Buying Options
Print List Price: | $18.99 |
Kindle Price: | $9.99 Save $9.00 (47%) |
Sold by: | Hachette Book Group Price set by seller. |
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

![The Pariah (The Covenant of Steel Book 1) by [Anthony Ryan]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41RA+ledmwS._SY346_.jpg)
The Pariah (The Covenant of Steel Book 1) Kindle Edition
Price | New from | Used from |
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
$0.00
| Free with your Audible trial |
Audio CD, CD, Unabridged
"Please retry" | $24.90 | — |
The Pariah begins a new epic fantasy series of action, intrigue and magic from Anthony Ryan, a master storyteller who has taken the fantasy world by storm.
Born into the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised as an outlaw. Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the freedom of the woods and the comradeship of his fellow thieves. But an act of betrayal sets him on a new path - one of blood and vengeance, which eventually leads him to a soldier's life in the king's army.
Fighting under the command of Lady Evadine Courlain, a noblewoman beset by visions of a demonic apocalypse, Alwyn must survive war and the deadly intrigues of the nobility if he hopes to claim his vengeance. But as dark forces, both human and arcane, gather to oppose Evadine's rise, Alwyn faces a choice: can he be a warrior, or will he always be an outlaw?
"This makes a rich treat for George R.R. Martin fans." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
For more from Anthony Ryan, check out:
Raven's Shadow Trilogy
Blood Song
Tower Lord
Queen of Fire
Raven's Blade Duology
The Wolf's Call
The Black Song
The Draconis Memoria Trilogy
The Waking Fire
The Legion of Flame
The Empire of Ashes
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherOrbit
- Publication dateAugust 24, 2021
- File size3334 KB
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
- One of the curses suffered by the intelligent is the power of imagination, for a clever mind will explore the dark possibilities with far more dedication than the bright.Highlighted by 108 Kindle readers
- However, the principal lesson he would teach me in very short order would be this: all ambition is folly when it fails to be matched by reason.Highlighted by 94 Kindle readers
- There are things folk will voice to strangers they would never confess to friends or family, for a stranger’s judgement matters little.Highlighted by 72 Kindle readers
Editorial Reviews
Review
About the Author
Anthony Ryan is the author of the Ravens Shadow novels, including Blood Song, Tower Lord, and Queen of Fire. He lives in London, where he is at work on his next book.
--This text refers to the audioCD edition.Product details
- ASIN : B08PV49R1G
- Publisher : Orbit (August 24, 2021)
- Publication date : August 24, 2021
- Language : English
- File size : 3334 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 609 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #15,338 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #77 in Action & Adventure Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- #184 in Dark Fantasy Horror
- #233 in Dark Fantasy
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Anthony Ryan is the New York Times best selling author of the Raven's Shadow epic fantasy novels as well as the Slab City Blues science fiction series. He was born in Scotland in 1970 but spent much of his adult life living and working in London. After a long career in the British Civil Service he took up writing full time after the success of his first novel Blood Song, Book One of the Raven's Shadow trilogy. He has a degree in history, and his interests include art, science and the unending quest for the perfect pint of real ale. For news and general wittering about stuff he likes, check out Anthony's blog at: anthonyryan.net.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2021
-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
by Anthony Ryan
A dynamic new RPG series that allow political science to be commented on. The book looks into the role of a hero, how he sees himself and how the world sees him. The main character faces hard conflicting situations that allows him to find villainy and heroism in each choice. the sad commentary of how politics can color perceptions of individual actions.
Cheers for Mr. Ryan. What a ride
After my enjoyment of the writing, I have to note, this almost feels like three novels condensed here into one novel. There's a lot of forward movement going on with big changes in scenery and background characters.
Alwyn Scribe is an interesting character in that while he starts off as a clever rogue, a 'chance' encounter with a witch puts him down a different path that may entangle him in the affairs of 'his betters'.
There were multiple surprises in the book and things didn't always flow as one would think which IMO, is a good thing. It's pleasant to be surprised.
The book ends on a hell of a cliffhanger though so be read to buy the next volume immediately after finishing.
Top reviews from other countries

The main character is Alwyn, the illegitimate son of a prostitute. Fleeing for his life at an early age, he finds himself in the company of thieves, robbers and murderers in an outlaw band living in the forest. Here he grows and learns his skills in life. Alwyn is content to live amongst the lowest of society until his life takes a sudden twist. Betrayal abruptly results in a dramatic change in Alwyn's life. What follows is Alwyn working his way up, becoming a warrior in a bloody quest for vengeance.
For some reason, I struggled to get into the book at the start; however, I was very soon engrossed in the story. Pages flew past as I sunk into the mesmerising tale. The biggest problem with the story is the delay till the next book in the series. The plot flows smoothly for the most part. As expected from the author of the blood song, the world-building is phenomenal. Similar to blood song, the story is from the protagonists perspective.
The characters have depth; the protagonist, Alwyn, is noted for his intelligence early in the book. Organically this lends to deeper introspection and thought. Women are fascinating and brought to life, unsurprising given the strong female leads in previous books. Throughout a journey set in a medieval world, a variety of individuals appear at pivotal moments. Each one changes Alwyn's life, and thus the story. Magic, surprisingly, is barely present. The tale takes life through the heroes journey. A path through a landscape influenced by faith, politics and battle. Fight scenes are vivid and enchanting, a marked improvement. Maybe Anthony has taken lessons from John Gwynne, whose quote graces the amazon page.
This is a brilliant book and a great start to a new series. Recommended and worth buying.

One of my favourite aspects of this story is the writing style. Alwyn himself is chronicling his story to the reader and I always enjoy this kind of style. It makes it feel more personal and immediate, especially when he speaks directly to us. There is also some great prose in here and so many quotable lines. If I weren't so immersed in the story I would have stopped to write them down.
This is very much a character centred story around Alwyn, but there are plenty of interesting secondary characters too and I was so captivated by the journey and the people Alwyn meets along the way. I really enjoyed his observations of the world around him and of his wit and intellect, although sometimes his recklessness gets in the way of his good sense.
I didn't read the synopsis first, which I'm glad of because it's actually quite spoilery in my opinion. My advice would be to avoid it if possible. So for me, the story went in some very unexpected directions which I loved. The ending opened up some fascinating possibilities to my imagination and I'm looking forward to seeing where Ryan decides to take Alwyn in the sequel.

There's everything in it - realistic fights, melees, witch craft, bad men, good people - the lot. And the main character developing, flaws and all.
And then there's the forest ...
Must we really wait for another year for the next instalment?

