Welcome friend! As you know, in May we read two books – Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng (see discussion) and The Raven Scholar. Today it’s finally time to dive into the discussion of the second book! Check out the synopsis below and read our discussion that follows.
Antonia Hodgson | Goodreads | Eternal Path Trilogy #1
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.
The Raven Scholar – Discussion
Ariel: Something that I absolutely love about how we’ve grown our bookish friendship over the years is how sometimes buddy reads just fall into place organically without any planning ahead of time, and The Raven Scholar was one of those books. I wasn’t even planning on reading it until closer to the next book’s release, but I had heard so many good things about it plus my friend Colleen very strongly recommended I pick it up as well, so I had it on good authority it was going to be a good book. Then in turn, as I was reading the book, I got to rave to Kriti about how good it was, and here we are 🙂
Kriti: The Raven Scholar is such a page-turner and there is nothing better than reading a book and sharing reactions with Ariel as she was reading ahead.
One of the things that made this book so fun to read for me was that for being well over 600 pages, the story continues to be gripping from the first to last page. The time skips set up the characters perfectly, and the bulk of the story being around who will be the successor to the throne and the underlying murder mystery kept the narrative flowing.
It was long but it went so fast. The author does a fantastic job of building the characters, the world, the past and the present. Part 1 is about a 16 year old girl named Yana. It is a perfect introduction to the world and its politics, the recent past. Yana is sentenced to exile for keeping her father (the traitor’s) colors and knowing his intentions to take back the throne. She was only eight back then and though the public learns that her exile is by the emperor, it was actually her brother who gave her that sentence.This sets up Ruko’s characters in a certain light. There are some very neat characters that this part introduces – Fenn Fedala, Captain Worthy, Neema, Cain and Vabras. The writing was immersive from the very start and I enjoyed the banter between characters. As always, footnote commentary was much appreciated by me.
Something I especially loved about this world was the animal pantheon. The eight different gods each have their own way of viewing the world, and different people find themselves affiliated with them depending on their core goals and approach to life. Going through the different trials during the book helped explain the role and priorities of each and they all felt distinctive to me.
Yes, each of the gods are well thought out. The monkey trial was my favorite. The author created such mesmerizing and enchanting trials that were distinct and spoke volumes about the gods. The Dragons are the most mysterious and their magical powers gave them a unique status that I quite enjoyed. I also really enjoyed the Fox, Vabras and the cat.
I also liked Neema as a character who really did not want to be a main character in this story. She was looking forward to her early retirement when the current emperor was done with his rule, and instead she was thrown into a much larger plot all because she launched her career over penning an order of exile. While she rebelled against being a protagonist in the narrative, her love was for her books and feeling pride in the work and research she contributed to the kingdom. Part of me still wishes she took up Cain’s offer at the beginning and decided to run away with him instead! But that would be a much different story.
Neema is a hard worker and dedicated scholar yet her life is steeped in loneliness. It was so sad in multiple moments throughout the story. However, becoming the raven Candidate was the making of her. She made friends where she wasn’t expecting and even found kinship in old foes. I loved her growth.
The set up for the next book is very exciting and I’m looking forward to rereading this book as the next one’s release date draws near. We have several of our main characters going to different parts of the kingdom; and while this first book primarily took place on a small imperial island, the next book looks like we will see more of the world. There’s a lot to expand upon and the world itself has so much potential.
Yes, I can’t wait for a deep dive into the next book. As of now, we do not know when it will be released.
Some quotes I adored:
Self-doubt is more potent than any drug.
The Raven Scholar, Pg 215
Life is a puzzle with no answer; a game with no rules; a maze with no exit, except death. And still we stumble on through the dark, creating for where there is none, seeing patterns that are not there.
The Raven Scholar, Pg 225
A task didn’t have to be gruelling or joyless, if you found the right person to do it.
The Raven Scholar, Pg 399
Thanks for reading our discussion! Let us know what you think of this book and add it to your Goodreads if you would like to read it.
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