The Raven Scholar is a book that defied my expectations. I loved this mixture of competition and trials with the world building. I fell into this book and emerged 700 pages later. Yes you read that right. Keep reading this book review of The Raven Scholar for my full thoughts.
Summary
Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four years of peace, Bersun the Brusque must end his reign. In the dizzying heat of mid-summer, seven contenders compete to replace him. They are exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists—the best of the best.
Then one of them is murdered.
It falls to Neema Kraa, the emperor’s brilliant, idiosyncratic High Scholar, to find the killer before the trials end. To do so, she must untangle a web of deadly secrets that stretches back generations, all while competing against six warriors with their own dark histories and fierce ambitions. Neema believes she is alone. But we are here to help; all she has to do is let us in.
If she succeeds, she will win the throne. If she fails, death awaits her. But we won’t let that happen.
We are the Raven, and we are magnificent.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
The Raven Scholar blends murder mystery, clever and dangerous trials, and a world of animals and gods. It’s been a while since I’ve been so absorbed in a book and The Raven Scholar made the 700 pages fly by. This book examines a world of dragons, gods, and games of power and allegiances. It explores the cruelty of ambition, even and in spite of, family. There are these moments which define our lives and in the case of The Raven Scholar, they might just change the world. Everything comes calling eventually. This series opener knows expertly when to shift gears from clever trials to murder red herrings to godly occurrences.
While I wish some trials had more space devoted to them, I enjoyed the change of pace they offered. The Raven Scholar constantly had me changing my favorite elements. It’s a book that develops the broader implications like a slowly growing storm. I cannot wait for the sequel considering the promises and the reveals towards the end. At some points I did wish there was more emphasis on the trials and the build up can feel a bit slow if you didn’t really like a POV, I enjoyed The Raven Scholar.
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I keep coming back to the world and the mix of animal gods, dragons, and deadly bargains. The footnotes are great and if you don’t mind a slow build – with plenty of hooks – then you have to read The Raven Scholar. There are pieces that have been moving for decades. Hodgson also explores the lines we cross especially when we say we wouldn’t. What would we do with power? With the chance to do something different? Find The Raven Scholar on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.