Review: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

The Raven Scholar

Antonia Hodgson

(The Eternal Path #1)

Publication Date: April 15, 2025

Paperback, 672 pages, Orbit

Genres: Adult, Fantasy

Goodreads

From an electrifying new voice in epic fantasy comes The Raven Scholar, a masterfully woven and playfully inventive tale of imperial intrigue, cutthroat competition, and one scholar’s quest to uncover the truth.

 

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.

My Review

As someone whose favorite genre is romantasy, I'm always pleasantly surprised when an epic fantasy is able to suck me in. The Raven Scholar is one of those books. After about the 50-page mark, I would pick this giant tome up and just read and read until I had to go to bed. The murder-mystery and political intrigue were addicting.

I went into this story thinking we were going to follow the main character from the prologue, but, no, we actually follow the second character introduced in the prologue, Neema Kraa, who went from a lonely scholar to being an assistant to the emperor because of a pretty questionable deed. Neema isn't necessarily the most likeable character, nor is she terrible. She's human, and she makes mistakes while also being wicked intelligent. Her interactions with the characters around her are what make her story so interesting. For instance, Cain, the fox contender, has some hilarious moments. Her interactions with Ruko, Bersun, and Yasila also have you on edge, waiting for the next bad thing to happen.

What's also interesting is the narration for this story isn't told just from Neema's point of view. It's actually an omniscient narrator type of style. However, the narrator is a character (or characters, depending on how you look at it) in their own right. Which brings me to Sol. He's a raven "animal" companion that truly reminded me of Mephi from Andrea Stewart's Drowning Empire trilogy, and while originally I was a little hesitant about him, he grows on you very fast. His antics had me laughing out loud multiple times.

As for the plot, it's all one giant whodunnit. Kind of in the vein of Knives Out or Glass Onion, just set in the backdrop of a fantasy world with some dangerous trials thrown in. The world itself is based off of eight animal gods/spirits that kind of inhabit the characteristics of each sect. For instance, there are the raven, fox, tiger, and dragon sects. The foxes are my favorites. They're so random.

All in all, I am truly happy I read this book and branched out from my typical genres. The Raven Scholar has made me eager to get back into reading non-romance-focused fantasy. Though, there is a small romance element in this book that kept my heart-eyes alive, thankfully. But, if you're looking for a fantasy mystery book that has the same vibes as The Bone Shard Daughter or the start of The Poppy War, I'd say you definitely want to pick this one up.

*Note: I received a copy of this book to review from the publisher. This in no way affected my opinion/review.