Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I have tried to read this one several times since I was approved and unfortunately can't get into it, so am officially DNFing it.

I'd never expected to like this book that much. My first series from Anthony Ryan, and his writing glued me to the pages. Full of adventure, yet not lacking great characters, emotions and twists. I'm already on Book 2.

Even if I rated it 3stars, I will continue the series (i think?). I do like the main character, Alwyn, and there are some side characters that I’m very interested in. But…


This was my first book by Anthony Ryan. And it was a good one, it promises a good fantasy series. It has great setting, great world building, good characters. I just wanted more.

I listened to this one on Audible and I think this was my first mistake. I’m realising more and more that fantasy is not a good audiobook genre, if you get what I mean. The names are too many, you need a map, you need to go back a few pages and remember something about the plot. Thing I couldn’t do because of the audiobook. Which was a shame, because I think I would’ve liked it more.

My second “mistake” was the fact that I was “fooled” by the synopsis. Alwyn’s meeting with Lady Evadine takes place after the 50% mark. The main character has a long journey to make until there. There were some moments when I thought I’m reading the wrong because because of that. But no.

I liked the writing style, the characters were interesting and decent and good setting. I loved the beginning a lot, more than the rest of the book.

My main issue is that I didn’t feel the fantasy part in the book. There’s no magic, like at all. It felt like a historical fiction throughout the whole story. Also, the plot moves all the time, I still don’t know what Alwyn wants. I thought it’s going to be a revenge-ish story, but I was so mistaken! I felt very lost in the middle on the book and I had to read some pages on my kindle to understand what’s happening and who’s who. But again, I feel that was my mistake because I listened to it instead of reading it.

There’s a lot of religion though, thing that didn’t really matter for me. I still don’t understand some things, but oh well.

It’s not a bad book, I just wanted more fantasy stuff from it.

Many thanks to NetGalley!

I struggled to get through this but I do not think I was the audience for it. If you like Mark Lawrence, you’ll like this book, but it was not for me

Anthony Ryan's return to epic fantasy was much anticipated bht sadly falls short of expectations. The narrative was often meandering and I couldn’t connect with the main character's motivations. While I do enjoy grimdark and lived Ryan's previous series, this one was not for me

A big thank you to Netgalley for providing a review copy of The Pariah by Anthony Ryan.

This book follows Alwyn scribe from a young age where he is taken in by a band of outlaws to where he gets betrayed and his life takes a turn and he has to join the king's army. It shows the events that force Alwyn to choose his own path in the midst of various different enemies that try to overthrow his new master, Lady Evadine Courlain.

The worldbuilding in the book is not too complex and would suit someone who is still new to the genre as well as more seasoned readers. The main character is a sort of anti-hero who actually doesn't want too much to do with fame and glory, he just wants to get rich and dissappear. Unfortunately, the fairer sex tends to waylay/manipulate/blackmail him to do their bidding for the majority of this book - this was a slight irritation when reading, and made the initial part quite difficult going. That said, the last bit of the book was thoroughly enjoyable.

I would recommend The Pariah to those who enjoy epic fantasies with reluctant heroes chosen by fate to follow the bidding of foolish leaders and forever doomed to try and keep them alive regardless of the nonsense they pull. Can't wait to see what the sequel holds!

3.75 stars. The Pariah ended up being a mostly enjoyable read , my main issue being it took until about half way to get the story going. It also felt like a few stories mixed up in one. I enjoyed the characters and The Protagonist Alwyn Scribe. I think there was pretty decent character development due to the slow pacing. It felt like a lot of set up which can happen in first books in a series but it was well written, with interesting themes of religion and politics which I always enjoy. It ends on a cliffhanger and I look forward to seeing where the story goes. Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

I've had a lot of time to think over why this book and I didn't gel (A&E is wonderful for reading and thinking about books!) I honestly think it was expectations vs reality, as I don't think the blurb captured the book well, so set me up to expect something I didn't get.

The biggest deviation is Evadine. The blurb makes her out to be a major part of the story, but she's not even mentioned (and then only glancingly) until about 35% through. She doesn't enter the book proper until halfway through. She is pretty important from then, though it takes a while for it to become obvious and any of the personal nature of Alwyn working for her to come into play.

The start of the book is about an outlaw who tried to get revenge and survive after betrayal in a country torn by war against a pretender to the throne. He goes through a lot of steps before becoming a soldier (at that 50% mark), but the way the blurb is framed makes it seem that the book will get to the soldiering and Evadine stage within the first 25%, and that sets up a very different set of expectations - which cannot be fulfilled.

And because I kept waiting for expectations to be met, I was getting frustrated when Evadine <em>still</em> wasn't in the book, when Alwyn was <em>still</em> miles and miles from any chance of meeting up with her. I had no clue who this woman who was sold as this really cool character (she is, once she <em>finally</em> arrives) who was supposed to a major part was. That meant I never quite got into the book because I was waiting and waiting.

That lack of sliding into the world and narrative prevented me from really clicking once Evadine did show up. I hadn't been able to get behind the character set up before that would endear me to Alwyn because before I'm been feeling like something was missing to make it what was promised.

I would be curious to see if a re-read, knowing what was to come, endeared me more, but that might take a while to happen as my TBR is pretty long!

Honestly, I didn't enjoy this- I think the narration style just wasn't for me. The book is written as if the main character is looking back on his life so there's a lot of 'if I knew then what I know now..." kinda thing which I found a bit annoying. I've enjoyed books by this author before and the initial idea is interesting so I'd recommend reading the the first couple of pages to see what you think of the narration. Even though this wasn't me cup of tea you still might enjoy it

This was my first Anthony Ryan book and I have really enjoyed it. For me the first 50 pages or so were quite slow, but nothing bad. Overall I have enjoyed reading it greatly. I happened to read it at the same time with my friend and we discussed it a lot. I enjoyed having Alwyn as the main character, he is smart, calculating, and loyal. My favorite character however was Toria, who is equally loyal and I just loved her comments. What I found really fascinating was the religion, I have so many questions about it and it is such an amazing idea and I need to learn more about it. This book was not perfect and yet I have nothing big to critique. What I have to critique is that I did not understand Alwyn's actions towards the end. I understood his loyalty towards other people in his life, but not at this point. Nonetheless, the way the book ended makes me really think "Oh shit" and wonder what consequences it will have in the next book. What I really loved was the narration. Lately, I've been so into books where an older version of the character is telling the story and here it was so well done. I believe I picked out some hints and I am excited to figure out if what I picked up is actually important in the next book. Another thing I enjoyed greatly was the fight scenes. Anthony Ryan did well in creating vivid and brutal battles and I loved it! For me, it was a very enjoyable and great book which makes it a solid 4 stars for me! I am looking forward to reading the Martyr to see where this story goes.

Looking forward to Ryan's novels. The Pariah is a good and action-packed fantasy. The world setting and characters are astounding.

The Pariah was different from what I usually read and I really liked it.
We follow Alwyn Scribe and learn his adventures through his POV as he is narrating his story much later in time.
I enjoyed the writing style and kind of medieval setting of the story. It is not action-packed but slow-paced and it reads like a historical fiction at times. Its main themes are religion, justice and freedom.
Our main character Alwyn is one you will definitely like and root for. He is smart and efficient. I enjoyed the side characters as well.
I would loved it more if it had more fantasy elements but I believe this will happen in the next books of the trilogy.

I read Anthony Ryan's 'Tower Lord' a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed it, however, having heard somewhat mixed things about the rest of the series, I was unsure of what to expect from 'Pariah'.

I ended up liking this book a lot, but I will warn other readers - if you don't really like Alwyn's narration (or him as a character) at the start, you probably won't enjoy 'Pariah' much. Personally, I liked his character development and unreliable narration, however, his perspective dominates the book, so if you don't enjoy it, then you won't enjoy the book.

Apart from Alwyn's narration, I also liked the world. Even though in many ways, it was a standard Western fantasy world, I thought that Ryan did a good job of making the world feel lived in. As a massive history nerd, I particularly loved how 'Pariah' engaged with religion/religious history. The religious system in this story is very influenced by Christianity (particularly Western medieval Catholicism), and the plot focuses heavily on the political and social impact of religion.

In terms of things I didn't love so much - I felt that the story took a little while to get going. While I was drawn in by the characters and the world quite quickly, it took a while for the plot to really interest me. I also felt that some of the supporting characters and Alwyn's relationships with them (such as Toria and Brewer) remained relatively shallow, despite them making many appearances in the narrative.

Overall, this was a really solid start to a new fantasy series, and I'm looking forward to the next installment!

This is the first time I read a book by Anthony Ryan and I am pleased I did.

His writting style in this book is compelling and flows nicely. The world building is immersive. It was easy to get sucked into the story of Alwyn the POV narrator and his coming of age story as he progresses from a Robin Hood-esque upbringing to becoming a soldier in the king's army. Alwyn narrates his life in an intelligent, witty and slightly unreliable way. He is quite the likable rogue and I was straight away rooting for him. Despite the POV narrative all the supporting characters are fleshed out and belivable. There are also some lengthy, descriptive and slightly unrealistic (Double edged stone axe?! How will that work? But that's why it'called fantasy, I guess.) battle scenes thrown in. And magic, but definitely not enough of it.

Was it the most original plot I ever read? No. The themes betrayal, vengeance, questing and personal growth have been done to death, but Ryan manages to give his worthy contribution to the genre an interesting and slightly dark spin.
All in all "The Pariah" is a good read and I am looking forward to the next installment in "The Convenant of Steel" series.

*Thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK and netgalley for letting me read thus ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.

This is the work of a Master Storyteller

A coming of age tale as our young hero grows throughout the book, developing skills to help him survive. A story of betrayal revenge intrigue and mystery with plenty of surprises along the way. Beautifully descriptive narrative with an amazing array of brilliant characters, especially our main hero, who narrates the tale, occasionally directly to the reader usually saving the best laugh out loud lines. There are numerous descriptive exciting fast paced and be warned gruesome action scenes.
Looking forward to book two in the series.
Completely recommended.

Reading The Pariah by Anthony Ryan is a both compelling adventure and a thought-provoking experience regarding the themes of faith, betrayal, and friendship.

This is my first time reading Anthony Ryan, and a fantasy book featuring the life of outlaws. I didn't know I'd really enjoy this one though.

It was quite slow at first, but when the author starts to add a little spice to the narration of Alwyn Scribe, I know I've lost. Not just that it was very compelling, but it's also humorous at times. This is definitely not the last Anthony Ryan book I'll pick.

Alwyn Scribe is such a memorable character. I was really fascinated with how his character progressed within the length of this book. From a friendless outlaw to being part of a squad of people he learned to care about.

I am also highly anticipating more of this world's magic system explained. It seemed really amazing, so I'll definitely loom forward to that when I read this book's sequel, The Martyr (to be published soon, and I'm manifesting a review copy for that, so wish me luck!)

Another thing about this book I liked is how it surprises me at every turn. It was so unpredictable. There were so many questions raised in its first part, and I thought the author was leaving that for the sequels, but Anthony Ryan really said NO NO NO my friend I'm serving you that later ✨.

Wanna know about Alwyn Scribe's story? The UK paperback release of The Pariah will be on February 3 so watch out for that!

We follow the story of Alwyn, the son of a whore, who is beaten and abandoned in the forest. It is there that he is found by an infamous outlaw King. The band of outlaws become his family where he learns to fight, thieve and survive. After a huge betrayal everything is turned upside down for Alwyn and he begins his journey of survival, revenge and a lot of bad luck if I’m honest. Just as I thought things were looking up for Alwyn he is sent down another unthinkable path.

The story is told from Alwyn’s point of view and reads really well. There are strong themes of religion, politics, betrayal and revenge. There are a few battles in the story and these are very violent with very gruesome descriptions. There are a few side characters who I really grew to love - Toria, Brewer, Ayin and Evadine. I look forward to finding out how all their paths cross again in book 2.

There wasn’t as much magic in the book as I was expecting after reading the synopsis; though the parts that did show a glimmer of magic or dark forces I definitely found them very interesting. There was a lot of important characters introduced and little nuances of information to give you an idea of what will be developed on in the next book.

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK and netgalley for sending me the e-arc.

First of all, I'd like to thank Netgalley and Little Brown for making a copy available to me in return for an unbiased review. Even more thankful for this introduction to the author's work. Somehow I'd overlooked Anthony Ryan, but no more - count on me as an avid fan.

Overall, the Pariah is a fantastically written piece of fantasy, which includes also some fascinating character studies, and a unique exploration of revenge and religion (the latter being a topic that gets relatively little attention in epic fantasy, in my view, at least in a critical fashion, Pullman's work notwithstanding).
There is a lot to like about this book:
- the characters are life-sized and truly complex. As is now typical with epic fantasy, they are imperfect, flawed, and are very much the definition of anti-hero. That being said, this set of characters stands out mostly because it strikes the right balance between moral ambiguity and likability. For example, while I found Abercrombie's and Richard Morgan's characters fascinating, I did not like most of them. I do like these characters very much, and I want them to succeed. It's a nice feeling!
- the worldbuilding is sufficiently intricate and interesting, with just the right amount of super natural. It's a complex medieval world, with the typical power struggles. These are well characterised and are internally consistent. The plot is easy to follow and the story makes sense.
- there is an element here I particularly liked relating to the study of religion - its role in men's affairs, in war, and in quotidien life. It's also interesting to see what it takes to move masses of people, and covert even the most sceptical of men. It's also interesting to note that I don't pick up a tone of criticism toward religion, nor is there an aspect of celebrating it. It's just an interesting aspect of life that I find to be less explored than others in epic fantasy of recent years
- the pacing of the book is exceptionally good. There is always something happening and you wait to see what's around the corner. The twists are interesting, and non trivial.

My main disappointment from this book (which will not at all stop me from reading the sequels) is that it's not overly innovative. For me to give it 5 starts I'd expect something truly different, whereas this piece of work borrows extensively from others (two authors I already mentioned above, as well as Sanderson's Stormlight Archive and GRRM's work). Anthony Ryan weaves it all together very well, and it's a pleasure to read, but it's not groundbreaking in any way.

The Pariah is the first book in The Covenant of Steel series and a stunningly dark opening to this fantasy series.

Alwyn Scribe is the son of a whore, abandoned in the Shavine forest when he is taken under the wing of the greatest outlaw of the time. After betrayals and misfortunes fall his way, Alwyn finds himself sent to the pits where he begins his education in earnest.

Ryan is a superb story teller. The prose flows easily and I found myself completely absorbed into Alwyn's world. The world building is epic and so believable, yet so unique. Alwyn himself is a fantastic character, filled with flaws yet a unique and often humorous side. I loved his wit. There is a wide cast of interesting and unique characters that ensure this a really fantastic novel. The battle scenes in this book are stunning, showing the realities of being at war. I've not read any grimdark before but this novel has definitely whetted my appetite for more.

This is an epic fantasy and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series. Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing me with an E-Arc of this amazing novel.

The Pariah illustrates the tale of Alwyn Scribe, a thief who's 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.