The Emperor is due to step down, as per the rules and history of the Throne of Orrun. Every 24 years, worthy candidates from each of the Eight houses present themselves as possible Emperors during the Festival of the Eight. For 1500 years, this Festival of the Eight has provided for a smooth transition of power from one Emperor to the next, but that is about to change. Of course, things will change. That’s what happens in these kinds of novels, chaotic times in an otherwise long history are the focal point. When the Raven’s candidate is murdered just before the competition begins, the titular Raven Scholar Neema Kraa is ordered by Bersun, the sitting Emperor whose term is about to come to an end, to lead the investigation. Neema is our protagonist, and what a guide through the first installment of The Eternal Path Trilogy.
Cover Illustrations by Tom Roberts and Shutterstock
The Raven Scholar is a masterfully woven tale of imperial intrigue from an electrifying new voice in epic fantasy—in a stunning edition featuring French flaps and silver foiled cover effects!
Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four years of peace, the reign of Bersun the Brusque has come to an end. In the dizzying heat of midsummer, seven exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists compete to replace him.
When one of them is murdered, it falls to Neema Kraa, the emperor’s brilliant, idiosyncratic High Scholar, to find the killer and fight for the throne. Neema believes she is alone. But we are here to help; all she has to do is let us in.
If she succeeds, we will win an empire. If she fails, death awaits her. But we won’t let that happen.
We are the Raven, and we are magnificent.
The novel opens with a family making a journey to visit with the sitting Emperor. That meeting ends with a rather unfortunate edict: a young girl named Yana is exiled by the Emperor because of her petulant brother (Ruko), and the order is signed by the young Raven Scholar, Neema. Neema only wants to perform her duties to the best of her ability, despite these duties entailing the crafting of the words exiling her friend. From there, Hodgson jumps the narrative about 8 years; Ruko primed as a potential heir to the Emperor’s throne, Neema fully entrenched as a Raven Scholar and something of trusted voice for the Emperor, and the Emperor who exiled Yana ready for his appointed stepping down from the throne.
Where Neema is a member of the Raven house, each other animal sigil (Fox, Bear, Tiger, Ox, Monkey, Hound, Dragon) puts forth a “Champion” who competes to become the new Emperor along with the Raven house. For reasons detailed in the novel, the Dragon house does not typically compete for the throne. This isn’t too much of a spoiler, the champion of the Raven house is murdered early in the novel, complicating the Hunger Games-light tournament. Neema is assigned by the Emperor to lead the investigation, but she’s also thrust into the tournament as the Raven’s representative.
Neema is a wonderful protagonist, richly drawn, empathetic, smart, vulnerable…human. Hodgson gave a point of view character who is thrust into a situation that is far beyond her comfort zone. She has no desires to sit on the throne, or compete in the tournament. Through her, we learn about the history of her nation, the magic of the world, and some secretive elements. She communicates with her totem animal(s), ravens, and finds a magic book that conveys history to her and even communicates with her. The world-building is so well-done, it seems like Hodgson put a great deal of care and precision into all of the things readers don’t see on the page so that the events/characters/history readers do experience on the page feel natural and effortless. Bravo!
When you pare it down to the core / high concept, The Raven Scholar could be seen as a Hunger Games meets murder mystery, plus courtly intrigue in a fantastical/magical setting. Antonia Hodgson makes her fantasy debut with The Raven Scholar, though she’s published a handful of novels in a well-received mystery series. Those skills honed at crafting mysteries come to bear here in The Raven Scholar. Part of what makes mystery stories work is maintaining a strong level of tension, The Raven Scholar is full of tension on many fronts. But I won’t say too much more than that, it is very much one of those novels that works best without knowing too much about the pathways of its plot, discovering some of those revelations were wonderful. However, I feel this is a novel that would benefit quite well from a second reading.
Orbit Books was giving out advance copies of this novel at New York Comic Con in 2024, so I’ve had this sitting on my to-read pile since October. I’m both immensely pleased I waited to read it because the reading experience is so fresh in my mind, but damn, why did I wait so long? Bottom line, Orbit Books is putting a lot behind this novel and it is completely warranted from this long-time fantasy reader’s perspective.
The advance copy I read is just shy of 650 pages…that’s a hefty tome indeed. I never felt the “weight” of it. For the high page count, depth of story and history, Hodgson maintained a wonderful pace throughout the novel, it was powerfully immersive and not something I was eager leave or put down. From the very start, I was drawn into everything about the story – the characters, the intrigue around the competition for the throne, the way the magic perfectly “seasoned” the delicious stew of this story, the twists the narrative took, the deep history interwoven into the narrative, the balance between epic tale and intimate storytelling. In short, The Raven Scholar checked every box for me in terms of a grand epic fantasy novel.
As of this writing, The Raven Scholar is an extremely strong contender for my top Fantasy novel of 2025.
Highly recommended.
© 2025 Rob H. Bedford
The Eternal Path Trilogy, Book 1
Publisher: Orbit Books | April 2025
Trade Paperback 672 pages
Excerpt: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/orbit-books/ravenexcerpt/
