The Traitor is told, as the previous books, in the first person of Alwyn since it has always been his story to tell. As he continues his path, Alwyn never makes excuses for the things he has done. When pointed out, he thinks upon them and may wrestle with the morality of it, but he confronts it all honestly. I always found Alwyn an endearing character. He has a quiet wisdom and the ability to speak his mind in such a way that in most instances is not confrontational. He always had a way of reading people, seeing slight expressions, muscle movements, and other things people would miss that give away how someone really feels. In many ways, Alwyn can tell if a person is lying by using these skills of observation. He uses these them when assessing what Evadine is morphing into, yet is hesitant to do anything about it. In The Traitor is where Alwyn faces his biggest choices and confronts his growing inner turmoil over Evadine. Evadine Courlain, the Risen Martyr- in her divine-spirited wisdom- decided that she is to become the Ascendant Queen, the new ruler of Albermaine. The only thing standing in her way is Princess Regent Lorraine, who rules in stead of her underage son, Alfric and his infant betrothed Lady Ducinda Cohlsair. And Alwyn, Evadine's Spymaster, most trusted adviser and now, her lover, would use all of his skills to deliver her the throne whether it's fighting, strategizing or negotiating for support with Albermaine Lords. It’s always hard to review a book 3 of a series. How can you talk about it without giving spoilers to books 1 & 2? You can’t, is the answer. So, yes, we can see Alwyn is shaping into that important person of legends, but the best thing about this is that Ryan made a point of showing that as much as he appears natural, he can still be outsmarted in every aspect by those with more experience and knowledge and has a lot more to learn.

I’d recommend this series if you enjoy complex historical fantasy full of gritty battle scenes and religious and political maneuverings.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. Such a mass of contradictions you are. A cut-throat outlaw of savage reputation who can wield a quill as well as he can a blade. A man of great knowledge matched only by his facility for deceit. He has done the foulest deeds in service to a woman who's as mad as the most rabid bitch, yet he harbours concern for a little girl he once saved.” The Traitor is the third and final book in Anthony Ryan’s medieval-style Covenant of Steel fantasy series. For those who like muddy clashes between huge armies with swords and horses or sieges of walled cities or misguided prophecies, it would be best to start with volume one of this series The Pariah. While there is a handy recap of the events of the previous book, this is absolutely the third book of a trilogy and not a place to start. Given that, there will necessarily be some mild spoilers for those earlier novels in this review.

When a message appears on the onboard computer – Proceeding to Point A – the group agrees to work together to survive whatever is coming.

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Alwyn doesn’t embark upon such a difficult and taxing journey alone. He is joined by semi-loyal, questionably honourable, and a particularly humorous cast of characters. Anthony Ryan excels at crafting fully fleshed characters, whether they are likeable or villainous, or somewhere in between. I missed one particular character from the first book, but maybe she’ll make a reappearance in the final instalment. Besides Alwyn, Lilat might be my second favourite character. Evadine is not a likeable character per se, but it is intriguing to read how different people react to her. There is an interlude where Alwyn finds himself among the Caerith, a seemingly- more primitive people with a land few outsiders ever venture in. His fate is intertwined with theirs, but it is a fascinating interlude.

You see, Evadine Cuorlain was always this mythical figure in Alwyn's memories, someone who, when you dig deeper, doesn't have much of a personality beside her role of Risen Martyr. It's how he described her: from her ethereal beauty, "the peerless strength she exuded", to the constant mention of how she keeps the crowd enthralled with her sermons, how she inspires others so much they follow her into war. It's always something he is surprised so many people do because he knows she is charismatic and thus, knowing it thinks he's immune, but his actions says otherwise.The Traitor is the final volume in the Covenant of Steel trilogy and brings together all the disparate storylines from the first two volumes. The Traitor here is Alwyn whose love for Evadine has blinded him to what she has become, a host for the forces of evil. In her name, her religious zealots, now controlling the entire kingdom, are laying waste to entire cities and burning all who could be heretics. And, she has turned her eye toward the Caerith in their ancient primitive land. What would it be like if David Gemmell wrote Crime and Punishment on a dark realism theme?! I may have an Idea!