The Raven Scholar Review: A Fantasy Triumph

The Raven Scholar Deserves to Be the Biggest Fantasy Book of the Year

It’s not a secret that 2025 will be a big year for fantasy readers. Heck, it already has been, what with the release of new installments in megapopular series from writers like Rebecca Yarros and Samantha Shannon. And, yes, the year still holds many wonders in store for us, with new titles coming from heavy hitters like R.F. Kuang, Marie Lu, and V.E. Schwab over the next few months. But as excellent as those are almost certain to be, it’s hard to imagine any of them will exceed the heights of The Raven Scholar, a fantasy debut from historical mystery writer Antonia Hodgson that manages to blend deft storytelling, wildly detailed internal mythology, and some of the most genuinely surprising twists most readers have seen in a minute. Perfect books don’t really exist as a general rule, but, wow, does this one come close.

One part murder mystery, one part tournament competition, and one part traditional epic fantasy, The Raven Scholar boasts a positively massive cast of morally complex, richly drawn characters, exceptional world-building, an intriguingly fluid point of view, and a fully lived-in sense of history and scale. Intricately plotted, with plenty of unexpected twists, secrets, and sly misdirections, it’s a fantasy that manages to feel both deeply familiar and genuinely surprising, an increasingly rare achievement in this genre space. Truthfully, Hodson isn’t doing anything you haven’t seen before, but what is remarkable is how delicately and deliberately everything—from individual character arcs and larger plot twists to something as simple as lines of dialogue—serves a larger purpose, and ultimately comes together to form a more impressive whole. (Or even occasionally rewrites our understanding of what we’ve been reading entirely!) The end result is a fairly amazing achievement: A six-hundred-plus page doorstopper where every chapter feels not only relevant but absolutely necessary, and a story that, if there’s any justice, will end up on everyone’s best-of lists come the end of the year.

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In a kingdom whose emperor’s power is constrained by term limits, a competition is held every twenty-four years to determine the new ruler of Orrun. This involves a series of trials in which seven competitors—one from each of the Houses dedicated to the seven mythical animal Guardians who supposedly protect the world—must strategize and battle their way to the throne. The entrants selected from the Tiger, Fox, Monkey, Raven, Ox, Bear, and Dragon factions all have specific strengths and talents and varying motives for wanting to claim the throne for themselves. All of this isn’t really of much concern to Neema Kraa, the friendless, eccentric High Scholar of the outgoing Emperor Bersun’s regime, whose position and power are the result of a difficult and damaging choice made years prior. Now she divides her time between esoteric research and feverishly planning the opening ceremonies surrounding the transfer of power to come.

But when the chosen representative from the Raven monastery—Neema’s house, and home to the slyly hilarious primary narrator of the tale we’re reading—is killed, she must take charge of the investigation into the crime in order to clear her own name. (The victim is a person with whom Neema shared a volatile and somewhat contentious history, and due to some extenuating circumstances surrounding their death, even she’s not 100% sure she didn’t do it.) Unfortunately, her status as an investigator is further complicated by the fact that she’s also named the replacement competitor meant to represent the Raven faction in the emperor’s trials. While this technically puts Neema in the hunt for the throne, it also means she’ll have to face some dangerous (and potentially deadly) challenges along the way. Can she clear her name? Can she survive the trials? Could she become the first Raven Empress in hundreds of years?

Anyone who reads fantasy regularly is probably already groaning at the thought of yet another competition for a crown, but Hodgson primarily uses these events—each of which is “hosted” by a particular monastery and themed to test their designated Guardian’s strengths—to flesh out her characters and their relationships with one another rather than solely force them to face off with one another or solve a complicated puzzle. Though Neema is the book’s main character, her story does not stand alone. Hodgson gives surprising depth to many of the story’s supporting figures from Neema’s fellow candidates like sly Fox champion (and sometime love interest) Cain and ruthless Tiger competitor Ruko, to the mysterious Yasila, a woman once imprisoned on Dragon Island whose husband was a traitor to the realm Bersun now rules..

Neema herself makes for a unique heroine. Prickly, socially awkward, ambitious, and rude, she’s frequently difficult and often straight-up unlikeable. She’s made some deeply selfish choices whose consequences she’s still navigating, but while her know-it-all attitude can occasionally grate, it’s tempered by genuine curiosity and frequent kindness. As her investigation deepens and the trials escalate around her, she’ll be forced to reckon with what she actually wants from her life—and what she truly believes in. (Such as, say, the certain feathered animal god who seems to be doing its best to help her survive.)

The multi-faceted presence of the Raven—and its sharp, frequently hilarious narrative style—is but one way that The Raven Scholar sets itself apart from similar fantasy of its ilk. (Protect Sol the Solitary Raven at all costs, is what I’m saying.) The book is not only bursting with political plotting, court rivalries, and various intrigues, but also a sharp, self-aware sense of storytelling that delights in doing the unexpected. Readers may be surprised to realize that the first few characters we meet in Hodgson’s text are not the novel’s primary figure, but their stories cast long shadows over what follows afterward, adding richness and layers to our understanding of the world of Orrsun and the traditions of its people.

There are big pieces of The Raven Scholar’s plot that are difficult to talk about without spoiling the experience for those who haven’t read it yet, but in the most general of terms, this is a story with multiple, positively breathtaking twists, all executed in such a way that they never leave the reader feeling as though they’ve somehow missed a trick. Instead, even the most jaded of fantasy fans will find themselves giddy over the power this genre still possesses to delight and surprise. It’s a triumph.

The Raven Scholar is available now wherever books are sold.

Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter and Bluesky at @LacyMB

The Raven Scholar Deserves to Be the Biggest Fantasy Book of the Year