 Anthony Ryan's follow-up to the pariah does everything I wanted it to do. Yes, folks, The Martyr is a quicker paste, more action-heavy novel than its predecessor. Ryan continues to pep a compelling drama in this world of knights and outlaws, at the core of which is the fiery blaze that is the relationship between the anointed lady, Evident Collane, and protagonist Alwyn Scribe. As if that wasn't enough, The Martyr digs much deeper into the mystical side of this fantasy world, by beginning to offer answers to some of the questions that captured my imagination over the span of the Covenants of Steel's first part. If you would like to hear more about the series, don't forget to subscribe! Following the unpleasantness brought about Everdeen's newly acquired religious status as a risen Martyr, the initial trust of The Martyr sees Covenant company making peace not only with the King of Albemaine, but with the Covenant's clergy. This done away with, Everdeen and Alwyn, and the entire company, are ensnared in yet another conflict not of their own making. The Covenant company is sent to the Duchy of Alandir, a far-off province bordering with the Carrot Wild. There they are to root out criminals and heretics. It takes no time at all, before the company is forced to engage in two complex and riveting sieges to read, first in the role of defenders and then as attackers. These are fantastic sequences drawn out and cinematic in underscoring the horrors of war while appealing to read. Each one is punctuated by climaxic encounters, which often both thrill and horrify. Alwyn's character arc is that of a man caught in a whirlwind. His formidable mental faculties allow him to push and prod that whirlwind of religious fervour, but only just. The way Ryan tells Alwyn's story continues to provide ample opportunity for dramatic irony, and the sense of foreboding has built up very clear ideas in all manner of horrific events that might be taking place across the traitor. Old characters make their return. They're joined by several memorable new castmates. Lilat is reminiscent of Toria in her loyalty to Alwyn, but is more than enough her own woman. A skilled carrot hunter and an eager learner, the friendship she strikes with Alwyn, is nine tenths based on a love for learning and only one tenth, and oh look, I've got a dagger at your throat and I'm going to steal your rabbit. Another personal favourite of mine is a ducal commander, a skilled, arrogant, older character who is Alwyn's most competent adversary, and something of a mentor figure. His nephew too left an impression, especially in the slow camaraderie that develops between him and Alwyn on the battlefield and off of it. Come to think of it, some of the best character work in all the book is to be observed across an interlude about halfway through the novel. When Alwyn, true know-which of his own, is forced to step well beyond his life and duties. This section also establishes the historic weight of the world, and these are the ways in which magic functions, or at least functioned, across it. Corruption is a slow process, and it is fascinating to watch the justifications. The Anointed Lady and her closest confidant are starting to make as this process moves inexorably forward. With a final revelation that alters the readers' perceptions of the way in which the world functions, the martyr ends on an impressive high note. It's the kind of cliff-hanger that builds up momentum, and it must have been infuriating to have, to wait a whole year before getting answers. How lucky I am for digging into a series just after the last book's publication. I finish this review just after having purchased the last book in the trilogy to trade it, and being some 50 pages into it. Trust me when I tell you, I have only held off on reading it so far through some hidderto unknown feat of self-control, is what I wrote as I was writing the script, and then I started reading it after I was done. Perhaps that's what I've learned from all inscribe. Composure. Restrained. Ain't that wishful thinking. One last point before I leave off. I have one complaint, and it is more about the material experience I had with this novel. The martyr was among the worst paperbacks I've ever owned. The pages weren't cut right. Some of them stuck together. The paper, every 10-15 pages also would end up tearing again and again. That, as you might imagine, annoyed me to no end. Never a good feeling to experience staring paper in a book, but that is, unfortunately, printing's fault, or maybe even just the way that the book was transported kept. Care for. Not by me. I care for all my books with such respect. At any rate, if you enjoyed this video, please like it, share it with your friends, and once more, subscribe. Tell me, have you read anything by Anthony Ran? Are you going to? This fantasy trilogy sure is an excellent spot to start. I'm Philip Magnus, you are not, and I'll see you again next time. Bye!