The Raven Scholar Book Review

The Raven Scholar started out very strong. The first few pages are rich with worldbuilding and lore, and enough intrigue to hook you in. And then there’s a– well, I don’t even know if I want to call it a twist, and I’m not sure if it counts as a spoiler, but there’s a perspective change, and I kept waiting to see when the author would pull a reveal and show the reader that things did not happen as everyone thought, but it never came. And I was pleasantly surprised at that. My boyfriend often laments how often I’m able to guess at plots and twists, but this book managed to throw me for a loop over and over. And it was so damn refreshing.

The political intrigue in The Raven Scholar is multifaceted and riveting, and immediately made me think of books like Game of Thrones, Jade City and The City of Brass. There’s a richness to the setup, and I think Hodgson does a phenomenal job of foreshadowing and building up those clues and connections without giving too much away to the reader. Which I suppose shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that her other published works are mystery novels. She does a very good job of making readers focus on one thing, only to perform some literary sleight of hand to reveal something else entirely. There’s a lot of red herrings in this book, and it makes it a very fun read.

The narration was also a delight. It’s sort of reminiscent of something like Nevernight, where the story is being told by an almost-omniscient narrator, and in retrospect. There’s so much humour to the voice of the narrator, and it lent a lot of charm to the story overall. It’s a very wry and snarky voice, and I think the interactions between Neema and the narrator were some of my favourites in The Raven Scholar. It also adds a lot to the worldbuilding of the novel, and I think this different perspective is also great for letting us see things as a reader that aren’t ready to be revealed. Also, given the nature of the narrator, things are a little murky and not always well-defined, which definitely adds to the intrigue.

Neema is a great protagonist, because she’s clearly flawed and struggling to understand her place in the world. She did a terrible thing (although I do think people are pretty unfair to her, given how little difference not agreeing to do this thing would have made) and is very alienated, and on top of that she’s still navigating the class and social structures of the palace. At the same time, she’s not a damsel in distress, or an incredibly talented and well-trained fighter- Neema feels realistic as a main character who is very out of her comfort zone. I think it also helps that, unlike the other competitors, she’s incredibly unprepared for the tournament to win the throne, and reluctant to participate at all really. It gives the novel and trope a new coat of paint and ensures that readers won’t get bored.

I will say, a couple of the side characters do fade into the background a little for me, but I understand this is the first book in a series so it’s likely we’ll learn more along the way. The ones who shine a bit more are flawed and complex, and I think this adds a lot of tension to the competition overall.

There is romance in The Raven Scholar, but it is much more situated in the background rather than being a central part of the plot. If you’re looking for a heavy dose of romance, this won’t be a book you’ll gravitate towards. But if you’re after a hefty, long, well-woven epic fantasy, this is a book I can’t recommend enough.