The Raven Scholar got a lot of great reviews in CBR17 so I downloaded it before the holidays and spent a COVID-filled Christmas reading it — one bright note in a somewhat icky season for my family. I already knew that my CBR18 was going to be filled with fantasy lit due to my new Robin Hobb obsession, but now I can add Antonia Hodgson’s trilogy to the list. I can’t wait to read book 2, whenever that comes out.
The world where The Raven Scholar takes place, Orrun, is a kingdom where eight gods, the Eight, are worshipped and feared. The gods — dragon, monkey, ox, bear, tiger, raven, fox and hound — are said to have come to the world to save it seven times in the past, but if they come an eighth time, it will be to destroy it. Many people, including main character Neema, don’t take these stories seriously and don’t really believe in the gods. But the belief in the Eight has imposed a certain order on the world in which she lives. Spread across Orrun are monasteries to each of the eight. In the far past, Orrun had been a divided world and not a unified kingdom, but in order to save the world and prevent a return of the Eight, the different kingdoms united and agreed to a political order that seems to more or less work. In order to determine who rules as emperor, every 24 years, each of the monasteries sends a champion to the capital to compete in a set of trials; winner takes the crown. The exception is the Dragon house, which lives separated from the rest of Orrun on an island where inhabitants are all servants of the dragon; they do not content for leadership but they do seem to possess some sort of mystical powers.
The current emperor, Bersun of the Bear Monastery, is preparing to retire and has relied on his high commander Vabras and high scholar Neema to organize the trials. Vabras is Bersun’s right hand man, an incredibly powerful man who requires order above all. Neema, age 24, is a scholar from the Raven house who is valued by the emperor for her knowledge of folk customs and songs but also for her willingness to perform an unsavory task that has dogged her conscience for years. Neema has risen from obscurity and poverty; as a student in the Raven house — known for producing scholars, lawyers, and highly intelligent graduates — she distinguished herself but was always alone and friendless. A fellow student, Gaida, had seemed like she might be her friend when Neema first came to the school, but Gaida came from wealth and privilege and quickly marked Neema as a target for bullying, with the rest of the Ravens following her example. Neema spent years after graduation toiling in obscurity on her pet interests when an opportunity to distinguish herself before Emperor Bersun presented itself.
This event that led to Neema’s rise is key to several others at the court as the trials begin. Amongst the competitors and their entourages, there are bitter rivalries and desires for revenge that might turn deadly. When one of the combatants is found dead, Neema must investigate the murder, but what she discovers could put her life and the lives of everyone in the kingdom in danger. Meanwhile, the trials continue and the dangers to all the combatants increase.
Antonia Hodgson has created a formidable cast of complex characters. We know of the perfidy and betrayals of some, and we learn how their pasts and current relationships inform their decision making. No one is completely good and admirable, and even those who seem like “bad guys” might be revealed to be more complex and sympathetic than initially believed. Bit by bit, the real history of Orrun, the gods, and the men and women with power is revealed to the reader. Book one ends with a horrible revelation, and it isn’t clear who will be able to survive it, or how.
There is a LOT of incredible detail and plot development in this story that I can’t write about without ruining the story for anyone else who wants to read it, and I do recommend reading this. Certainly, fans of fantasy lit will love it, but as I have said in past reviews, fantasy lit gets a bad rap for no good reason. Anyone who likes a tight plot, good character development, loads of intrigue and maybe even some romance would enjoy this novel. Dragons, gods, and monsters are never as scary as humans, so don’t let the “fantasy” aspect of the novel throw you off.
