Damn! This was so good. I had already picked this novel up because I have been seeing it everywhere and then Malin and narfna both gave it glowing recommendations so I bumped it up on the list.
I don’t remember what review or description I had read earlier this summer but between the recommendations and me thinking I knew what it was about, I went in without reading the description again, and while technically, I wasn’t totally wrong about what the novel was about, I also was so off.
I thought it was going to primarily be a mystery novel in an academic setting for some reason but this is big, epic fantasy! Yes, our main character, the titular Raven scholar, is tasked with solving a murder but it’s at a palace and the murder took place on the eve of the competition for the throne as it’s time for the current emperor to step down from his reign and make way for his replacement, chosen in a series of challenges and battles.
In this world, there is a pantheon of gods or Guardians, with animal aspects. People choose a primary Guardian (like a patron saint or something) based on what they themselves are interested in and what most appeals to them; as part of the competition for succession, each house provides a champion and hosts a challenge to test the mettle of the competitors and whether they are suited for the throne. This succession has everyone especially on edge because the last 24 years, since Emperor Bersun took the throne, have been especially politically eventful, and the shadows of the past loom large over the present day.
The novel actually begins eight years before the challenge to set the scene with an entirely different character before we meet the main character, Neema, and then jump into the trials.
We get so many glimpses of a richly thought out world, and the conflicts driving politics: class differences, reforms, traditions and stability. And the cast of characters is simply very enjoyable.
I especially loved the different factions – while Neema is a bookish Raven and thus likely the group I would have been a part of if I were thrust into this world, I especially loved the Foxes and their chaotic approach to life. I know there are other novels that have the types of trickster archetypes in them and I always enjoy them but of course I can’t think of any right now (other than Hermes in the Dark Olympus series for which I just reviewed the latest novel). But if my brain were working, I would absolutely be doing a whole, “if you liked this, you’ll like this” kind of comparison.
That’s another thing that is so fun about this novel – you can absolutely see inspiration from other fantasy and yet it also feels fairly unique and original; it fits into the genre and traditions but is very much its own spin. And there are layers upon layers – Hodgson does a good job of seeding in points and foreshadowing, so as a reader, I picked up on certain points about some parts but there was also so much, I didn’t guess the entirety and also questioned myself on occasion about the things I did predict correctly. The only bad part about this is that now the wait begins for the sequel!