#The Pariah

[asterizmz]

rain world consuming my brain a little lately... slugcat oc time :]

[goldnnavy]

I don't normally go about praising books, but I just finished the last book in the Covenant of Steel trilogy by Anthony Ryan and oh my god. These books, this story, has been one of the best things I've read in such a long time. The writing is wonderful, as is the world he crafted. The characters are believable (with all ranges of people represented!! Including poc and queer people!!) and it is not smutty at all (there is only two scenes in which there is some sex, but the description is more fade-to-black, which I appreciated immensely). There is a lot of thematic ties to the idea of martyrdom and the power of religion as a source both of corruption and comfort. And the battles, knights, and fighting techniques... *chef's kiss* There's also just enough magic involved that it can be called fantasy, but it's done is a very interesting way.

So 10/10, definitely check them out if you're looking for something to read. I can't say they're for everyone, but I know some people here who would enjoy it.

[boooklover]

“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.”

Anthony Ryan, The Pariah

[captainsvscaptains]

Battle of the Ships

Round 1 Part 2 Poll 2

Description for Paragon : Age of sail trading vessel, capable of both nautical and river navigation. It may be more specified in the books but I don’t have them in front of me :(

Propaganda for Paragon : Paragon is captained by Brashen Trell, with first mate Althea Vestrit (one of the main characters of the series) He is sentient.

Description for Kingdom Come : The Pirate ship of Captain Brandish

[candyredmusings]

            Dating boys with exes                      No, I wouldn't recommend it

because i liked a boy - sabrina carpenter

[libertyreads]

Someone was let loose in a bookstore unattended this evening.

[geeklyinc]

The Traitor Review - The Suffering of Scribes

The Traitor Review - The Suffering of Scribes

The Traitor, the last installment of Anthony Ryan’s The Covenant of Steel, staked me through the heart. The ending of the previous book, The Martyr, left little doubt that the events of Alwyn Scribe’s life would be entering the heartbreak section of the trilogy when it ended with not only Alwyn sleeping with Evadine covered …

[filipmagnuswrites]

Trope Check: The Pariah by Anthony Ryan

What is a trope but a key to genre conventions, a shorthand for the various concepts by which the genres we love become instantly recognizable? Today, I take another look at The Pariah by Anthony Ryan, which I reviewed earlier this week. Prepare yourselves, for these are a post and video most Spoilery! If you’d like to check out the spoiler-free review. The link you find on each title will take…

[tildeathiwillread]

Before killing a man, I always found it calming to regard the trees.

~ Anthony Ryan, The Pariah

Fire first line actually

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The Pariah | Author: Anthony Ryan | Publisher: Orbit (2021)

[is-not-a-bell]

Sleepy King

The Justice League Dark caught wind of a cult trying to summon the Ghost King. A being with power so terrible and great, that all of the chaotic Infinite Realms feared him. A true tyrant. Long ago it took the effort of ghosts equal to gods to seal him away into a permeant slumber.

And now this cult wishes to wake him and bring him to the living realm. It was a race against the clock to find the ritual site and all members were called on board, magic or not. Even Constantine looked stressed.

They did find the site.

But it was too late, the ritual was completed. The entire inner circle of runes glowed before being swallowed in a column of green light. The air filled with static and a ringing that made Supergirl crumble to the ground.

The light dissipated, but there was no great figure or being of pure evil. Instead there was a boy, a teenager. He laid on the ground curled up in his sleep. He was a ghost no doubt, dressed in regal clothing.

Despite this when he stirred, everyone froze. It seemed the cold hard ground woke him up. He got up slowly and yawned, revealing his sharp fangs. Once sat up he opened his bleary eyes to look around. He looked confused and tired, really tired.

"Where am I?" He mumbled. "I was trying to get some sleep." Constantine internally screaming, latches onto that last sentence. He glances over to Batman. He caught that last part too. Batman approaches calmly and crouches down in front of the boy king. Hardening his resolve, Batman takes on a gentle tone.

"Hey kiddo, sorry we woke you. Lets get you back to bed yeah?" The boy nodded in agreement. He pulled himself to his feet before looking around in a circle. "Where did my blanket go?" He asked rather sadly. Batman is quick to shed his own cape and drape it over him. "You can borrow my cape until we get you a new one." He nodded again, pulling the black fabric around himself.

John quickly summoned a portal door, while Batman led the King through it. John threw looks around at everyone. Everyone could tell he was mouthing the words. 'Find me a fucking blanket now'

Running on the logic of getting the king away from Earth, away from graves and the undead, that could give him power. The portal led to the Watch Tower.

Batman took advantage of the King's bleary state to send a base wide alert for all noncritical members to evacuate immediately. With a priority that death adjacent members leave first. "The stars are pretty." Bruce looked at the boy staring out the window in wonder. He almost looked like a normal kid, almost.

"Yeah they are, it's pretty late so we should get you back to bed." He nodded, going along with Batman's gentle coaxing.

He takes the boy to an unused bedroom. Making sure the room isn't dusty and that lights are dimmed. He glances back to see about a dozen different leaguers all holding blankets, one thought to bring extra pillows. The bed was pretty barren with only a single pillow and a thin bedsheet. So Bruce took a thick duvet, one of the fluffier blankets and a second pillow from his team before shooing them away.

The boy ended up keeping his cape, mumbling how it was warm. He tucked the boy in, before quietly exiting the room and turning off the light. He was pretty sure the King fell back to sleep before he even reached the light switch.

After the door shut, he made direct eye contact with John. "Constantine." They needed to figure out what the hell was going on.

[boooklover]

“All ambition is folly when it fails to be matched by reason.”

Anthony Ryan, The Pariah

[stars-obsession-pit]

The Justice League was too late. The cult had successfully completed their summoning ritual, and a figure began to emerge from the crackling green rift in the air

A teenage boy in a black jumpsuit, holding a clipboard and a pen.

The figure barely seemed to pay attention and just launched into a rehearsed speech, tone bored. “Thank you for summoning the Ghost King. Due the influx of summonings, he is unavailable at the moment. I’m Phantom, and I’ll be serving as your intercessor for the time being. I am authorized to act on His Majesty’s behalf, but any larger scale actions may have a short wait time before they can go through—just a few decades at most.” His voice then picked up, tone casual. “So… whatcha looking for?”

Then he did a double take, the chaotic scene he’s appeared in finally seeming to register in his mind.

“…Err, which ones of y’all specifically performed the summoning? I need it for the file.”

[theresah331]

[radiance1]

"Hey girl!" Phantom says nonchalantly on the shoulder of the fucking Ghost King. Ice cream in one hand, a pair of sunglasses on his face, and a smoothie in the other. "You're getting adopted!"

Raven stared at the scene incredulously. When Phantom had texted her saying that he had a surprise for her, this was not what she expected.

She then slowly, ever so slowly, looked at the expression on the Ghost King's face. The lack of annoyance or anger at the fact that Phantom was sitting on his shoulder. Then the clear space on his other one. Then to her phone. Then to the rest of her team who look just as shocked (because a man and his kid who they don't know busted into their home) then back to Phantom.

Who merely shook the smoothie in her direction.

...

You know what?

She flew up, grabbed the smoothie, then sat herself down on the Ghost King's other shoulder. Much to Phantom's delighted cackle as the Ghost King disappeared from the Tower in a shower of green flame.

"Don't forget these!" Phantom said, reaching around with his ghost physiology to shake a pair of sunglasses next to her face. Raven took them, then put them and leaned back, taking a sip from her smoothie.