So at the end of last year, I decided that 2026 would be the year that I fully indulged my love for dark academia. I did some googling and put together a list of books that were considered part of the genre. Somewhere I came across The Raven Scholar and put it at the top of my list, as everyone seemed to love it. While reading it, I realized two things: 1) while there are a few dark academia elements, it’s not a book that I would immediately think of as part of that genre, and 2) regardless, it was going to be in the running for my favorite book of 2026.
The Raven Scholar takes place in Orrun, a land where people worship the Eight, eight gods each represented by a different animal (Raven, Bear, Fox, Dragon, Hound, Monkey, Ox, and Tiger). People can choose to go into monasteries representing each animal. Orrun’s emperor is chosen every 24 years in a contest between one representative from each monastery (except the Dragon’s adherents, who are above such foolishness). Most of the book takes place during one of these contests, as the current emperor, a follower of the Bear, prepares to step down. The titular character, Neema, works for the emperor and helped to design the current contest. She’s very happy to be behind the scenes, for the most part, working on her research and being ignored by most other Raven adherents because she doesn’t really fit in. Then, one of the competitors for the throne is murdered and Neema is tasked by the emperor with finding the killer.
I loved this book. I looked forward to reading it every night. The world building is good, the characters are interesting and complex, the story had me hooked, and it was funny to boot. It was also completely unpredictable and never once did it go where I thought it would. As I got close to the end and realized it was the first book in a series, I was excited rather than annoyed because it means I get to read more of Antonia Hodgson’s words–even though this book is over 600 pages, it didn’t drag or seem overlong because she’s really an amazing writer. This book scratched some itch and was one of those books that made me remember how much I love reading. I’m so glad I read it and can’t wait for Book 2.
