The story of an outcast who manages to raise himself above his humble beginnings to something greater is a Fantasy staple. Anthony’s latest treads a similar path to many, but this first volume of an immersive Fantasy is worth sticking with until the end.

This lengthy book begins Robin Hood-style in the forest of Shavine where Alwyn and his fellow outlaws, led by Deckin Scawl, live an existence always in danger of being caught and hung. When Deckin and the gang are ambushed, Alwyn escapes, but is then caught and sent to the mines as punishment. There he learns to read and write and hence becomes known as Alvin Scribe.

Alwyn is affable enough, although from the beginning I was aware that as this is Alwyn’s story, his narrative may be a tad unreliable, or at least economical with important details – we are, after all, dealing with a character who has lied and thieved to survive to this point in his life. Alwyn is an intriguing character who is a killer and has been brought up to be a good one. Besides all of this the story, as told by Alwyn admittedly, shows that he is intelligent, caustically witty and has his own sense of worth. I wouldn’t say that he is a likeable rogue, but the motivations for his actions are understandable.

Much of the book is then about Alwyn’s journey, both physically and metaphorically. Whilst trying to gain vengeance for the deaths of his outlaw colleagues, Alwyn also discovers that Deckin may have left behind clues to something that he was expecting Alwyn to find. With a book title like The Pariah, (note: an outcast who is despised or rejected) it shouldn’t be too difficult to work out that whilst Alwyn is persistent in his denial of some sort of religious awakening, it becomes clear that something happens to him along the way.

When Alwyn finds himself conscripted into the King’s army under the command of Captain Lady Evadine Courlain, it becomes clear through her apocalyptic visions that he and the Captain have a connection with each other. Alwyn finds himself drawn to the lady, but as the book continues, he also finds himself in a dilemma. By defending Evadine, and therefore fighting for the King, he finds himself personally allying himself with the rebels.

And by the end of the book it is clear that Alwyn is also involved in bigger things, whether he wants to be or not. There is, of course, a cliff-hanger ending.

With over 560 pages, it must be said that The Pariah takes a little while to get going - in fact, I made it about 100 pages or so before it really grabbed my attention. To give a fairly adult feel to the book, the novel is gritty and sweary without being too extreme, but a word of warning, though – the battle scenes in the book are not for the faint-hearted, although it could be said that they should not be. Anthony does not spare the reader the gory, graphic details of how messy such battles could be.

But all of that scene-setting and character building in those first hundred or so pages does make sense and pays off towards the end, by developing those old-school themes of loyalty and betrayal in an easily recognisable setting.

On the downside, there’s a couple of points where the sense of disbelief is stretched a little. There are plot contrivances in places, the most glaringly obvious one being where a character reappears who miraculously knows lots of obscure information to give Alwyn and the overarching plot momentum. This is attempted to be explained, though I was unconvinced.

Despite this, it can’t be said that The Pariah is a poor read. By the end things are moving along at a cracking pace, and most pleasingly of all, things do not always go the way I expected. The characterisation and world building makes it worth your attention and despite the odd convenience The Pariah is a great book to wallow in. Fans of immersive Fantasy will find a lot to enjoy here in this solidly entertaining read, which I enjoyed a great deal.

There was something in Alwyn Scribe's story that entranced me. Despite the slower pace and myself not being a sucker for gruesome & detailed battle scenes, Ryan's prose was superb, to say the least, and I fell instantly in love with Alwyn. He made me crave to sit down, stop whatever I was doing and listen to his story. I loved his sharp tongue and even sharper mind but above all his utterly human, relatable flaws.

Betrayals, hidden agendas and twists - that I honestly didn't see coming -were everywhere. Plus, the supernatural touch given by visions and prophecies - that played a huge part in the second half of the book - unquestionably sold me.

This was my first book by Anthony Ryan, and surely will not be my last.
If you love grimdark epic fantasy, do yourself a favour and read this book.

The Pariah by Anthony Ryan

After being kicked out of the only home he knew, Alwyn Scribe now lives as an outlaw in the kingdom of Albermaine. As a young man, Alwyn's life is upended again when someone betrays his group of outlaws, and he is forced to fight constantly for his freedom. From outlaw to soldier, Alwyn embarks on a journey filled with vengeance against those that harmed the people closest to him. We the reader get to witness everything on Alwyn's journey!

The Pariah is a sharp and brutal tale from start to finish. Alwyn is a well-written character full of flaws, he's sharp, keen-eyed but at the same time a little naive. Alwyn's journey is fascinating, as we witness the harsh cruelties that he lives through to survive. I also loved that Alwyn was an incredible narrator, I enjoyed his first-person thoughts and I was immediately hooked. All the characters are well rounded and interesting, Ryan worked hard to develop details and a story arc for each one. I also enjoyed that the female characters were characters of power and treated as such and not just lowly minor additions to the plot.

By the end of the book, there is a lot to think about, from the battles and fight sequences to plenty of enemies, and breathtaking escapes. It is all very entertaining and enjoyable. Ryan sets the stage for a story and world that is both compelling and left me wanting more. The plotlines specific to Alwyn have been mostly resolved. with just a few threads hanging, enticing readers back for the next volume.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review

After finishing the Pariah by Anthony Ryan, I ended up with mixed feelings. The story of Alwyn starts in his teenage years as part of a roving band of bandits. Gifted with above-average wits, he has made himself indispensable to some and loathed by others. Once things go south for him and his crew, he is quickly thrown into a cruel world that forces him to face his own beliefs and forge his own path.

The overall direction of the story and the character development is alluring and quite promising for a prequel. I just never really cared too much about the religious believes of the covenant. Compared to other recent books I've read, the Pariah does emphasize it the most.

As always, I’m going to go on a little tangent so if you have no cares for my little personal snippet skip below for my comments on the book itself. Ive always loved reading, but in my later teenage years and during Uni that passion died off as I became interested in other things, namely alcohol and the events that go hand in hand with said alcohol. But then I got really ill and spent years not being able to work, or socialise, or even leave the house, so books became my escape. Escapism is important for so many of us, in recent times more than ever, and in my opinion Fantasy books are able to do something that few genres can which is create something so incredibly different from the world we live in, that for a little slice of time we are able to leave the shitty world we find ourselves in and find ourselves amongst heroes, gods and dragons. This all happened around 2010-2012 and during that period I devoured series like The Wheel of Time and The First Law Trilogy, anything I could find with decent recommendations since I was fairly out of the loop when it came to what was good. Towards the end of 2012 as I got better, I was finally able to go back to a store, and so I went to one of my favourite places on earth, my local Waterstones. On that first visit back I wandered to the Fantasy and Sci-Fi section, straight to the new hardback releases and sitting in all its glory was the newly (re)released Blood Song.
Since reading that book Ive been an avid fan of Anthony Ryan, at that same Fantasy section for the release of every book so far to make sure I have his books day one. I saw a tweet a few days back about what authors could release a book and you know nothing about it but buy it regardless, there’s a few on that list but right at the top with Mr Gwynne and Mr Abercrombie is Mr Anthony Ryan. That meant when I heard Ryan was working on a new series it went straight to the top of my most anticipated list, it doesn’t matter if Ryan had decided to change to crime as a genre, it didn’t matter if he wrote my least favourite trope of all time, the love triangle, I still would have been there to purchase this book on release day.
For me Ryan is another of those authors I think is exceptionally good at doing… everything. I find his character building incredible; no one can argue that Blood Song isn’t an amazing book and the biggest reason for that is because Vaelin Al Sorna is so well written that reading a book without him brings a hint of sadness. His world building is easily among the best, while his first Trilogy and its following Duology may not offer anything I would consider crazy different from a lot of fantasy books, they are beautifully written worlds that are filled with a massive amount of culture and history, but then if you want to see Anthony flex that world building muscle you only need to go to Draconis Memoria, a series of books that is not recognised as much as it should be, these books having explosive action, more dragons than you can ever count and world building I would consider some of the very best around. I could write about everything else Anthony does well, but I shan’t babble any longer.
This is my ode to Anthony Ryan, one of the best authors to ever grace the genre, and if you take one thing away from this ‘review’ today, its that you should read his books.
Do you want a quick judgement? Yes? The Pariah is Ryan’s best book yet.

I mentioned in my last review that books with amazing first lines, prologues, paragraphs are my new favourite thing, they are the literary version of a jump scare, they get your blood pumping and that sweet serotonin to the right places. We often have those discussions about slow burners and series that get better after this point (I love WOT but just the thought of rereading book 10 makes me anxious), what I want is a slap to the face from the starting point and I want that energy to burn throughout the book, I want them to continue, and I will pay whatever bribes are necessary.
“Before killing a man, I always found it calming to regard the trees.”
This book is all about Alwyn Scribe, an outcast, a bandit, and an altogether loveable rogue. Alwyn is the heart of this book and again Ryan has written us another character you can’t but help finding yourself completely immersed in. I’m a big fan of coming-of-age stories and protagonists and even though we come across Alwyn in his teenage years I still got that same joy from reading his story, as we see him become more than just an outlaw, grow as a person and I find myself completely enthralled every time I turn the page as I get to read this boys story. This book was my favourite sort of book, a wonderful single POV. Perfection. However, Alwyn comes with a fantastic supporting cast that add so much to the story, Ryan adding so much characterization to these people so eloquently that I would have happily read any of them in their own chapters.
“You say my claim to the throne was false, that I began a war that spilled the blood of thousands for nothing. I ask you, Scribe, what meaning is there in truth or lies in the world? As for blood, I have heard of you. I know your tale. History may judge me as monstrous, but you are a far bloodier man than I”
Ryan’s world building is once again absolutely fantastic, I would call this Ryan’s most grimdark novel so far, its various shades of misery and despair clinging to the characters throughout the book with very little in terms of joy or happiness, things going from bad to worse and Alwyn and his companions clinging on to life by their fingertips, this just helped deliver a story that couldn’t stop me from turning the pages nonstop, keeping me up till I was blurry eyed and needing sleep. Ryan filled this world with so much culture and lore in such a short amount of time, delivered without the need for any info dumping but instead as a master of writing does, entwining it into his plot as and when its needed to deliver this flawless tense and well-paced beauty of a story.
”Thus spoke Ulthnir, Father of the Altvar. Every battle is a forge, and every soul that survives the flames is made stronger.” The events of a long and interesting life have forced me to conclude that Ulthnir, like many a god, was full of shit.
One thing Ryan is never scared of is getting his hands dirty, his previous books have brimmed with action, it being an overwhelming feature of all 3 major series so far and that’s not something I’m sad about in any way, Ryan does incredible work when it comes to swordcraft and his action scenes and big set pieces are always incredibly exciting and fun to read. The Pariah took a much lesser approach than before and the action was much more spread out, the one big set piece we did get however felt like one of the best Ryan has written so far, the fighting brutal and real, chapters that made me want to burn through pages as quickly as I could. Ryan turned to the pen instead of the sword this time round to build his story. It notably did give the story a slightly slower pace than some of his previous entries, but I feel we got a better plot and character development because of it and I’m 110% ok with that.
“Hearing an enraged shout to my rear, I ducked and whirled, dragging the billhook clear and bringing it round to smash the knees of the churl who came at me with a scythe. He collapsed instantly, landing on his back and clutching at his ruined legs, his screams ending as Toria landed on his chest and sank her dagger into the hollow of his throat.”
The Pariah is very simply the best book Ryan has written so far, which when put against the library of his works is impressive, he continues to get better as a writer, his prose continues to astound me, his every word gripping me intensely, the world and characters he writes becoming more immersive and ensnaring every time and my love for what this man writes continues to grow. I think this series will go from strength to strength, Alwyn becoming such a truly incredible protagonist, and for those that maybe miss out on that typical Ryan blood and guts we didn’t get this time will be sated before the end.

Fantasy author Anthony Ryan comes off his steampunk meets dragons epic Daconis Memoria trilogy (The Waking Fire, The Legion of Flame and The Empire of Ashes) to start a new series. The Pariah is the first in the Covenant of Steel series, a lengthy tome in itself which, while it slightly comes full circle, is full of set up and foreshadowing of chaos to come in future instalments.
Unlike Draconis Memoria, which ranged across a number of characters, The Pariah is narrated by Alwyn Scribe. We know this from the opening epigram, although in the narrative it takes a while before Alwyn rises to be worthy of a second name. Making Alywn a scribe though is a shrewd move because although there is a whiff of chosen one narrative around Alwyn’s adventures, it gives a reason for him to be at the centre of some critical events even when he is not driving the action.
With the Covenant of Steel series Ryan is clearly going for a Game of Thrones vibe. This is a medieval world, ruled by King Tomas and a specific form of religion anchored around ancient Martyrs. The kingdom is surrounded by other countries and tribes who worship other gods and possibly have some truck with magic. There are hints of the supernatural throughout The Pariah, and it occasionally breaks through to the surface, but generally this is a visceral, muddy, bloody hardscrabble world (particularly for the likes of Alwyn). The main driver of the action politically is a challenge to Tomas’ throne by the “Pretender” and one of the big set pieces of the book is a very Battle-of-the-Bastards-style melee between the opposing forces told from ground level on the chaotic front line.
Outside of the overarching plot of the series, the plot of The Pariah is in some ways a coming-of-age story for Alwyn. When the book opens he is a young man running with the “King of the Thieves”, a man called Deckin who adopted him into the gang when he was ten. After a long road of significant trials, gathering enemies and allies along the way, by the end of the book Alwyn has grown into his role of scribe and kind-of hero, evidenced by encounters with a few old foes.
The Pariah is a long book but as Ryan has shown before, he knows how to keep the pages turning. So that while the narrative does occasionally drag, the characters are always interesting and there are plenty of well written action scenes to help keep interest up. By the end, some of the long running plot lines specific to Alwyn have been tied up and there is not a huge cliffhanger per se. But Ryan has done a lot of setting up in The Pariah and leaves many plot threads hanging tantalisingly to bring readers who have been hooked back for the next volume.

This author has never failed to make me not love any of his books. This is superbly written full of well written characters full of twist and turns. Also shows the good and bad sides of human nature in all its glory.

A touch of grimdark to give it back bone and to make us the readers come back for more.

Another great start to a new series

3.75 stars

The Pariah follows the story of Alwyn, an outlaw who we follow throughout his life as he grows up. This book sets up a great foundation for the future of the series and proves a compelling and intriguing tale. We start with Alwyn being part of a gang of outlaws, acting as a young spy to the outlaw king. When the outlaw king decides he has ambitions on the local duchy, an criminal uprising goes wrong and Alwyn ends up sent to the mining pits, eventually ending up as a soldier for the mysterious Evadine - a powerful and mysterious noble and religious figure. Alwyn also trains as a scribe, which I think adds to the beautiful storytelling and adds an extra interesting element to his character.

This is quite a lyrical tale and reminded me a lot of The Name of the Wind (with a much more likeable main character haha) in terms of both following Alwyn as he grows up and setting the foundation of the world for future books in the series. I thought the story was fairly meandering however I actually really enjoyed the slower pace and getting to know the characters and political set up of the world.

I really liked Alwyn as a character, his dry humour and cheek was so charming and he was a very compelling narrator. Throughout the book Alwyn must reckon with various circumstances that are thrown his way, and I really liked his approach to new challenges and how adaptable he is. I also really liked some of the side characters, especially Toria - a fellow criminal whom Alwyn meets in the mining pits. I really liked their friendship and loyalty to one another. Evadine was another very intriguing character, I'm obviously always a sucker for a sexy powerful lady but her devotion to religion and strange compulsion she has over others.

One thing I loved about this book was the exploration of religion, it is a huge theme of the book and how it ties into the conflict and politics of the world is so fascinating. Alwyn's relationship with religion and faith throughout the book is also very interesting, he is very much a follower and spends much of his time in the novel in service to and following various different leaders, of varying degrees of faith. The concept of worshipping Martyrs and how people like having the old Martyrs but do not want to accept any new ones adds an interesting element to the conflicts, reflecting the general human state of disliking change.

The magic is a little vague which I think adds to the mysterious quality of the book and we are discovering more about it along with Alwyn, which I really enjoyed.

In conclusion I really enjoyed this book, a great start to a new fantasy series with gorgeous prose and a loveable main character.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this eArc! I’m really grateful for having the opportunity to read this early!

I’ve heard a lot of promising things about this author and this fantasy novel- and whoa!!!! 600 pages of just amazing content and writing. I cannot wait to get my mitts on a physical copy in august!!

Please check this out!! Wow!!