I steeled myself for this read, ready to wade back into the mud and blood that is the campaign of the Risen Martyr. But boy oh boy Anthony, you really wanted to beat me down emotinoally didn't you?

This book was a superb final installment in the Covenant of Steel. The final chapter in the journey of Alwyn Scribe.
"Such a mass of contradictions you are. A cut-throat outlaw of savage reputation who can wield a quill as well as he can a blade. A man of great knowledge matched only by his facility for deceit. He has done the foulest deeds in service to a woman who's as mad as the most rabid bitch, yet he harbours concern for a little girl he once saved.”

Alwyn has survived imprisonment, slavery, battles, seiges, chases across mountain ranges and now...the final campaign has arrived.
At the end of book 2 Evadine Courlain, the Risen Martyr by Alwyn's doing, has declared war against the corruption of the Covenant and declaring her cause to be the true justice of the Seraphile and book 3 picks up essentially on the next page. There is no break as we hit the ground running in this face-paced turmoil of a story.
The final obstacle to peace in the kingdom is the supposed false Princess Regent Lorraine.
This is a book that promises nation wide war, and one that delivers.
When you pick up an Anthony Ryan book, you don't expect it to be peaceful or bloodless. His writing for battles and duels is nothing short of andrenelin-inducing and nerve-wracking. But the world is so much more than the bloody aspects of the campaign. Ryan crafts a story where you see the politics and driving forces behind the violence and the horrors that befall the land.
And more importantly, he shows you the consequences.

"She was always mad. We just didn't see it. Or perhaps we were mad too and sanity dawned only when we beheld what she is."

This book is not just about a Messiah figure and a campaign to subdue the country, it's a book about the ordinary soldiers who are swept along in this fight. Alwyn and his personal journey of loss and despair is heartbreaking to follow, but expected. He broke the dam and unleashed the bloody floodwaters across the lands in book 1. But his friends, allies, enemies, those that had no fault but to be a part of his story, their tragedies and turmoils hit so much harder.
There is a moment towards the end of part one that shocked me and honestly was one of the highlights of the whole series. Ryan absolutely floored me with one simple scene about translated texts and the consequences of prophecies.
But then a chapter later, when I thought I was already floored by the story, he pulled the rug out from under me and left me hollow...

The latter half of this book is a blur of fastly turned pages, complex intrigue and planning and the building to a cataclysmic final confrontation.
"To save all I must risk all"
Words spoken by Evadine, but as the book progresses it seems they are a motto for Alwyn.
Read this book somewhere comfortable and padded, because thebrilliant, but slight cliffhanger of an ending will leave some things unanswered and you may need to lay down in frustration at how tortured Ryan has made you...

One truly excellent little addition Ryan made into this story is Alwyn and his comments on artwork. This entire series is told as the memories of Alwyn being written down, and during major moments in the book he comments about how he has seen paintings done of this scene, and comments on how certain characters or points had been emphasised and changed. It was just a small thing thrown in now and again, but it serves to flesh out the world that we have been immersed in for over 1000 pages already.

Overall, this book was everything I wanted and more. The ending might have been bittersweet but honestly, after everything Alwyn has been through how could be it be anything but?
I am sad that this story is over, and hope that a novella might pop up somewhere down the line...
If you're looking for a series with realistic, brutal world-building, characters that go through the wringer and are tragically caught up in bigger things than they can handle purely because they are so human, and excitement and adventure...well this series is undoubtably for you.

Did you finish first book with the question:"Alwyn, what are you doing?"
And then spent the entire second book asking the same question?
Good.
That means that Alwyn's gift for gab didn't render you blind to his shortcomings nor made t(his) story a heroic one.

<u>Bare bones</u>:
Evadine Courlain, the Risen Martyr- in her divine-spirited wisdom- decided that she is to become the Ascendant Queen, the new ruler of Albermaine. The only thing standing in her way is Princess Regent Lorraine, who rules in stead of her underage son, Alfric and his infant betrothed Lady Ducinda Cohlsair. And Alwyn, Evadine's Spymaster, most trusted adviser and now, her lover, would use all of his skills to deliver her the throne whether it's fighting, strategizing or negotiating for support with Albermaine Lords.
But, there is something bothering him about Evadine, her followers and her war, something creeping on him that will lead him to make the hardest decisions of his life.


So, on the surface Covenant of Steel is the story of how Alwyn, the outlaw from Shavine Forest became Alwyn the Scribe, one of the key figure in the rise of Evadine Courlaine and her marsh to the throne. But in reality, this story boils down to this:
How can the cleverest guy on the page be so stupid about certain things?

The answer, at least for me, lies in understanding idolization and cult of personality-something that has a very intriguing connection with religion and religious fervor throughout history- and these are the themes Ryan decided to explore through fantasy setting. Alwyn knows the truth behind Evadine's resurrection. He is not really a believer- he is pragmatic more than anything, the result of his upbringing. He knows the difference between good and evil and more than not lands on the side of good, again result of the time spend with Sihlda in the mines and strategically and politically he knows her actions are neither smart nor longterm. So why is he in her corner? When following someone is rendered simply to a blind faith into that person, that doesn't really explain why someone stays devoted to the cause despite knowing that this elevated image of is manufactured, not real. This is the more complex question, in terms of characterization about the whole thing and this is what Ryan did so well through Alwyn's first person point of view narration.
You see, Evadine Cuorlain was always this mythical figure in Alwyn's memories, someone who, when you dig deeper, doesn't have much of a personality beside her role of Risen Martyr. It's how he described her: from her ethereal beauty, "the peerless strength she exuded", to the constant mention of how she keeps the crowd enthralled with her sermons, how she inspires others so much they follow her into war. It's always something he is surprised so many people do because he knows she is charismatic and thus, knowing it thinks he's immune, but his actions says otherwise.
And another layer of that is the fact Alwyn is recounting and thus many things are clearer to him in hindsight and foreshadow his main conflict from this book. I was waiting for so long for Alwyn's shift,and when it finally happened, it turned into a straight-forward epic fantasy quest with a singular goal, a soap-opera addition to the story and some fine battle scenes and magical shenanigans.
Female characters, especially Lorine and Lorraine, were great and I felt like Ryan did a very good job with bringing more depth to them. When it comes to Evadine, though, she remains the most detached character, more the object of worship than the person and one I think was kind of left surface-level. We got a conclusion to the story and and an explanation, but, in a sense, it's a perfect Alwyn explanation and he is too good at saving his hind to be considered a perfectly reliable narrator and too skilled of a storyteller not to leave us intrigued. :)

This is my favorite trilogy from Ryan and I hope he revisits the world because he mentioned so many interesting things like Sister Queens of Ascarlia or Ishtakar incident. Recommended.

Brilliant ending to a brilliant trilogy by the awesome Anthony Ryan. Here we see the downfall of the martyr Evadine Courlain and the part that Alwyn Scribe plays in it, we find out the incredible secret behind the Sack Witch's identity and we witness the final terrible battle between good and evil. I have loved every page of this incredible series and hope beyond hope that there's more to come!

"The Traitor" follows on from "The Pariah" and "The Martyr" in this absolutely wonderful fantasy series. I have loved everything about all 3 books (apart from the fact they ended!), but this one may just be my favourite. What a way to end (but not end?) a trilogy. I'm hopeful there will be a book 4, or at least some short stories. Please?!

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

The story in this third instalment of the Covenant of Steel trilogy continues where the previous one left off. In this conclusion (for now), we see the continued elevation of the Martyr to increasing power and prominence, with her emotional state starting to evolve making her display increasingly complex behaviours. At the same time, we see Alwyn embark on an adventure that will shed more light on the conflict at the core of the world he lives in, and force him to face truths that he had kept hidden from himself throughout the first two chapters of this journey. War, destruction, and mayhem escalate, peaking in a cathartic conflict between the main opposing forces in this world.

Of the three books in the trilogy, this is perhaps as good as if not better than the first one. While it is still essentially a character-driven grimdark fantasty novel, it also is best in exploring the implications of religious (and romantic) devotion, and of what happens to an individual's psyche as this devotion grows and consumes increasingly large chunks of what they hold dear.

This book builds and improves on the prior two's focus on complex characters, and their moral growth and evolution. Every protagonist is credible and multi-dimensional, growing and becoming richer with the story. It's a genuine pleasure to see this evolution, driven by the experiences our protagonists survive, and the emotional pain that ensues.

I also continued to enjoy the moral ambiguity and the power of self deception. The book essentially says that you don't have to be an evil person to perpetrate evil deeds. The exploration of this topic also peaks in this book, and reaches a true crescendo.

The ending is perhaps the only disappointing thing about the book. From writing books, the fantasy world somehow evolved into writing trilogies. Increasingly, is evolves into writing trilogies of trilogies, etc. What happened to a nicely completed narrative arch that allows the reader some closure?

Highly recommended trilogy to anyone who's a fan if grimdark, and who is keen to explore religious fanatism through the lens of fantasy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The Traitor is the third and final book n Anthony Ryan’s medieval-style Covenant of Steel fantasy series. For those who like muddy clashes between huge armies with swords and horses or sieges of walled cities or misguided prophecies, it would be best to start with volume one of this series The Acolyte. While there is a handy recap of the events of the previous book, this is absolutely the third book of a trilogy and not a place to start. Given that, there will necessarily be some mild spoilers for those earlier novels in this review.
The cliffhanger ending of The Martyr, found protagonist narrator learning something that perhaps he could have guessed earlier about his leader the Risen Martyr Evadine. And yet, despite this knowledge he remains in her thrall for a good part of the first section of The Traitor until, as the name of the book suggests, he wakes up to the danger that she actually poses and takes against her. The book then becomes a long and complex build up to a possibly final confrontation as the odds continue to stack up against Alwyn and his shaky alliance. As with the second book in this series, this is all informed by a lengthy spirit-quest to retrieve a magical item and confirm Alywn’s centrality to the outcome of the battle to come. But as always in these narratives, the outcome of that final battle somehow exists outside of prophecy and is not fixed. The fact that Alwyn is narrating the action in what is a long time past past-tense might give readers a hint though.
A lot of the pleasure of this series comes from Alywn’s knowing narration. He tells readers when he is doing the wrong thing, he knows in hindsight where he was foolish and he effectively foreshadows the outcomes of some of his poor decision making without spoiling the enjoyment of reading about the result. Once again he is supported by an engaging band of misfits and ne’er-do-wells. Some of his companions failed to make it to book three and and refreshingly not all survive every bloody and dangerous encounter in this book either. These side characters bring with them all of the skills that Alwyn needs to effect his plans and add a necessary strain of both humour and humanity to the tale.
The Traitor is a page-turning and fitting conclusion to this series. While it contains plenty of big set-piece battles, it holds back a little from the previous books, concentrating more on the manoeuvring and planning that goes behind making these successful. Topically, it depicts a leader drunk on her own power developing a cult of personality which enable a horde of followers who fail to question why they are asked to do horrific things in her name. And it considers the compromises that the ragtag group of opponents need to make to bring her down.
While this is the end of this series and most loose ends are tied up, Ryan leaves an inviting, dangling thread which suggests that he may have more stories to tell in this world. Given that this story has only really explored one part of that world, more tales involving Alwyn Scribe are definitely on the cards and likely to be welcomed by fans of this form of fantasy.

I just finished the third instalment of Ryan's Covenant of Steel series and, honestly, I'm truly lost for words right now. I was so excited to continue the story Alwyn Scribe and I'm just devasted it's over.

Alwyn and Evadine continue with their quest to spread the word of the Martyrs, but Alwyn begins to see a darkness dwelling in her. As in the other books, there are phenomenal battles, amazing world building and a cast of stunning dark characters. I thought my blood pressure would go through the roof as the twists in this book just wouldn't stop. I honestly didn't see where this book was going and I'm still reeling in shock from the ending!

Alwyn is one of my all time favourite MC's. His journey from the bastard son of a whore, raised within a band of outlaws to the knight and trusted right hand of the risen martyr is told with a masterful talent for storytelling and memorable characters. I have a love for the morally grey and Alwyn is just brilliant. He tells his story with honesty, humour with the occasional bout of arrogance that just makes me smile.

This was a brilliant end to the trilogy (or is it? I have more questions now I've finished it than I had the start!) well worth the commitment for any fans of fantasy.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an arc in return for an honest review.

I thought this one was ok! I preferred book one and two. This one felt much denser and for that reason it was quite hard for me to get through in places.

This one was a hard read. Loved #1 and #2 but this one was hard to get into. Feels denser and much more like historical fiction than Fantasy - or the previous two

I have seen this trilogy compared to the first law books and I would disagree, the author has made his own world with flawed and challenging characters that make decisions that are questionable to say the least, I have really enjoyed this trilogy and whilst I agree with other readers that the ending is subjective it didn’t matter, it’s a great end to a great story

Thank you to Tor providing me the arc in exchange for a review.

Following the first two books of the series, Alwyn realised he is completely wrapped around Evadine’s finger. Now he must decide between peace, deception, lies, and ruin. Where does his own beliefs and values fit in? Can they?

“To save all I must risk all. I must be queen, the Ascendant Queen. In me, Crown, commons and Covenant will be unified and the Second Scourge averted. Only then can this realm know peace."

"She was always mad. We just didn't see it. Or perhaps we were mad too and sanity dawned only when we beheld what she is."

Alwyn doesn’t embark upon such a difficult and taxing journey alone. He is joined by semi-loyal, questionably honourable, particularly humorous cast of characters.

Ryan’s characterisation of his protagonists has always captured my attention and taken him to a whole new level in the fantasy genre.

“Such a mass of contradictions you are. A cut-throat outlaw of savage reputation who can wield a quill as well as he can a blade. A man of great knowledge matched only by his facility for deceit. He has done the foulest deeds in service to a woman who's as mad as the most rabid bitch, yet he harbours concern for a little girl he once saved.”

The attention Ryan pays to the influence one can wield over people, and the power of words over weapons is one of the most engaging and clever ventures in upcoming fantasy! Despite, or perhaps enchanted by, Alwyn’s disbelief of martyrdom, he demonstrates how powerful both faith and belief can be.

”Words have power," I agreed with a shrug, "Especially when you write them down. As for lies, I learned long ago that you can only really sell them to a willingly gulled audience."

Ryan has such an alacrity in writing battle scenes. He is one of the few authors who manages to capture my attention for lengthy times, similar to John Gwynne. Expect gruesome descriptions, dark comedy, and gritty, bloody deaths.
However, I admittedly did find myself skimming as I am not too fond of battle heavy books. Especially when it comes to book three of wars done in the name of nobles, royalty, and religion.

Ryan twists fate and foreshadowing in such a masterful manner that I was left stunned with anticipation, regret, and shock. I keenly felt characters’s shame, guilt, and musings, putting me right alongside them in wondering what-ifs, should-they, and mayhaps.

I do feel like the ending was slightly a let down as it leaves you on a bit of a teaser, a bit of a cliffhanger. Not something you necessarily want at the end of a trilogy.
If you pay careful attention, you may see the patterns Ryan weaves with his other stories and books. Mayhap you’ll notice past histories, or future possibilities.
If anyone does figure out the nameless, please drop me a message!

If you enjoyed The Justice of Kings or the First Law trilogy, I would recommend this!