My actual evaluation of the Traitor is 2.5 stars and we can jump right in:

The Traitor picks up where we left off in the Martyr with Evadine and the rest of the Covenant army saving Alwyn from being captured. The story then follows their return to the holy city which they take over and the subsequent campaign to crown Evadine not just an Ascendant Martyr, but now an Ascendant Queen who will overthrow the royal family. The rest of the story basically shows us how Alwyn slowly comes to the realization that she truly is evil and how he turns away from her in the end.

Unfortunately, this book was a major let down for me. The previous installments had great world building, political intrigue, complex character motivations; all of that seems to be missing in this book. There is the rare exceptionally well written scene (like when Alwyn meets with one of the lords they are wooing to their cause and they have a great talk filled with subtle insinuations) but on the whole, most of the book seems very contrived. Alwyn sees all these terrible signs that Evadine is becoming a terrible tyrant but he ignores them and justifies it (in his recollection) because he LOVES her..... ugghh....

Another issue with the book is that once Alwyn turns away from her, he goes on several journeys that seem kind of pointless. The author sends him to the Caerith lands to retrieve some items, gather allies and comeback to defeat Evadine which they eventually do but it was all very boring as if we were in an RPG where you have to do all the quests before you can face and beat the final boss. What is worse is that all the mysteries and foreshadowing and worldbuilding was basically let down by this approach because none of the revelations about the Caerith and the magic hit home. I do not know why the author likes these side journeys; I feel like he is trying to say something or establish some kind of theme but it just is not working...

Anyway, an unfortunate weak conclusion to what was an excellent first 2 books. Anthony Ryan, as he has showed before with Blood Song, can be a masterful worldbuilder and storyteller, but sometimes has trouble sticking the landing and making his later books live up to his first ones.

A fantastic finish to the trilogy. Plot moves at a good pace, lots of twists and surprises and fantastically written battle scenes

This has been a fun series, but I would have to say I preferred the rest of the series. The first two books felt like they were building towards a massive pay off, with so many introduced variables and storylines that just never materialized at the end.

This is not to say it was bad by any means, but from my perspective the culmination happened so quickly that it was over before I realized it. I hesitate to use a phrase like "felt rushed" because of the negative connotation associated with that, because it was well done and enjoyable, but it WAS less than I expected/hoped for.

Overall, the series was fantastic and this installment was worth the time invested though not the best of the series.

This book gave me a roller coaster of emotions from the beginning to the end. I will be thinking about this for the next several weeks due to the heart shattering pain I'm experiencing from what my favorite characters endured. Especially my boy Wilhum and Lilat, they had me a nervous wreck. There were some outcomes I was not expecting and that had me in the depths of despair but I wouldn't change a thing. This book exceed all of my expectations. It was unbelievably good and addicting. I'm sad it's the last book in the series but I'm hoping it will get a spin off from how it ended. I while heatedly recommend this book and believe it's an absolute must read! The author has quickly added me to his fans list and will reading every single book he has written or will write!

Endings are hard, but this does a great job carrying the spirit of the story to a close that feels real. The climax is a bit fantastical, but everything gets wrapped up nicely while still keeping the tension building until late in the plot.

Honestly this book did not go the way I expected it to at all. And I'm really glad it didn't because I think, I hope that because of the completely out of left field plot twists there will be a book four as this series has rapidly became my favorite of Ryan's.

In terms of action scenes and pacing this was, of course, excellent. The battle scenes were well written as usual and I'm really glad that Ryan decided to not make these protracted engagements given how the story progresses. By this point Evadine is so freaking evil that I feel like having her win even one battle or even the appearance of her winning one battle would have been way too much.

And make no mistake Evadine is like Hitler incarnate and because there are so many scenes in this book that are difficult to read because they replicate certain parts of history so well. I also have to admit that I really enjoyed the Evil Queen plot here as well, I really didn't think that I would, however, even though there are some very small instances where it feels like it could just be a clichéd book about a smart man being taken in by an evil woman, Ryan veers away from that path quickly.

Finally, I think what I enjoyed the most though is just the overall sense of friendship between Alwyn and his core group that has followed him really since the first book. We get to catch up with some characters that were not in the second book and of course lose some to the wars but in the end this book simply wouldn't be as good without the bonds Alwyn forges with Wilhun, Julihana, and Ayin. Ayin especially, I love that girl!

Overall, definitely recommend as I do every book of Ryan's I have read and I'm really, really hoping that the ending is a cliffhanger for the next book!

As always thanks to Netgalley and Orbit for the eArc!

Thank you for NetGalley and orbit books for providing the arc.
After very much enjoying the first two books of covenant of steel, I was curious to how Anthony Ryan would end this series. Especially after being left with the cliffhanger of the martyr and knowing there was only one more book left. Well I’m glad to report that this book was awesome and such a pleasure to read. From beginning to end I was hooked to the point where I finished this book in a day. It was fast paced, filled with action but not to the point where characterize development is neglected. Honestly the strongest part of this series for me is the character development of alwyn and how it influences his interactions with other characters. Anthony Ryan did a great job in writing alwyn journey from beginning to end, resolving many lingering issues while also leaving the potential for more. It’s safe to say that the covenant of steel will be one of my favorite fantasy trilogies for a long time.

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

Bottom Line: Satisfying conclusion to a great trilogy.

Ok, so here’s a bit more. This actually ended up being my favorite of the three. The characters are so developed by this point that it’s just a rich, engrossing read. Series can often go out with a bit of a whimper, but that wasn’t the case here. There was plenty of action, emotional strife, character growth, and a resolution that was satisfying without being completely expected. Definitely recommend, with the caveat that you need to start at the beginning of the series for the best payout.

The Traitor by Anthony Ryan(The Covenant of Steel #3)- Alwyn Scribe has been busy. Since he rose from the ranks of thieves(The Pariah), and joined Evadine Courlain in a holy quest(The Martyr), and became a knight and loyal servant to her cause, he has had little time to think about what he was doing and why he was fighting. Now something doesn’t seem quite right. It’s as if he had been under a spell that is rapidly unraveling, leaving him to question everything. Who will he serve now and how will he make his way. These questions and much more await. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for giving me the entire trilogy. Unfortunately, I won't be completing this third and final book.

I am so sad to say that after reading the first two books in this series, and spending so much time with Alywn, though his age has continued to go up, there has been not even character growth and development to keep me invested in this story or world. All of the books in this series felt like they could have been much shorter, the endings felt rushed and not very satisfying, and while the writing is nice, it's dry.

I am at the point in this series where I am over a thousand pages in, and I just don't CARE what is happening next. I feel like at this point, even if this book is amazing, the payoff to even get here won't have been worth the effort.

This was my first Anthony Ryan series, and while none of these worked for me personally, I do plan on picking up other books by this author in the future.

5/5 The Pariah
5/5 The Martyr
5/5 The Traitor
Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for giving me the privilege of reading this ARC.
I love this series so much. I wish I would have reread the first two before this one but luckily there is a brief reminder of what happened in the first two books as a prelude to this book. I like how this prelude is written as well, it is written as if it is past history and it is history that Alwyn passed down and the narrator is analyzing/relating Alwyn’s story. I have really enjoyed the way this series is written. It is written from Alwyn’s point of view in the past tense and Alwyn’s future self is relating his story as history. I really enjoyed this writing style, I especially loved when the narration would break to where future Alwyn would point out a certain moment and indicate its historical importance. Sometimes when there was an important moment Alwyn would describe how such moment was described by other historians or how artists depicted the moment. I enjoyed these comments because it points out how our own histories/artwork of history can be influenced to depict a certain feel or message that may not have been accurate. (Think of the glorified George Washington crossing the Delaware River painting).

The beginning of the book starts immediately where the second book left off which is nice because I hate when the next book in a series starts with this huge time gap from the last book. If you haven’t read the first two books I highly recommend starting ASAP, they are amazing. I love the way Ryan has written these books, Alwyn is a new favorite fictional character, and I love the side characters, the battles, the politics, and the moral/ethical questions being presented.

I love Alwyn’s character, he is everything I want in a book character, he is good at almost everything he does and he does whatever is needed, whether that be leading, fighting, negotiating, writing (he is a historian and scholar), and being an outlaw. I know a lot of people do not like characters who are good at everything (similar to a chosen one—which he also is in a way) but I love it. Alwyn is still following Evadine but he is starting to see her corruption. She is not who she used to be, she is not as merciful or passive, rather she has declared herself a supreme Queen over everyone. Alwyn (as noted from the last book) has started having relations with Evadine, but he is starting to realize that her motives are going to be the downfall of everyone and the country. He notices changes to her leadership and character, she is now willing to present a lie to the people and is now on the offensive rather than defensive; she has shunned all Caerith from Albermaine. He now has a choice to make—does he continue to blindly follow Evadine or does he become a Traitor?

Throughout the book, Alwyn is facing moral and ethical questions and is constantly trying to figure out what the right thing is to do. His heart and mind are split in different directions, but he is always trying to make the right decision.

Similar to the previous two books, this book has a lot of fighting and politics; and it is done flawlessly. I love all the fight scenes/battles in this series. Ryan does an amazing job of making every battle and fight unique; each battle is memorable. There is more exploration of the world in this book. Alwyn is going to new places and there is a lot more of the Caerith in this book as well—I always enjoy their characters/culture. There is a lot of politicking involved as well. Alwyn seems to always know the right thing to say and he is always at the center and is influential wherever he is leading—this helps you never feel like you are missing any essential part of the story.

Overall, I loved this book. This book was everything I was hoping for and looking forward to for the past year. It ended in a bittersweet way, but it left me content.

Honestly, I am really going to miss this world and Alwyn. I loved this series so much. It has become a new top favorite series of mine and it will be one that I plan to reread again, and again. I would highly recommend this to any fantasy lover, especially those who love epic fantasy series with a strong main character who changes history, amazing battle scenes, and lots of politics/political maneuvering. I just cannot express how excited I am to have read this series and I am just so happy that this book lived up to my expectations.

I came in hoping to read the best book in the series, but what I got instead was one of my favorite fantasy books of all time. This was brilliant in every way and the pacing was flawless. I’ll miss this world and sincerely hope Ryan comes back to it.

This eARC was given to me from NetGalley.com and I am providing an unbiased review.

It is hard for me to even say what I think about this book, let alone the whole trilogy. Following the life of Alwyn has been an experience, one that I would gladly embark on again. How Ryan makes the reader see inside the mind of the MC and understand his values of ethics and morals was so well done. Each book has been a 'growing together' with the MC, as he advances in roles of his life. I do feel that the ending was left kind of open. I am hoping that it will lead to another series possibly...?

Wow, randomly came across the first book at a store and fell in love. What a good ending, i’m looking forward to seeing what’s next if there is anything. But great way to end the series.

In Anthony Ryan's final entry to the Covenant of Steel series, our hero Alwyn Scribe is on the verge of helping his love and chosen liege Lady Evadine Courlain to her final victory over the forces which have conspired against the two of them for so long. But as things come to a head, buried secrets and a deep sense of foreboding lead Alwyn to reluctantly interrogate the motives and strange occurrences surrounding Evadine. The answers he finds sends him on an unexpected journey into the arms of new allies and former enemies, and forces him to reckon with one final foe that he never thought he would have to vanquish...

An extremely satisfying conclusion to a great series, with the flawed characters, tragic deaths, double-crosses, and grit that the Covenant of Steel is known for. While I loved the entire book to pieces, I was a little surprised in how the ending itself actually played out on page. I had thought it was going in the same direction but with a little more subtlety, but when everything truly does hit the fan it is in an explosive and thrilling manner. Luckily, the writing and characters are so strong that the ending does work for me, and made me excited for anything else that Anthony Ryan chooses to write in the future.

Always excellent, epic quest and characters that will stay with you for a very long time! I highly recommend it!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing this arc.

Well, I rarely give 5 stars, but......wow. This was an amazing conclusion to the story and the trilogy. All the books were different and gave something different to the characters and the story as a whole. This was never going to be a happy ever after story, but the pacing was excellent, the characters were well developed and had a story arc, and it all came together.

I won't spoil the plot by giving tidbits or a synopsis, just a recommendation to dive in and read it for yourself. A rare series that ended better than it began.

This is a fantastic entertaining story. Very engaging with high stakes action. Anthony Ryan does a fantastic job and I am overly excited for whatever story is next

The final book in the covenant of Steel by Anthony Ryan, and it doesn't disappoint!

I personally put down all the other books I was reading to spend a few days solely to read this this highly anticipated finale.

Alwyn Scribe...or should I say " Lord Alwyn Scribe", begins to realize that he has been witness to some things, that cause him to question the "risen Martyr". He struggles to decide between love and truth.

Anthony Ryan, creates a vivid, and sometimes dark, and action packed story. The covenant army reminiscent of Knights Templar and the necessities of navigating an intermingled politics and religion.

As Ryan's great prose always does, he has created a book that is beyond typical fantasy. It's smart, intense, action packed, thoughtful - part fantasy, and part thriller.

I highly recommend any of his books and this is no exception. Anthony Ryan is just a great story teller, and we should be thankful he chose Fantasy as his Genre.

The latest in Anthony Ryan's series, and it doesn't disappoint. I feel at some point I'll have to start from the beginning, as there are so many memorable characters that have wide ranging development arcs. I'm already excited for Ryan's next book, whether it's in this world or not.