The Raven Scholar (The Eternal Path, #1)
Antonia Hodgson
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.
It’s interesting because whenever I’m reading, the sentences don’t make much sense but then I get to the end of the chapter and think ‘ah yes, it’s all coming together now and I must read more’ and then I go back to not understanding in the next chapter.
1Your rating:
0I don't know how to put into words how perfect this book was for me specifically.
Don't get me wrong - it's excellent all around, in particular if you love epic fantasy. It has the length and plot unravelling of the Mistborn trilogy mixed with the humour of the Discworld universe; an odd pairing if I ever saw one but it WORKS.
I cried, I laughed, I said WHAT?! at several points in the story. I can't believe I've read it so early that I now have to wait more than a year for the sequel.
I read this whilst on holiday and kept wanting to pick it up instead of socialise with friends I hadn't seen in over a year. THAT is how good this is. I don't even really want to go into much more detail to be honest, the synopsis gave me enough to know I would enjoy it (trials/competition for the throne, 8 different clans that send a contender? Sign me up), so I would recommend going in with just the synopsis having been read because once the story starts going it opens up a whole new world.
5 million stars. I've preordered an extra special edition just because I loved it that much. (Goldsboro, if you were wondering).
0⤷ 4.75✩ Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton Audio for providing me with this E-ARC via NetGalley This book was an unexpected read that I absolutely loved. This has the potential to become one of my favourite fantasy series. My emotions were all over the place: from nearly crying to laughing out loud, to utter shock. The character work is excellent. Both main and side characters have intricate backgrounds to the extent that you find yourself empathising with the villainous characters. You fully understand their motivations. The plottwists are perfectly executed. All the various subplots build toward one reveal that tiss everything together in a stunning way. Regarding the audio, it was a work of art. The narrator portrayed all emtoions perfectly and kept the suspense at just the right level throughout. I was very satisfied with this narrator. I am already highly anticipating the next book. I cannot wait!
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