The Pariah

By: Anthony Ryan

Narrated by: Steven Brand

Length: 19 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

"A gritty, heart-pounding tale of betrayal and bloody vengeance. I loved every single word." (John Gwynne)

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.

©2021 Anthony Ryan (P)2021 Orbit

A tale of adventure and intrigue

Anthony Ryan is a superb weaver of stories. Plain and simple. And Steven Brand does a fantastic job telling those stories.
This tale is compelling, with characters full of depth and whose stories are only at their beginning. Ryan writes characters about whom a reader can’t help but care deeply. And his worlds are immersive. This is no different. I’d say this story is better than Draconis Memoria - and on par with the Raven’s Shadow series. So worth the credit.

ryan and brandt are one hell of a team!

excellent story and reading! i love his characters and myths/ancient knowledge. gives the sense of a treasure hunt

Fantastic beginning to a new epic.

Anthony continues putting out a solid core of work. I found the story enthralling and clever. I look forward to book 2.
For those of you listening to the audio book. I don't want to call it a complaint because I like Steve Brand, and feel he reads Anthony's story well. I also cannot picture in my mind Alwyn Scribe or Vaelin AL Sorna being anybody else now. However, Steve's english broque is good for a strong male character of these stereotypes, but not so much when he is portraying a woman or other weaker characters. I find I have to rewind back a lot as I lose focus because Steve never changes his tone between characters......ever. I typically cringe when I see producers go crazy with multiple narrarators though.

Great story.

Haven't read such a good book since blood song. would highly recommend especially if you like his other works.

Good.

The voice for audio book is perfect 👌.

Now for the story, it was enjoyable as a whole. plot was good. My only problem is that the progress in the story isn't as fast paced as I would like. There are moments of action and I'm here for them. half way through the story I wasn't sure if I wanted to read the next book. things get much more interesting once the witch shows up. I look forward to the next book!
4/5 book for me. also I don't read many epics so this was a bit harder for me to get into, but I did! yay!

Excellent plot, excellent narration.

The plot is interesting and action-filled. The narration is nuanced and sublime. I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series.

amazing

I wasn’t a big fan of the waking fire and I haven’t read any of the raven shadow or blade books. But this was so good! Reminds me of Bernard Cornwall Saxon stories in a way but in a fantasy setting. Highly recommend this book!

Great new story

Nice set up- good character development - can’t wait to read the next book. Narration was great as usual

Wine of a story

The story starts slow and makes you assume the path of the book but soon pleasantly surprises you. By the half way mark I was already looking for the sequel. It’s a great book and worth the credit.

Well done.

A very well written and excellently narrated book. Has been awhile since I've read or listened to a novel in a series that I can say I can't wait to start the follow up.