I was given a free e-copy of Pariah by Anthony Ryan (author), Orbit (publisher) and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. Pariah is the first novel in The Covenant of Steel series.

This review will be spoiler free.

I would characterize Pariah as a dark version of a coming-of-age fantasy story.

At the beginning of the story, the world building reminded me of Sherwood Forest and Nottingham and a significant minor character reminded me of Robin Hood.

Since a significant minor character reminded me of Robin Hood, the story’s main character appears to be Allan of Dale or Allan Dale who was a member of Robin Hood’s Merry Band. The members of this band are a bit more cutthroat and mercenary than what I think of Robin Hood’s Merry Band. The story follows the main character from when he is a teenager when he joins the merry band to when he gets a bit older and features some betrayals, murders, robbery, revenge, and other dark deeds.

The main character is engaging, interesting, and well-rounded. The minor characters that encounter the major character are unique, and each of them do something to add the story and propel the story forward. Each of the minor characters is dangerous, unreliable, untrustworthy, and compelling.

The story flowed from the beginning to end for the most part, but there are some small dead spots in the middle of the book. The dead spots, though, were not too bad because I was still immersed in the story.

I am really looking forward to reading the second novel in The Covenant of Steel series.

I rate Pariah 5 stars.

I would like to thank Mr. Ryan, Orbit, and Net Galley for the free ARC.

Objectively, I think this is a solid fantasy novel. There are really three parts to it, which I have integrated as Sherwood, Shawshank, and War. They are quite distinct in plot and tone, only really keeping between themselves as a common thread the main character and narrator Alwyn Scribe, the Pariah of the book title. I, unfortunately, could not figure out how to go into more specifics without major spoilers.

I found each section enjoyable in its own right. There is a lot to unpack by the end of the book, and this formula allows the worldbuilding to progress from the inside out at a reasonable pace. The world of the Covenant of Steel is a bloody one, very much falling under the category of grimdark. Feudal lords are feuding and scheming with little regard for the peasantry ("churls") they lord over. A centralized religion based on a close equivalent of catholic saints is fanning the flames of conflict while clearly mired in corruption. The inevitable wild men in the North, and mystics in the South, are competing for supremacy in the background. Amidst all that Alwyn leads us from one crisis to the next, as recounted from the point of view of his obviously older (and still alive) self.

As an introduction to a new world, this works great. I honestly cannot tell where this is going next, if the tale is going to continue to fork out in unexpected genres or if we are converging toward something a little more classic if epic in scale. Regardless, I'm extremely eager to find out where Ryan takes us in the next instalment.

Thank you Orbit and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Well lets just jump right into this. As we can all see I had a vastly different reaction to this story in comparison to others who have read this. This is actually my first full length novel by Anthony Ryan, but not my first foray into his writing, I am actually reading his novella series The Seven Swords, and I enjoy them. So I figured I would enjoy this as well since I had been wanting to read a longer story of his, but alas this did not work for me, this actually proved to me that I prefer his short story telling over his long.

To start, that tag line by Mr. Gwynne is full of lies and I say that in the nicest way possible. This was not full of vengeance and betrayal. This is why I do not read them and take them with a grain of salt.

The Pariah reads like its historical fiction and not fantasy, and while there is absolutely nothing wrong with historical fiction, I actually enjoy the genre, when I am in the mood for it, but this being pitched as fantasy with such minuscule feels of fantasy made it a tough read to get immersed into. I kept waiting for that fantastical element to pop up but nothing ever did. This lead to me being very bored with the story, it felt like it took ages to get through the chapters and I found myself more times then not becoming sleepy because it felt like so very little happening even though a lot was happening, it just wasn't presented in an engaging manner. Towards the end and I say this with all grace and honesty I started actively avoiding picking it up because I knew I was not enjoying it and could tell nothing was going to make this turn around for me. I even dropped my rating after finishing, I was originally leaning towards a 3.

The most frustrating bit for me comes from the fact that the story shifts drastically from how it starts out. When starting out you are lead to believe that this is going to be a tale of Alwyn getting revenge for his fallen outlaws, a betrayal of the deepest kind, and a tale of two men, a true king and false king fighting for control, and some how Alywn will become entwined in this, and part one even ends on this note. But once part two got going slowly that story-line started to fall to the wayside and the religious story-line with the Covenant, the Seraphile, the scourge and malecite took over and everything that part one set up, just feels completely lost and forgotten. Sure at times its mentioned that Alwyn still wants his revenge and a few moments are taken to bring that part of the story back into play but its very short lived and then quickly removed from the forefront again but even after awhile that stops.

I enjoyed the start of the tale immensely, all the moments of going through Alwyn being part of the outlaws was interesting and engaging. We learned how he came to be part of the crew, where he stood, what their punishments were like under the Outlaw king. The whole Outlaw king portion was so interesting and it ended way to quickly and it was set up to make you feel like it was important but it really wasn't, it was just filler to move the start of the story along, and that is so frustrating as it was the most interesting part. I wanted to know who betrayed who, and its of course reveled so far late in the story after having felt like it was forgetting about that I no longer cared, nor believed it when it was told yet Alywn was like "yup okay that checks out because now I'm more focused on being obsessed with Evadine" and then that's it for the revenge plot line.

I don't care for religious plots, so that in of itself was not interesting for me but I can handle it as a side plot, but in this tale it was slow, and felt dragged out and a lot of the time confusing, and its heavily focused on, its clearly the main plot, not the stuff that went on with the outlaw king.

The story is also told from Alwyn's pov in 1st person, and once again I am coming to conclusion that this style is my least favorite. It does nothing for the larger cast of characters. We only get to see one side of everyone because we are only seeing them through Alwyn's eyes and while they each had their own personalities none of them shined or stood out because they only acted one way, which was the way Alwyn claimed they acted. You never get to see their full reactions to any of the situations, you never get to see the more complex sides of any of them. I enjoyed the first meeting with Ayin, that was wild and unexpected, but aside from that nothing drew me to anyone. To add more frustration all of this led me to I feel nothing for anyone, some other reviews talk about the heartbreak this conjured and I being the sensitive little lady that I am, felt no heartbreak for anyone. The deaths felt flat, and some where mentioned in passing that you didn't get time to take them in, outside of that death is so prevalent that it left nothing to be hurt about.

The reason for the lower rating was the absolute off the wall and straight out of left field take on Alywn being in love with a certain character. This is just randomly thrown at you at the end with zero build up, zero evidence that it was ever a factor and its presented like it was always there. It was jarring, off putting and instantly grated on my nerves. I have a feeling what kind of "love" this is going to turn into, but the lack of build up to it makes it fall completely in the realm of "wtf".

The last bit is the magic.. at least I think its magic, its never really stated if there is or isn't magic. There is talk of witches with gifts, but of course they are heathens and its presented in manner that leads on to believe its just false rumors flying around. Evadine has visions.. The closest thing to magic that appears is all related to the Sack Witch and its not until the end that it starts to make you think "oh look there is magic in this world"

The good of this story falls into the writing, while it was long and at times exasperating it is the writing of someone who has clearly been doing this for a long time. It easy to picture what is going on based on descriptions and the battle/fight scenes are well thought out and constructed wonderfully. I'm not big into structure battlement fights, I find them boring and they are used in this and while I did not like them I can say they where written with knowledge and managed to portray what was happening. Although the world is kind of bland and boring, nothing new and exciting,

All in all, this just was not the story for me, and i'll probably not pick up book 2.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was another good story from Anthony Ryan. I’m a fan, and was very excited to see a new book from him, and I was not disappointed. Alwyn Scribe is front and center in this latest book, the start of a new series. He’s an interesting protagonist because he doesn’t try to place himself as a hero. He’s shrewd and clever, and generally puts his “heroic” behavior in the category of bad judgement. But, his capable mind sees him in the middle of historic events next to the figures of legend. We get to read what he saw in while in their shadows, because the entire book is written as if Scribe is looking back on his life and giving an account. I rather like that perspective because you readily get the sense of Alwyn’s wry sense of humor, and the foreshadowing is literally everywhere as he hints at decisions that prove disastrous and chance encounters that are anything but. Ryan, of course, captures a layered world rife with conflict and secrets that pulls you in. All in all, another fantasy read that you should definitely grab at the first chance you get, rather you’ve ever read Ryan before or not.

My first by this author and it didn’t disappoint in the beginning. However I am DNFing this book at 25%. Couldn’t follow the story and was not for me due to the writing style choice of a first person narrative. It may work for others but I was not keen on the story as I struggled to connect with what was happening.

Low 4 stars.

I struggled with the first half of this book. I considered dnf'ing it many times. Ultimately, I'm glad I pushed through and finished The Pariah because it had a very promising ending.

For the first 300 pages, I couldn't get myself to care about anything that was happening. The world building didn't immerse me. The plot didn't intrigue me and I found the characters quite boring. We were supposed to see our main character as very smart but it wasn't convincing.

After I passed that 300 mark, things have gotten significantly better. I was super intrigued and I finally started to see where the plot was going. The characters became more interesting. The world expended and we got a deeper look into the political climate. I didn't want this book to end!

Thank you to Orbit for an early galley! I'm eagerly awaiting book two.

Anthony Ryan's The Pariah launches his new Covenant of Steel series. At first it has the feel of a dark fantasy re-telling of Robin Hood, then introduces a lead reminiscent of Joan of Arc, and becomes a very different story.

Born in a whorehouse, Alwyn grows up among forest outlaws in the kingdom of Albermaine. After they are betrayed, Alwyn is sent to the horrific Pit Mines, where he becomes Alwyn Scribe.

There's a great deal of violence, as well as dark magic, along the way and many die .As this episode ends, Alwyn comes full circle, back to forest outlawry. Fans will be anxious for more, as I am.

The Pariah is the first entry in a new series by Anthony Ryan. It follows Alwyn Scribe, an outlaw who lives in the woods with his comrades. However, a betrayal sets him on a new path filled with blood and vengeance.

I’d like to thank Orbit Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel. Unfortunately for me it was a DNF. I got to 22% which is about 120ish pages in, so I can only talk about that first 22%. I definitely think that this was well-written and the character work stuck me in this portion as pretty good, for the main character at least. However, this is written in first person POV, and because I didn’t connect with or particularly like the MC, I really struggled to get to 22%. This was incredibly character focused to start, and while there was nothing that particularly upset me or that I felt was wrong, it just felt a lot more gritty and crass than I cared for. The MC didn’t even feel gray exactly, he just felt like a skeezy guy and I didn’t care to read about him.

Because this was a review copy, I tried to push through, but I hit the point that I knew it would just be a hate read if I continued. I do recommend this book if you like morally questionable main characters, don’t mind a single POV for that questionable person, and like gritty character-driven stories.

This will be posted to my goodreads with no rating. I do not rate my DNFs, but I am giving the book 3 stars on NetGalley's review platform because I do think that this is something that just didn't work for me personally, but that a lot of others will enjoy.

The Pariah by Anthony Ryan is the first novel in The Covenant of Steel, an all new epic fantasy trilogy introducing a perilous yet compelling journey through the eyes of an outlaw.

“Paths to walk, fates to meet.”

The story centers around Alwyn Scribe, an outlaw raised in the kingdom of Albermaine. Thrown out of the only home he knew as a young boy, he found a home in the freedom of the woods with a band of thieves. Alwyn, now a young man, finds himself on a new path after an act of betrayal against his band of outlaws occurs. He is forced to leave the woods behind and embark on a journey fighting for his freedom in the name of vengeance. From outlaw to soldier, Alwyn sets his sight on delivering justice to all those who harmed the people closest to him.

“All revolts begin with a spark that births a flame.”

With a prose and narrative style that is dark, brave and full of spirit, The Pariah features politics, religion, myths, and battle scenes. The world building was developed well as we progressed through some interesting places that had a sense of character and an air of mystery in and of itself. The plot is tightly connected to Alwyn’s quest for justice and vengeance. The places he journeys to are often influenced by others he has met along the way. Despite being an outlaw, I loved how he was always open to acquiring new (and finer) skills to help aid his survival and learned as much as he could from others during the months and years he was sometimes forced, and other times voluntarily staying put. It’s fascinating to see how a sequence of events and the people who come across Alwyn’s path could lead to a turn of events from an outlaw to a soldier in the king’s army.

“Understanding should bring wisdom,” she told me. But it will be drowned if you surrender to the indulgence of wrath.”

The Pariah is full of characters to both love and hate. Alwyn is such a well written character who is full of complexity. Many of the supporting characters, including the villainous, evil forces, do feel one dimensional; serving as a player for Alwyn’s character to develop against. It’s not a negative for me, but after recently finishing a line of books featuring multiple povs, The Pariah didn’t feel as robust in the depth of overall growth and dynamics for the other characters. I think having only Alwyn’s pov was a little limiting for me personally. I felt neutral towards the other characters. As I said before, it’s not a negative and did not impact how I felt about the story overall because I do love how we experienced everything as Alwyn did and I think this story benefited from being told from only his perspective.

Overall, a fantastic start to a series. Alwyn is a character who stays with you long after you turn the final page. His journey is one of justice, transition, morality, and definement. Thank you to Orbit Books for providing me with an advanced readers copy via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

<i>ARC acquired by Orbit via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

<b>“The life of a pariah can be as meaningful as that of a king.”</b>

<i>The Pariah</i> follows the journey of Alwyn Scribe from bastard-born outlaw, thieving with a notorious band of misfits, to warrior, following noble-woman Evadine Courlain, commander of in the royal army. The first 15% of this book was quite boring and slow paced. I didn’t become invested in the story until around chapter seven, when an act of betrayal sparks Alwyn’s revenge story.

This was my first book by Anthony Ryan, and I was not disappointed even through this isn’t the typical fantasy I read. The description can be a bit misleading in its mention of dark forces and demonic apocalypse. Evadine’s visions didn’t strike me as demonic in any way. They foretell the coming of the Second Scourge. The magic in this story is not at the forefront either. It’s barely mentioned at all until you meet a character known as the Sack Witch. It is not a story steeped in magic and adventure but instead, it focuses on Alwyn’s quest for vengeance as he moves through capture after capture until he finally finds a place in the royal army. Religion plays a heavy role in the politics surrounding this story, so if that’s something that you aren’t interested in, know going in, that the second half of the book heavily centers on it. This is a very character driven story, specifically Alwyn’s character as he figures out where he belongs in this world of outlaws and knights.


This story is told like a memoir, where Alwyn is telling the reader about his journey. There are times when the reader is addressed directly, and I found that to be a bit distracting as it took me out of story because of how infrequent it appears. Because we are following Alwyn’s journey, I felt we didn’t get enough time with some of the side characters that were just as interesting as Alwyn. I would have liked to see more of Toria and the Sack Witch. There were times when Toria’s character is absent for chapters at a time even though she’s within the same space as Alwyn.

Overall, I enjoyed this first installment to a new series, and I will definitely continue on with the series and look into Anthony Ryan’s other works.

<b>“Cowardice had always felt like a redundant concept to one born to a day-to-day struggle for mere survival.”</b>

<i> The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication. </i>

3.5

The Pariah by Anthony Ryan is an outlaw epic fantasy tale that will leave readers eager for the next book. The author’s love of medieval history shines through, as his storytelling transports you into the world of the Covenant of Steel series.

The main character of the story, Alwyn Scribe, has a very trying journey over the course of the book. Alwyn’s story is one of survival. Loss has colored his time in the world, and he perseveres by focusing on the promise of vengeance against those who betrayed him. His travels take him to a variety of places, from the right hand of the Outlaw King to service in the army of a religious martyr (akin to Joan of Arc). Alwyn’s ability to leverage knowledge as power is unique in the story, especially for one so young. For example, his intelligence and ability to gather information for the Outlaw King earned him the title of “The Fox”. His knowledge of religious scripture affords him better treatment in prison and paves the way for his scribe training. I admire how Alwyn made the best of very difficult situations and stayed alive when so many others perished.

My favorite part of the book was Ryan’s prose. His writing is so vivid that I caught myself wincing when I imagined the sound of bones breaking and getting excited as I imagined the clanging of steel swords during the battle moments. The use of antiquated words like churls, palaver, tupped, and billeted helped immerse me into the medieval setting too.

I feel this book could improve the pacing of the story in the first third of the book (the initial 200 pages or so). I caught myself flipping through pages to figure out how long it would be till the next action scene. I realize that the author had a lot of work to do with character development and world-building, but it took too long for my taste. I’m glad I persevered past this and finished the story, as the last two-thirds of the book are amazing.

As a warning, there are a lot of gory scenes in this book (beheadings, whippings, and hangings just to name a few). I would not recommend this book if you have a weak stomach or you are a younger reader. But if you’re a mature reader of fantasy who doesn’t mind some quiet moments in a book of roughly 600 pages, then The Pariah is the book for you.

If you like grim dark fantasy you should read this book. It’s the story of a whoreson who was a bandit, pit miner and scribe. It’s told in his view and he’s a sympathetic character. It’s a very medieval world and you can just about smell the filth, blood and poverty coming off the pages. Despite that he’s a sympathetic character. He’s loyal to his friends and isn’t unnecessarily cruel. Even his loyalty to a bandit is reasonable. What’s a cast off boy supposed to do in a setting like that? It’s steal or starve. Very well written but very dark. Not for the faint of heart or of stomach.

3.5

I’ve been wanting to read from Anthony Ryan for years and was excited to hear he was starting a new series with outlaws, betrayal and vengeance but unfortunately I had some mixed feelings about the Pariah.

The book was told in a very interesting way. The main character narrates by recounting his past and would give you insight/foreshadowing at the end of chapters of what was yet to come, sort of like a memoir style story through first person point of view.

Perhaps this is why I had some issues with the pacing. I found it to be choppy and felt like it jumped around a lot. I found when I would just finally start to get used to the new situations the main character was in and enjoy them, the plot and tone would suddenly change. Which was, at times, disorienting.

Religion was seen throughout the book but played a heavier role towards the second half. I’m used to seeing religion in my fantasy books but wasn’t expecting it to be so prevalent in this one.

I thought that there would be more fantasy elements in the book but it ended up feeling more like a historical fiction with rare moments of magic. However, in the scenes where the fantasy elements were featured, I was very absorbed and interested to find out what was going to happen next. These rare scenes were definitely my favourite parts of the book and I hope they are featured more in the sequels.

The author writes his characters in a way where he gives you just enough information to find the characters interesting but not enough information to truly get to know them and understand their motivations/loyalties. Again, this is most likely due to the narrative style. This, combined with the harsh world, makes it so it’s hard to trust anyone but also sometimes makes it difficult to get attached to characters. Overall, I enjoyed how the characterization was done but just wished we had more information/backstory for a few characters to be able to connect more.

This was my introduction to Anthony Ryan and even though it wasn’t exactly the story I was hoping it to be, I’m still excited to pick up some of his other books, which is really good considering I own most of them.

The bastard son of a duke, Alwyn was abandoned in the woods as a child only to be picked up and raised by a band of outlaws. He’s led a life of misfortune, killing and thieving, ... and yet somehow, he manages to cheat the hangman's noose each time.

Now, as luck or fate would have it, he’s finds himself caught in the midst of civil war and fighting under the banner of a noblewoman who claims that she foresees a second demon scourge unless the imposter king is dethroned.

The Pariah by Anthony Ryan introduces the first in a gripping new grimdark epic fantasy series called the Covenant of Steel.

I have to admit, this is a book that grew on me. The beginning of the story feels slow and unfocused and was a chore for me to get through. I nearly DNF’ed this book. However, I’m glad I persevered because around the quarter mark, the story finally hits its stride and I was fully invested.

I think for me, the key selling point is how well-written and complex its characters are. They’re flawed and morally grey and all have their own ulterior motives. Then, of course, there’s our main character: Alwyn. He's wry and cunning and cynical, but a small part of him also does secretly want to believe in legends and prophesies. He's perhaps an unreliable narrator as well since the story is framed as him transcribing his account of events to the reader.

All in all, if you’re looking for a quintessential grimdark fantasy filled with backstabbing, clashing religions, and a waste witch, I recommend picking up The Pariah.

This was the first and only book I have read by Anthony Ryan. I am wishing I had started with something else because now I have to wait until the sequel (s) to this book come out!

This book has everything you could want. A creative plot, interesting characters; ones you will love and ones you will hate. Plot twists, good guys, bad guys and you don't always know who is who or who will change to become something else. Laughs even.
I loved this book. I wish I hadn't read it so fast.

This was a fun read. I feel like the storytelling was absolutely wonderful, so incredibly atmospheric. It felt a little like game of thrones, which is a compliment. It did not necessarily have a similar plot, but I feel like the writing and storytelling style are quite similar. It was really engaging and intriguing. The only issue I had Was that I found the characters to be difficult to care for. They weren't bad. I actually think they were pretty well written and decently complex. I just did not overly care if they died. However, I feel like this issue will be quickly remedied If this becomes a series as we will then have more exposure.

Written from the first person perspective of Alwyn Scribe- an orphaned boy taken in by an outlaw band and raised among murderers and thieves- The Pariah reads as a memoir of his life after a betrayal leaves him ripped away from the life he had known since he was a child.
      First things first, this book is written in first person, single character pov so the reader's enjoyment hinges mainly on how much they enjoy Alwyn as a narrator- and while there were moments in which he addresses the reader directly which I personally found to be a bit immersion breaking- I did find that I enjoyed his character and perspective quite a bit. Alwyn is- what I would consider to be- a unique main character in the fantasy realm in the fact that he is often shown to be more of a scholar than a fighter. This does mean that there aren't many action-heavy battle scenes within the book, but that isn't something that I would personally consider to be a negative as I feel that this choice lended to a better characterization of Alwyn as well as the many well-written and developed characters that surrounded him.
      This is definitely a "minimum fantasy" fantasy book, as aside from some sparse mentions and demonstrations of magic and lore, there aren't really many fantasy elements at play within the story, which at times left me feeling as though I was reading a historical account rather than a work of fantasy- which I suppose from the realm of this book, I technically was. Personally, that wasn't something that bothered me too much, but it did leave me hoping that Anthony Ryan explores the magic of prophecy- which seemed to be hinted at being a titular part of the story as a whole- in the upcoming books. Another point to touch on when discussing this book is the heavy themes of religion within the story, which is the main foundation for the lore and world building and one of the things that I can forsee being a turn off for potential readers who pick up this book without looking into it ahead of time. It was an element of the book which I thought was done very well and added a lot of depth to the world, but I understand that there are many readers that prefer fantasy religions to be just a minor element of world building rather than being an active contributer to the plot and story.
      The writing style was pretty easy to get into, and the grimdark setting was something that I enjoyed and would reccomend to fans of authors such as Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie, and George R.R. Martin. It wasn't overly wordy and flowery while also not being sparse and vauge to the point where there was no understanding of what was going on. This was my first introduction to Anthony Ryan's writing and I'm happy to say that it piqued my interest not only for the next book in The Convent of Steel, but for anything else that he has published right now. The Pariah is definitely a book that I will be reccomending for anyone looking for a grimdark story that doesn't lean too heavy on the fantasy elements of the genre and I look forward to seeing how the next books expand upon the world and the journey of Alwyn Scribe.

3/5 stars! Guess who binged another book, me! I read it through the night and this is a great start to a new epic fantasy series.

It did take me at least 150 pages to get into the story, but once I did, oh man, this novel takes you on a journey. There’s lots of amazing action scenes, prophecies, and political intrigue.

We mainly follow the story through the eyes of Alwyn Scribe, an outlaw. After a sudden betrayal, he finds himself working under a noblewoman's command. We get to see his journey and growth as he goes from an outlaw to a knight.

Alwyn is such a complex character, he’s cunning and resourceful (due to his time with the outlaws), and naive at times. He’s susceptible to being manipulated, yet he’s intelligent. There’s also Toria, a character that I loved, her interactions with Alwyn are funny. Toria is fierce and a loyal friend to Alwyn. Of course, we also have the noblewoman Evadine, who has visions of an upcoming apocalypse.

The reason I dropped a star was due to the large amounts of religion talks in fantasy. I do like there being some in the novel, but I felt like I was being preached at, forcibly. There was just too much, I had to force myself to read through those parts. But other than that, the novel is written in 1st person POV. I generally dislike it in other books, but it worked here!

If you’re looking for a new fantasy epic, with grimdark elements, vague magic, and lots of great action, please pick this up. It’s releasing on August 24th!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Orbit for giving me an e-arc of the book in exchange for an honest review.

My Thoughts
I went into this book super excited to read my first book from Ryan. It has outlaws, betrayals, and a vengeance arc in it, what’s not to love?!

I have a few bones to pick but want to get into what I did enjoy first.
My favorite, shining star of this book was Toria. She brought me the most joy out of all the characters and is who I would be the most interested in learning more about in subsequent books. While she isn’t our main character, she did consistently make me chuckle when she showed up on the page.

A close second is Ayin, who has a sharp edge to her, but can also be very ignorant to the world around her. Think of a deer caught in the headlights, who also knows how to wield a knife, and you’ve got Ayin.

Then we have Alwyn. I really wanted to love him, but something just didn’t click for me. He’s an outlaw, he’s been betrayed, and just goes through it in the first chunk of this book if we’re being honest. But something just made me not enjoy reading his journey. Maybe it’s because through a 600+ page book, I never really got to know him. Sure, we must leave some mystery to his character for future books, but I just didn’t get to connect to him at all.

It also never helps when I have to hear about a teenage boy being lust filled every time we meet another female character. It’s a big no from me.

The pacing of this book starts off really strong, and tips at about the 30% mark, and then everything seems to move in slow motion. This book sets us up for a lot to come, and almost felt like a prequel should. It has a ton of exposition, and what feels like a lot of filler right now. In first books in a series you expect a lot of worldbuilding, but it ended up feeling a bit like a history textbook without any payoff. I found my mind wandering through pages of Alwyn’s internal monologue, with a very small amount of actual dialogue to break it up.

Overall, I went in expecting to love this because the premise sounds great, and I usually love following a single character throughout a vast adventure. It missed the mark due to its glacial pacing, lack of Alwyn’s character depth, and exposition that seemed to come without a payoff.


Overall (TLDR)
I know this book has (and will continue) to find an audience who loves it. I’d recommend it to those who want a new fantasy series to truly immerse themselves in with a slow plot and a lot of information. I’m bummed that I didn’t enjoy this as much as I was hoping, but I’ll always be honest in my reviews. I’d rate this a 2.5/5 but rounded up to rate via Goodreads and Netgalley.

Thank you as always to Orbit for the copy to review! This has in no way altered my opinions.

This book has the potential to be good, but it's a such slog to get through. It took me way longer than I care to admit to finish this book, and I'm still not sure I followed along with all of the plot lines.