Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by joulesburn
The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really wasn't sure about this book at first, but it did win me over in the end. The plot is well done, and the second half really comes together. There are a lot of twists, but they're fairly logical. It plays well with the mysteries and intentionally gives you pieces to form answers along with the main characters. It's just hard to predict how out there the real answers really turn out to be.
The set up, though, is one part chosen one, one part political peril, and feels stuffed. The investigation part has a reason for why it is such a bad choice, but it still makes the first half frustrating. It has the MFC doing things like 'oh, they're friends, so they'd have no motive to murder their friend' or asking questions and really believing what she hears. It takes another third of the book before anything calls that out as too simple.
The actual reveals and twists of what's going on, though, that's all grim grand fun. This is a bit of a subversive plot. Rather than the classic overthrow the oppressive kingdom, this one has had a turn towards becoming a kingdom where the lower classes can have opportunities, and this is a reactionary term to tear that down. And then if you could join an astrology house and make that your entire personality? That part is alternatively silly, though at times I do appreciate the dedication to the bit.
I enjoy the aspects/gods and their childish animalistic natures. I still don't love the MFC, but I do like the MMC. I like the absolute mess that the family that this plot revolves around is. There are characters who I'm not sure if I hate or not, and that's pretty interesting. Definitely want to read the continuation.
The set up, though, is one part chosen one, one part political peril, and feels stuffed. The investigation part has a reason for why it is such a bad choice, but it still makes the first half frustrating. It has the MFC doing things like 'oh, they're friends, so they'd have no motive to murder their friend' or asking questions and really believing what she hears. It takes another third of the book before anything calls that out as too simple.
The actual reveals and twists of what's going on, though, that's all grim grand fun. This is a bit of a subversive plot. Rather than the classic overthrow the oppressive kingdom, this one has had a turn towards becoming a kingdom where the lower classes can have opportunities, and this is a reactionary term to tear that down. And then if you could join an astrology house and make that your entire personality? That part is alternatively silly, though at times I do appreciate the dedication to the bit.
I enjoy the aspects/gods and their childish animalistic natures. I still don't love the MFC, but I do like the MMC. I like the absolute mess that the family that this plot revolves around is. There are characters who I'm not sure if I hate or not, and that's pretty interesting. Definitely want to read the continuation.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Genocide, Torture, Abandonment