The Raven Scholar is a masterfully woven and breathtakingly epic modern fantasy from award-winning author Antonia Hodgson. Publishing in April we've got an exclusive extract just for you!
CHAPTER
One
Once they made sacrifices here, to appease the Eight. This was many thousands of years ago, but the rock remembers. There was a modest temple on the hill, with views across the island, and worn stone steps leading up to a plain stone slab. Now there is a palace with golden halls and floors of white marble. Lustrous silk tapestries hang from the walls, telling intricate stories of love and war, and the death of tyrants. The air is lacquered with incense, rich and heady.
This is where my father died.
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Publishing 17 April 2025
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.
A richly drawn world, and one scholar's quest to uncover the truth. The fate of nations - and the world - are at stake with Neema, the underdog heroine, you cannot help but root for, fighting to save the day.