The Raven Scholar

Hugo Award Finalist • Goodreads Choice Award Finalist • Locus Award Finalist

Best of the Year at ELLE, Gizmodo, NPR,Publishers Weekly,and more!

“A labyrinth of a book—vast and intricate, full of fiendish twists and clever traps—with a deeply human heart at its center. It's thrilling, romantic, often tragic, and always funny; I'm obsessed.” —Alix E. Harrow, New York Timesbestsellingauthor of Starling House

The Raven Scholar is a masterfully woven tale of imperial intrigue and a breakout epic fantasy sensation from an electrifying new voice in the genre, Astounding Award-winning author Antonia Hodgson.

Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four yearsof 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, wewill win an empire. If she fails, death awaits her. But we won’t let that happen.

We are the Raven, and we are magnificent.

★ "Sharply written and intricately plotted. A masterclass in storytelling!" —Ann Leckie, Hugo Award-winning author of Ancillary Justice

★"Fiendishly charming and clever, this is a book you absolutely must devour." —Tasha Suri, World Fantasy Award-winning author of The Jasmine Throne

★ "The Raven Scholar is as clever as its namesake—each beloved character, each twist and each turn, is a shiny new gift. It is magnificent." —C. L. Clark, author of The Unbroken

About the Author: Antonia Hodgson is a freelance editor, and author of the bestselling Thomas Hawkins historical crime series. Her first novel, The Devil in the Marshalsea, won the CWA Historical Dagger Award and was shortlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year. She lives in Kent, England, where she has been visited by a fox and a raven, and a tiger in the form of her neighbour’s ginger cat. No dragons as yet.

More Details:

Hachette Book Group

Imprint : Orbit

On Sale: Apr 15/25

Paperback | 6 x 9

FICTION / Fantasy / Epic

ISBN: 9780316577229