that the religious element and the characters who are a part of that story were portrayed in a different way to what you normally find in fantasy novels. They don’t come across as raving lunatics, as opposed to the norm where anyone religious is portrayed as utterly insane in their devotion.

The Pariah has all the hallmarks of a good Anthony Ryan novel. There’s, of course, a lot of violence I loved reading the fighting scenes. They’re brutal, much like I have come to expect from his novels. Ryan’s writing style continues to impress. He has created a fascinating world full of intriguing characters and a story that draws you in and refuses to let you go. The beginning and the end mirror each other perfectly, bringing everything full circle and setting up the rest of the series.

I enjoyed The Pariah. It has everything I love in fantasy, revenge, violence and politics so it was always going to be a winner for me. I am very much looking forward to reading the next book.

“… for a clever mind will explore the dark possibilities with far more dedication than the bright.”

First, I’d like to thank Orbit, Nazia, and the Little, Brown marketing team for sending me a surprise ARC of this wonderful book. I mean, the cover alone is stunning, so I knew I was in for a treat with the contents of the book.

The Pariah is the first in Anthony Ryan’s new epic – in every darn sense of the word – start to the Covenant of Steel series. With a voice so gripping, sharp, and intelligent, Alwyn Scribe brings to mind great, intelligent characters like Ardor Benn, Kvothe, and other excellent characters that came before him; but is set apart as one human is unique to another in the way that Ryan’s writing is as epic and sharp as the tale Scribe tells.

Alwyn Scribe is an outlaw, a thief under the King of Outlaws, Deckin, until the king’s reign is cut short, and he’s thrust into pillory, then a prison described only as the Pit, buried in a mine underground. From there, he cleverly and intelligently recounts his plight, and his rise from such a sundering. The plot within the book is so vast, so very epic fantasy by nature, writing, plot, character, and world-building, that I felt engulfed by the mere opening of the page. It took me a lot longer to read this book than I usually would but that’s because of the sheer magnitude of the world inside. This portion of Scribe’s life spans years, through the learning of sword and the knowing of bloody battle – which Ryan describes in its own vicious beats rather than outline the throw-by-throw. It’s as real and as felt as the recount of a real story but told to you by a far more intriguing person than you’d usually find. The story brings with it old tropes of prophecy – or so it seems – outcast to warrior scribe, clashing religions, cultures, and a dash of a Viking-inspired race that we’ve come to love, but subverts these. You can only pick out these tropes once reading the entire book through and looking at it as the entire piece. It’s truly great and I can say that I savoured every second.

Battles seen in cuts, chops and spears that are drove home, avoided, and only just. Ryan writes these scenes as a breath-by-breath play, where you’re seeing flashes of battle, almost unavoidable death and the scrambling from foe, the drawing of dagger and the scream of fellow soldiers. It’s a desperate experience I felt with Scribe rather than read. There’s something magical about writing that makes you live the page. And Ryan has got it down to a fine art with battles.

Alwyn Scribe alone is captivating, the voice gripping, far-reaching and as distant as the point where he stands to tell the story from. But it is with this distance that he’s able to perfectly describe his story and what has come. It’s as if the story is read to you sat opposite site of the room, a fire crackling, fingers dug into the arms of an old chair. Scribe is different from the heroes that have come before him because he’s no real warrior, he’s a scribe. He isn’t chosen, not by prophecy in the sense that we usually see … yeah, his story has come before … but I’m not here to spoil the book for you, so you’ll have to read to find out what I mean by that. I did, though, come to love Scribe because he is that, lovable, redeemable and unputdownable.

Overall, if you love fantasy at its most epic that presents itself like the old greats but is in fact something very different, you should give this book a go. Thanks again Orbit and to Anthony Ryan for such a great read.