“The Martyr” continues the tale author Ryan started in “The Pariah” in this gripping second part of “The Covenant of Steel” trilogy. If you’re looking for a story that engages all of your senses, this one will do it. The sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile feel of battle, travel, and dreams (among other things) come to life here.

The characters are complex, even down to passing tertiary people who briefly appear once (I’m looking at you, former drover). The world-building is likewise notable for its depth of detail. Interactions between characters kept me from growing bored, as I sometimes do when an author is trying to take the reader somewhere quickly. Ryan avoids expediency and his story benefits from that.

“The Martyr” earned every one of the five stars I have rated it. I rate Ryan a very close second to John Gwynn in his ability to draw me into the story. I am sad that book three is not yet available to my greedy eyes. My most sincere thanks to Orbit.

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Primarily read the physical copy. Used this to supplement night reading.

This is a solid sequel that will please anyone who loved the Pariah. Once again, the characters and prose were strong. I tend to enjoy revenge stories, but it's a very classic fantasy trope. I like this series but it's too classic and tropey in order for me to truly love it.

If you enjoy a very familiar fantasy narrative then this will likely be one you'll really enjoy.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the author.

The Martyr is a thrilling up to the first book in this series, The Pariah. Alwyn the Scribe remains an interesting, flawed protagonist and his fellow soldiers in the Covenant Company are good foils to Alwyn's tricksy, cynical ways. Two events have received a lot of build-up in this series: the clash between King Tomas and the Pretender, and Alwyn's recording of the Pretender's testament. It was somewhat frustrating that both the last battle between Tomas as well as the Pretender's testament are somewhat glossed over. That being said, I enjoyed the lore for the Caerhir, the Sack Witch, and what passes for magic (or maybe technology?) in this world. I hope we finally figure out what's going on with the Malecite in the next book.

The Martyr
by Anthony Ryan
World building story adding to the Pariah edition of the series, this book shows the continued adventure of the book and develops not only the world but also the characters. Adding to the problems and elaborative adventure of the story, adding to the ability of the reader to learn about Ryan's world, but also the problems that it faces. Featured as an adventure novel, this book will relate to RPG audience.

The Martyr continues the Covenant of Steel series and book two thoroughly satisfies and is just terrific!! The journey of Alwyn Scribe with the Risen Martyr Evadine continues as they take up the King 's charge to go to Alundia, secure Walvern Castle and fight the local heretics. There are difficulties aplenty including assassins, a derelict castle to repair and plots and secrets to uncover all the while trying to train people who have never fought before. There are battles and skirmishes throughout, new friends, new enemies and new secrets and reveals that change so much in Alwyn's world. My favorite section is when Alwyn stays in the land of the Caerith and his friendship with Lilit and the relationship he has with Roulgarth is wonderful. And while numerous threads are brought to conclusion, the ending sets up book three so well and I cannot wait to see how it all gets wrapped up. This book cements this series as an epic fantasy must read!!

Thanks to Orbit Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

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

The Martyr brings us back to the world of Alwyn Scribe, now firmly ensconced as a confidante to a religious icon, a far cry from his youth growing up as an outlaw. Ryan always creates characters with rich backstory and layers, giving them real depth that I look for in a fantasy novel. Alwyn holds true to this as he navigates his new life balancing loyalty to the woman who taught him so much and the woman he is now following into the fray. There’s action, intrigue, and an ancient fallen civilization haunting Alwyn’s steps. Where those steps lead will be another interesting journey.

Huge thanks and appreciation to the author (Anthony Ryan) and publisher (Orbit) for the opportunity to read and review an advanced review copy. As a little background, The Pariah was one of my top three favorite reads from 2021, coming in at second from a pool of over 100+ books read for the year. I loved reading about Alwyn's path from outlaw to soldier. It's safe to say that The Martyr was one of my, if not the, most anticipated releases for 2022.

"You saved the Risen Martyr," he taunted, his voice taking on a sing-song cadence. "And made a world of corpses..."

I absolutely loved how the story began. It was so smart and cleverly executed. I immediately wanted to... no, scratch that, needed to continue reading. "I presume upon your good graces to not judge this poor scholar for merely stating the Scribe' falsehoods. Rest assured my soul remains unsullied by heresy. " The story does pick up right where we left off at the conclusion of book one.

As a reader, I find myself gravitating towards books with religious themes, faith, and fervent worship. The Pariah met those expectations and The Martyr raised the bar. This sequel is one of Ryan's best work to date. The Martyr is filled with vicious feuds, ancient spells, rebellions, siege warfare, action, and prophecies.. There is little magic throughout this series so far but heavy on the religious themes..

The plot and characters are all seamlessly written. Alwyn Scribe continues to be one of my favorite literary characters in recent times . Evadine does continue to be such a mystery to me but I greatly enjoy her character and unfolding that mystery. Ryan does a fantastic job with writing action and battle scenes that feel like you're right there in the moment.

Overall, ALL THE STARS for this fantastic sequel. Well done! FULL review will be coming to FFA

The writing and plot of this fantasy are pretty great and intriguing. However, I struggle to like the main character at times. He gets so annoying or overly cocky. I can see people liking him and have enjoyed characters with similar traits myself, but I'm just not liking him.

The Martyr continues the epic of former-outlaw Alwyn Scribe as he follows Evadine Courlain, leader of the Covenant Company of the King's army and newly risen from the dead martyr. Having fought the King's enemies back and salvaged their reputation, the Covenant Company is sent on a suicide mission to quell the Duchy of Alundia where Alwyn and his allies will need every shred of their strength and cunning to make it out alive.

To start off, I think this is a great book. It has that great blend of warfare, political intrigue and character development which reminds one of a certain GOT series. I loved how all the different factions in this book had their own agendas and the intrigue that resulted from their interactions like the King and his retinue with the Covenant Company so if you like medieval-type fantasy with political intrigue you will love this book.

The characters are also extremely well written with Alwyn being an interesting protagonist, not quite a hero but coming close as he generally does the right thing by using his history as an outlaw to leverage underhanded tricks and skills to survive. We also get to see him develop into an immensely skilled fighter and leader which is done in a believable and enjoyable way. This book introduces several new characters and they all are well fleshed out and some serve as important/meaningful foils to Alwyn.

Now, onto the not-so good: without giving away any spoilers, the middle of the book drags heavily with Alwyn randomly taken on a journey which seemed irrelevant/unnecessary and was to the least interesting part of the book which I couldn't wait to get through. Also, there are some points in the story which are a little hard to believe and break the immersion slightly. For example, people (including extremely capable ones like the King's sister and his Champion) somehow believe that Alwyn has a supernatural ability to detect lies because he was an outlaw (whut??...). However, these are minor gripes and didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book.

All in all, I think this is a great sequel to The Pariah and am greatly looking forward to the next book in this series!

Final note: The author does a quick recap of the events of the first book in an excellent way without breaking the 4th wall and speaking directly to the reader. Other authors, please do some kind of recap like this when you have an epic with many characters and events; this was extremely helpful in refreshing my memory and allowing me to delve completely into this book.

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

I read and reviewed Pariah, the first novel in The Covenant of Steel series, and rated it five stars.

This review will be spoiler free.

I would characterize Martyr as epic fantasy story that is light on magic and heavy on religious themes.

The world building appears to be of medieval Europe.

Magic System – Magic is a result of religious acts and prophecy.

The main character is engaging, interesting, and well-rounded. He describes himself as a scribe for the significant minor character who is identified as a martyr. The story is told in first person, and I found it to be very immersive as I read the story.

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 interesting and compelling.

The story flowed from the beginning to end and maintained a stead pace. I think the story unfurled organically and I captivated from the start.

I really enjoyed Martyr.

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

I rate Martyr 5 stars.

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

A fantastic sequel to the Pariah, continuing to build the world and fixing a few of the issues I had with the first novel. As to be expected, Alwyn's dialogue is clever and witty, and the relationships he builds with friends and allies are impactful. Can't wait for the next one!

My thanks to Orbit books, Anthony Ryan and Netgalley.
When I first started this series, I absolutely hated it! I'm not sure if I've reflected that in my first review, but? There it is!
The hate didn't last long.
I loved the first book!
This second book?
Yeah, I loved it too!
There is no middle book syndrome here. Matter of fact, it was just as good as the first.
I have no idea where Alwyn goes from here, but I'm so ready for it.

Again, the world and character building in this sequel is astounding. Truly excellent work. If you enjoyed Book 1 this is absolutely a must read. Just when you think you know where the book is going, a twist throws you back and you’re rethinking it again. Excellent read!

The Martyr by Anthony Ryan, Book Two of The Covenant of Steel, picks up where Book One ended.

Alwyn Scribe is still at Lady Evadine’s side as protector and adviser. Aside from her cult-like following, most, including the Crown, believe Lady Evadine and her prophetical visions of the coming of the Second Scourge to be a fraud. So, in a bid to get rid of her, King Tomas sends her on what he believes is a hopeless mission of putting down a rebellion in the Duchy of Alundia. As war threatens to erupt, Alwyn will have to harness his skills as a soldier and, once again, don his outlaw hat.

There’s a handy summary of the events from the first book, plus a character list to help refresh the reader’s memory.

This second instalment solely follows Alwyn’s perspective. I enjoyed the second half much more than the first.

Anthony Ryan excels at crafting fully fleshed characters, whether they are likeable or villainous, or somewhere in between. I missed one particular character from the first book, but maybe she’ll make a reappearance in the final instalment. Besides Alwyn, Lilat might be my second favourite character. Evadine is not a likeable character per se, but it is intriguing to read how different people react to her.

Although this is a fantasy series, magic does not really take centre stage. In the first book, there was a mere glimpse of magic, but it begins to play a slightly larger part in this second book.

I am very curious to know what the next book has in store for these characters.

I’d recommend this series if you enjoy complex historical fantasy full of gritty battle scenes and religious and political maneuverings.

Thank you to Orbit Books for providing me with a copy to review.

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A fantastic tale that takes the intrigue and action of the Pariah and multiplies it to great effect. The first 200 pages involves a lot of battles and goes into great detail about siege warfare before an interlude of about 100 pages where we begin to learn answers to some big questions about Alwyn scribe. The final section again involves lots of action and sets us up for the next book in the series with an ending that shocks you. Now to wait for book 3 of the series.

I enjoyed this much more than the Pariah. A great continuation of the series that made me excited for the next installment!

I liked book one, but this one far surpassed it in my opinion. Anthony ryan has such a gift for writing and story telling and it really shows in this particular series. this made me even more eager to pick up the rest of his works!

The story begins with Evadine Courlain’s claim that she is a Risen Martyr challenged by both king and church. Through some careful maneuvering, she is ultimately recognized as such but then she and the Covenant Company are sent southward to the duchy of Alundia to put down a rebellious duke and the unorthodox belief that has taken root. 

Here we get a fantastic siege set up and some truly excellent battle scenes. Think of men climbing siege ladders only to be furiously hacked down by the soldiers above, deadly arrows in the night picking guards off the battlements, and the tension within as the siege continues. At times I can find extended battle scenes somewhat tedious, but I never find that to be the case with Anthony Ryan’s writing. I’m always compelled to keep turning pages with nary a sign of boredom and perhaps that’s helped by the narration of Alwyn Scribe. I enjoy his narrative voice immensely and the fact that he tells this story in his old age, where he’s reflecting back on his younger days really fascinates me. It leaves me wondering what steps he might have taken to end up such an influential person in history, as the little snippets before each new section imply.

One of my favorite parts of the book was, unsurprisingly Alwyn’s sojourn with the Caerith people. You may recall that the Sack Witch in the first book was one of the Caerith. Ever since she was introduced I was super curious to learn more about her and her people, plus you know, cool magic. I loved this part - it was a nice refreshing break from the continuous battles and it sort of opened the door to the larger scope of things. This story goes beyond kingdoms and duchies, for the Second Scourge is coming.

This was a fantastic sequel that left me hungering for the next book. If you enjoyed the first book, I’m sure you’ll love the sequel just as much. Also, lemme just give a shout out to the cover artist for such a cool looking cover - Alwyn looks like such a badass!

i received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a great read. There are twists and turns aplenty, with enough curveballs to keep you from guessing the destination. The characters are well rounded, but no-one is perfect in this world, and there are enough moral ambiguities to keep things interesting.

a good continuation of the story and plenty more to reveal.

A great continuation of the story Alwyn. Ryan crafts a rich story filled with lands, peoples and conflicts that make the pages turn.