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A review by jkneebone
The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Wow, this book. THIS BOOK. My friend told me to read it because he wanted someone to discuss it with, and I'm so glad he did. It is magnificent ;)
The Kingdom of Orrun is watched over by Eight animal Guardians, each of whom have their own identity, teaching monastery, and followers. In Orrun, rulers are not chosen by birth - when the previous emperor or empress retires, each monastery sends a contender to fight for the throne. Bersun the Brusque, known as the Old Bear, is stepping down, and his High Scholar, Raven Neema Kraa, is in charge of running the Trials where the next emperor will be selected.
But that's not really where it starts. In the last Trials twenty-four years ago, Bersun defeated the heavy favorite, Tiger Andren Valit, to win the crown, and Andren never got over it. Eight years after, he attempted a coup. Bersun survived. Andren did not, and his wife and three children were impoverished.
Eight years before our story begins, Andren's twin children, Yana and Ruko, came of age, and Ruko made a decision that would sentence his sister to a fate worse than death.
The contenders to replace Bersun include Neema's school bully; the lover she spurned on her rise to greatness; the soldier who carried out Yana's fate; and Ruko himself - widely reviled, but considered one of the favorites to win. Despite that, this should be the crown jewel of Neema's career - until one of the contenders is found dead. Suddenly Neema is responsible for finding the killer in order to clear her own name. But when she starts digging, she will find more than she bargained for, and unfortunately a Raven never leaves with questions unanswered.
This book - seriously, what a delight. The POV (that of the Raven) is so fun, and a masterful way to reveal everything the reader needs to see. Every character was so well-developed and compelling (well, almost everyone...some of the courtiers who were so mean to Neema I just had no patience for!). The fact that alliances and friendships shift over the course of the story, but you're still rooting for everyone even when they disagree, is a testament to Hodgson's skill. I was even rooting for Ruko a little by the end! But Neema as the main character we're following is so grounding; even though I felt so bad for how everyone treated her, her curious nature and the way she continued to (mostly) try to help the people around her balanced it out.
The pacing of this story is masterful. It's almost 650 pages, but every time I finished a chapter, I wanted to read just one more. Although it was a little hard to get into because the first few chapters are set-up before we jump into the main story, once I was hooked I couldn't put it down and finished reading it in a week. A lot of time with fantasy, even with books that I'm enjoying, I find myself flipping ahead to figure out when the next big reveal is coming. In The Raven Scholar, I wasn't tempted to read ahead at all, because every chapter had something important I didn't want to miss. (And I'm really glad I didn't spoil any of the reveals for myself!)
The only reason this isn't an unabashed five-star read for me is because I still have a few lingering questions about how everything went down(mainly: wasn't Andren doing the spell before he hired Nemma?) and I find it hard to judge books that end on a cliffhanger without having the context of the whole series. Unfortunately only the first book is out at this point (although I will say the cliffhanger was not as bad as I anticipated after my friend's distress) and there is a lot that happens right at the end of the book - while I trust that everything will be revealed/resolved in book two because clearly a lot of thought went into the plotting of book one, I've still got some questions.
Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves fantasy! It's definitely aimed at adults (Neema is in her thirties) but to my mind would be appropriate content-wise for an older teen with the stamina for a 650-page long epic. There's some dark themes and a lot of violence, as well as bullying (of Neema) and a few fade-to-black sex scenes, but this is aimed at readers who want fantasy, not romantasy. A really masterful series opener - I'll be eagerly awaiting the release of book two!
The Kingdom of Orrun is watched over by Eight animal Guardians, each of whom have their own identity, teaching monastery, and followers. In Orrun, rulers are not chosen by birth - when the previous emperor or empress retires, each monastery sends a contender to fight for the throne. Bersun the Brusque, known as the Old Bear, is stepping down, and his High Scholar, Raven Neema Kraa, is in charge of running the Trials where the next emperor will be selected.
But that's not really where it starts. In the last Trials twenty-four years ago, Bersun defeated the heavy favorite, Tiger Andren Valit, to win the crown, and Andren never got over it. Eight years after, he attempted a coup. Bersun survived. Andren did not, and his wife and three children were impoverished.
Eight years before our story begins, Andren's twin children, Yana and Ruko, came of age, and Ruko made a decision that would sentence his sister to a fate worse than death.
The contenders to replace Bersun include Neema's school bully; the lover she spurned on her rise to greatness; the soldier who carried out Yana's fate; and Ruko himself - widely reviled, but considered one of the favorites to win. Despite that, this should be the crown jewel of Neema's career - until one of the contenders is found dead. Suddenly Neema is responsible for finding the killer in order to clear her own name. But when she starts digging, she will find more than she bargained for, and unfortunately a Raven never leaves with questions unanswered.
This book - seriously, what a delight. The POV (that of the Raven) is so fun, and a masterful way to reveal everything the reader needs to see. Every character was so well-developed and compelling (well, almost everyone...some of the courtiers who were so mean to Neema I just had no patience for!). The fact that alliances and friendships shift over the course of the story, but you're still rooting for everyone even when they disagree, is a testament to Hodgson's skill. I was even rooting for Ruko a little by the end! But Neema as the main character we're following is so grounding; even though I felt so bad for how everyone treated her, her curious nature and the way she continued to (mostly) try to help the people around her balanced it out.
The pacing of this story is masterful. It's almost 650 pages, but every time I finished a chapter, I wanted to read just one more. Although it was a little hard to get into because the first few chapters are set-up before we jump into the main story, once I was hooked I couldn't put it down and finished reading it in a week. A lot of time with fantasy, even with books that I'm enjoying, I find myself flipping ahead to figure out when the next big reveal is coming. In The Raven Scholar, I wasn't tempted to read ahead at all, because every chapter had something important I didn't want to miss. (And I'm really glad I didn't spoil any of the reveals for myself!)
The only reason this isn't an unabashed five-star read for me is because I still have a few lingering questions about how everything went down
Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves fantasy! It's definitely aimed at adults (Neema is in her thirties) but to my mind would be appropriate content-wise for an older teen with the stamina for a 650-page long epic. There's some dark themes and a lot of violence, as well as bullying (of Neema) and a few fade-to-black sex scenes, but this is aimed at readers who want fantasy, not romantasy. A really masterful series opener - I'll be eagerly awaiting the release of book two!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Sexual content, Suicide