The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

She might win the throne. She might destroy an empire. Either way, it begins with murder.

After twenty-four years on the throne, it is time for Bersun the Brusque, emperor of Orrun, to bring his reign to an end. In the dizzying heat of mid-summer, seven contenders will compete to replace him.

Trained at rival monasteries, each contender is inspired by a sacred animal – Fox, Raven, Tiger, Ox, Bear, Monkey, and Hound. An eighth – the Dragon proxy – will be revealed only once the trials have begun. Eight exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists – the best of the best.

Then one of them is murdered.

It falls to the brilliant but idiosyncratic Neema Kraa to investigate. But as she hunts for a killer, darker forces are gathering.

If Neema succeeds, she could win the throne – whether she wants it or not. But if she fails, she will sentence herself to death – and set in motion a sequence of events that could doom the empire…

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The Raven Scholar was my second doorstopper of December and what an absolute treat it was.  So many of you told me how brilliant this novel is, and you were absolutely right!  I loved every page, and now have the long wait for the second instalment to find out what happens next.

The Raven Scholar is mostly told from the perspective of the wonderful but slightly odd Neema Kraa.  As a scholar, she’s extremely intelligent, although this manifests in an inability to let a misstated fact go uncorrected and a tendency to explain things at length.  These traits are part of why there are few people around her that she counts as a friend – many find her tedious and lecturing by nature – and I felt a huge amount of sympathy towards her.  Neema has convinced herself that she doesn’t need other people and that she’s fine on her own, but her loneliness and desire for more are apparent to the reader.  She’s an unusual protagonist, but I was immediately on her side, even as she makes some questionable decisions.

For the last eight years, Neema has served as the emperor’s High Scholar, and it’s fallen upon her to organise the tournament to replace Bersun the Brusque as emperor.  It’s a significant role, and while you might think that the person in such a position would be highly regarded and well-respected, any such reverence Neema receives is a token gesture at best.  Partly because of her nature, but also because many are unable to accept someone they consider to be “lowborn” in such a role and with the access that she has to the emperor, and believe that such roles should be reserved for the families of the rich and venerated.  That Neema excels at her role does not go unnoticed, much to the chagrin of those around her.

The plot centres around the tournament to select the next emperor / empress.  This kind of tournament is nothing new in fantasy fiction, although some of the challenges that the competitors face are original and tested the candidates in different and less-obvious ways than some.  Each competitor is aligned to one of eight sacred animals, and share some of the traits of those animals, and I thought that this aspect of the novel was very well done as we see the cunning of the Fox candidate pitched against the brute strength of the Bear’s competitor.  When one candidate is murdered before the tournament even begins, Neema is forced to step up and take part herself.  It’s grossly unfair as her fellow combatants have been training for this for years, and Neema doesn’t even want to wear the crown.

The Raven Scholar is a novel that has a bit of everything.  It’s fantasy, but there’s a murder-mystery, political intrigue, backstabbing and betrayals, and a convincing romance that had even this cold-hearted sceptic willing the individuals in question to kiss and make up.  And there are a lot of surprises along the way – every time I thought I had a handle on things, there was another twist that meant I had to reassess what I thought I knew.  The Raven Scholar is a clever novel and I enjoyed every one of its many pages.  The characters feel realistic, the plot is tight, and it’s brutal without descending into grimdark territory.  It is, in short, magnificent.