The Pariah

The Pariah is a first-person tale of Alwyn, a young outlaw who is thrown into a maelstrom of hardship, war, and treacherous politicking. It is a book with a lot of depth but one that doesn’t drown you in flowery language or drag its heels too much as it progresses into an engaging, vibrant, and often blindsiding story. The first half might dance at an almost too slow rhythm for my action-addicted mind, but the second half more than makes up for it for those of you with a taste for faster pacing. By the end of this book, I knew that this was going to be one of those series that I fully invest in, and seeing as I immediately began listening to Book 2, I think it's safe to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

So, where to begin? The book is written as an account penned by a much older Alwyn many years after the events within. This style of storytelling is always a bit dangerous, as the author has to dance that fine line of bating their audience with enough titbits of things to come without giving away anything that might count as a spoiler, and I am happy to say that Anthony Ryan managed this expertly. We know (or at least get the impression that) certain vague things are going to happen to certain characters, but only ever in a way that entices us to press on a little further when we thought we were ready to press pause for the day. It’s wonderfully done, and despite knowing that Alwyn must survive in order to write the account, it doesn’t detract from any of the suspense.

What of the characters, you ask? Well, they are wonderfully written. Alwyn starts this tale as just another killer in a band of outlaws, and despite our first introduction to him being the murder of a couple of the king’s soldiers followed by a series of equally deplorable acts, we are still very much on his side throughout. We see all the steps that lead him to take his decisions and all the reasons he has for justifying them. He isn’t a good man, but then he’s had an incredibly hard life, and considering how bad some of his comrades are, Alwyn has actually turned out pretty well. And that brings me on to my next point. Personally, I am more a fan of third-person novels as it gives greater freedom for multiple character perspectives, but Ryan still manages to craft some wonderfully detailed souls to populate his story. An example of this are Alwyn’s aforementioned outlaw companions. To put it bluntly, Ryan was written some truly nasty pieces of work, people who are evil in the truest sense not because they have been forced into darkness or have some greater good to achieve. No, the majority of Alwyn’s companions are just evil, cruel bastards who get off on inflicting pain and misery on other, yet they all have depth, nuances that give each a particular and realistic flavour, no matter how disgusting that flavour is. This in turn makes the acts they commit all the worse. The companions that Alwyn gathers later on in the story are just as well written but thankfully more likeable. There is some truly intelligent character building here, and I am very much a fan.

As for the story, as I mentioned, the start is maybe a little slow. Fantastically written to be sure, but it’s a while before anything big happens. However, by the book’s halfway mark, we are very much in the action, or at least have a well stoked fire under our hides that keeps our attention glued to the content. Another fantastic thing about the story is how unpredictable it is. With so many fantasy novels, you get a rough idea for how the story is going to progress, with the procedural scenes you expect from having absorbed so many other novels. Here though, that is simply not the case. Every time you think the book is about to turn left, it goes right, or more accurately it goes diagonal in a series of unforeseen zigzags that leaves you enwrapped in the story and entirely unable to guess what is coming next. Ryan is also not afraid to kill off characters with little fanfare or remorse. This book really does keep you on your toes. As for the magic within this universe, as with the writing style, it is very subtle. For a lot of the time, we aren’t even sure that there truly is any magic at work in this world, with much of it appearing more superstition and fear. But it is there. Not in your face. Not hurling giant fireballs to keep you attention fixed. It’s quiet, understated, and all the more tantalising for it.  

All in all, this was a great novel. As I said, I already had Book 2 downloaded before I finished Book 1, which to me says far more than any words I might proffer. Although it was lacking that special something which may have given this book one of my very rare Five Star reviews, it’s a dammed close thing. In this case though, I know what that missing something is. I like a little bit of (or occasionally a lot if done correctly) wit and humour in my books, or at least the ones that truly remain embedded in my author’s psyche, but this book has none. That’s not a dig at the novel because it simply isn’t that kind of a book. The characters are serious, the content is serious, and the quality of writing is seriously good. If anything, a bucket load of humour would have ruined the prose, but maybe a light sprinkling could have been allowed? But as usual, I’m nitpicking for negatives in a vast sea of positives. This is a truly good book.

As for narration, now, I’m not too sure how to rate it. The fact is that Steven Brand’s vocal range (at least in this book) is extremely limited. Most of the characters sound more or less the same and there really isn’t much variation. That said, it sort of works for this book in that the entire thing is effectively being told to us by an older Alwyn as he pens the account of his life. Still, I’ve listened to plenty of other such books written in this style, and they still manage to bring a whole host of character voices to their retelling. So in short, I think the narration could have been better.

Score: 4.75 stars

Like the way I write a review? Then you might like the way I write a novel. Link to Book 1 in the Blood and Balance series below, or for more info on my book series click HERE.

Buy 'The Sage's Lot (Blood and Balance, Book 1)' here!