Murder, Chaos, Ravens

Rating 3.2/5

I want to start off with an apology. If the picture wasn’t obvious enough its clear I never got around to that Last Vigilant review as promised. A shame really. It is quite a good book that I feel any mystery fantasy lover would enjoy. Hopefully I can make up for my actions with this month’s selection, a book I didn’t expect to get done in time considering how thick it is. And purple.

Book one of her first ever epic fantasy series, Antonia Hodgson’s The Raven Scholar (2025) is the opening to what will be a universe of massive proportions with likeable characters, humour, mystery, unexpected turns and creative narrative approaches. It’s also a tale hindered by bloated plot, dead slow pacing and undeveloped romance.

Set in the world of Orrun on the imperial island, readers are introduced to eight houses preparing for the annual trials that will elect their next ruler. Unfortunately, one of the contenders ends up dead and it’s down to her replacement, a scholar called Neema Kraa to solve not only the crime but compete for the crown. As she delves deep into the mystery, she uncovers buried secrets that may lead to the empire’s doom. Will she be able to prevent it? Or will the world fall to chaos?

Asides from my inability to keep my promise, the other reason I felt the need to talk about The Raven Scholar was the struggle I had to rate it. Genuinely I couldn’t decide whether I felt satisfied or not by this murder mystery/political intrigue fantasy book, so hats off to Hodgson. I hope by doing this post I will be able to break down my feelings on this book and provide a clearer perspective.

Okay so where to start? Structure and narration feels like a good place.

After reading The Raven Scholar, it’s clear Hodgson’s inspiration and writing is influenced by epic fantasy series like George R Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire (1996-) and Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicles (2007-). The worldbuilding is heavily seeped in lore and like Rothfuss’ she incorporates ‘the story within a story’ trope. History is a theme in The Raven Scholar and with this trope I feel it highlights a question we time and again ask ourselves; is what’s recorded true?

Having the narrative shift between third and first person helps to support this. I especially enjoyed reading the first-person intervals narrated by the raven. It makes the reader feel a part of this universe and acts like a scholar uncovering Orran’s hidden secrets and lore. Also, the choice to have a raven as your guide and a mascot of knowledge was apt, its vane and inquisitive personality providing some amusing moments.

While part of me did like Hodgson’s use of multiple perspectives I did wonder whether such a choice might have overwhelmed the storytelling. The narration mainly comes from Neema, the ravens and later down the line Cain. However, there were side characters whose perspectives could have been cut out in order to prevent this clash for dominance I felt began to develop as the story progressed. To me, it implied a sense of indecisiveness in Hodgson, she lost control over her characters, who were screaming for readers to take notice of them. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with letting your imagination run wild but it did feel like so many perspectives, moments etc were being crammed in, that the pacing became painfully slow and it was difficult to maintain focus.

The best example I can give is in the first few chapters of The Raven Scholar, when Hodgson’s introduces The Valits and the ‘crime’ that will inevitably link them to Neema’s case eight years later. Hodgson spends so much time on setting out the scene that my interest didn’t really peak until chapter four when we are finally introduced to Kraa. From there things build up. However, by the story’s middle-arc, when the mystery of the murder is solved, things began to drop again not peaking until the story’s unexpected conclusion.

I believe The Raven Scholar would have benefited from cutting down the plot and narrators. It would certainly have opened up more opportunity to focus on character development and their relationships.  

I liked Neema’s bookish persona and Cain’s trickster-like mannerisms. At the introduction of their relationship, I was invested but as it progressed their reignited courtship felt like it wasn’t going anywhere emotionally, which is a shame because unlike the ‘enemies to lovers’ trope that has seen a huge influx in the literature world, the romantic subplot in The Raven Scholar was one built between childhood friends whose differing opinions result in a breakup, not their first.  That being said, I do appreciate that the romance is a subplot in The Raven Scholar and as I said, individually Neema and Cain are likeable characters.  

Taking into account what has been written, I probably have not got any closer to understanding my feelings for Hodgson’s novel. On one side the characters are likable enough and the universe alluring enough to draw you in. On the other the snail-like pacing and stuffed storytelling can be overwhelming. Perhaps my rating is a bit generous or a bit harsh. I guess it will be up to you to decide.