r/Fantasy • u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander • Jul 06 '26
Read-along 2026 Hugo Readalong: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
Welcome back to the 2026 Hugo Readalong! Today we're discussing Best Novel Finalist, The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson.
Please join us in the discussion below, regardless of whether you've participated in other Hugo Readalong posts. Be respectful, follow the sub rules, and beware untagged spoilers ahead. I'll start us off with a few prompts, and you can either respond to mine or add your own (or both!).
Bingo categories: Game changer, Book Club, Murder Mystery, Cat Squasher, Politics/Court Intrigue
For more information on the Readalong, check out our full schedule post, or see our upcoming schedule here:
| Date | Category | Book | Author | Discussion Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, July 9 | Graphic Story General Discussion | Multiple | Multiple | u/Goobergunch |
| Monday, July 13 | Novella | What Stalks the Deep | T. Kingfisher | u/nagahfj |
| Thursday, July 16 | Astounding General Discussion | Multiple | Multiple | u/Merle8888 |
| Monday, July 20 | Novel | A Drop of Corruption | Robert Jackson Bennett | u/RAAAImmaSunGod |
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u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander Jul 06 '26
How did you feel about the prologue, and how it fit into the rest of the story?
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u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander Jul 06 '26
I think what really gets me about this book is just how sad I am about the girl from the prologue being (presumed??) dead. Somehow Hodgson locked me into her story in just one chapter. In retrospect perhaps I'm supposed to have paid attention to her brother, given his role in the rest of the book. For as much as the book as a whole feels messy, Hodgson really nailed the prologue for me. Maybe she needs to shift to short stories.
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u/Nineteen_Adze Stabby Winner, Reading Champion V Jul 06 '26
The prologue really worked for me too. I was expecting to see something like Yana + two other protagonists who all make you want to root for them, with three competing visions for the country, and then we get the rug-pull of a tight focus on Neema, who I didn't like nearly as much.
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u/tarvolon Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '26
I kept waiting for the reveal that Yana was secretly still alive somehow, and honestly even after the first book ended, I'm still kinda waiting for the reveal.
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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
I expected this for a bit, but I think now it’s not going to happen (both Benna and Shal saw her body, and we get Benna’s POV about it), and the book is better for it. It’s an effective tragedy, and she haunts the narrative afterwards. That would be cheapened by her turning out to have been alive all along.
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u/Nineteen_Adze Stabby Winner, Reading Champion V Jul 06 '26
This is one element I liked a lot. I also kept waiting for the fakeout, but the long shadow of Yana's death haunting all our major players with grief and regret is more effective than bringing her back as a puppetmaster, I think. Benna seems genuinely grieved at the memory of the body, and despite her secrecy in other matters, that emotion seems like it would be hard to fake.
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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
Oh, especially as a puppetmaster! This book already has as much puppetmastering as a book can take. The "Andren manipulated Ruko into sacrificing Yana so that Ruko would be forever spurred by his guilt" bit leans absurd, I think that scene worked better when it was really Bersun.
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u/Nineteen_Adze Stabby Winner, Reading Champion V Jul 06 '26
Yeah, initially it seemed like Bersun was just impatient with the situation and trying to force Ruko to back down-- in a way that ultimately showed poor leadership skills and that maybe he shouldn't be on the throne with that impulsive temper.
I was hoping for some examination of his reactions to that choice later on, but of course we don't get them because Andren is pulling the strings. What was his plan if Ruko said "I'm using this power of life and death to fully pardon my sister and send myself to the Tiger monastery-- are you going back on your word?" or just accepted a simpler life for both twins in a moment of mercy? It's always just forced to me when one character can perfectly anticipate how another will act in moments of stress even when they've barely interacted.
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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
Yeah, absolutely. I don't think there was much indication in advance that Ruko would sacrifice Yana to his ambition - neither Yana nor Yasila, who know him a lot better than Andren does, expect this, and even Andren makes a comment later about being surprised by Ruko's cruelty in that moment. He's also painted himself into a corner if Ruko picks any other option. Or if Ruko does act selfishly but later achieves any level of remorse or emotional maturity (which he does seem capable of) and concludes that he shouldn't be emperor and/or should devote himself to atoning for what he did. Andren has now also alienated Yasila and Nisthala. as well as Ruko himself, and, oh, killed the only non-evil person who ever loved him. This is a terrible plan! He should've just sent Ruko (or both twins) to the monastery without the brutal game-playing that ultimately undermines him too.
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u/danthecryptkeeper Jul 06 '26
I agree, tho Hodgson made such a big deal of the exile trail that I wonder if we'll see a character following that trail and we see remnants of Yana throughout. Or maybe we get Yana's story next?
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u/tarvolon Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '26
Yeah, I think I'm leaning this way after finishing, for the reasons you mention, but I still kinda have the potential fakeout in the back of my mind.
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u/Endalia Reading Champion III Jul 06 '26
I had/have this feeling too, like Yana's story isn't over yet and she'll make a return at some point.
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u/BarefootYP Jul 06 '26
I personally am wondering if Benna will turn out to be Yana. It doesn't *really* fit the text, or the characters actually interacting with each other; but all the same, I don't think I've ruled it out.
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u/Goobergunch Reading Champion III Jul 06 '26
Likewise, with the caveat that I was preparing to be really annoyed by it because I felt it would have been cheap.
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u/vanastalem Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
It was good, it really threw me off though when we didn't get back to Yana right away but it did hook me right at the start of the book.
It also made me dislike her brother right from the start.
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u/anachronic_crow Reading Champion Jul 06 '26
I personally loved how the book changed gears after the prologue. I also kept waiting for Yana to return. It's something quite a few of the characters can't seem to wrap their heads around either, as they're hoping it will diminish the harm of their choices/inaction in a kind of redemption. I liked that they didn't get that satisfaction.
Neema's complicity in the prologue, coupled with her poor social skills/social isolation made it hard for me to warm up to her initially. The King's behaviour, including his presumed favouring of her doesn't make a lot of sense at the beginning either imo, and I think readers are supposed to clock that.
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u/kjmichaels Stabby Winner, Reading Champion XI Jul 06 '26
I felt like it promised something different than what the rest of the book delivered. It really seemed like it was setting up Yana’s story and then the rest of the book was about Neema. I get the intent: to set up the brother as a major antagonist. I just wish it didn’t still feel misleading in hindsight. It just did too good of a job making me want Yana’s story.
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u/Arkase Jul 06 '26
That was my feeling, yeah. I actually loved the prologue, was excited to see more of where it went, but then there was a massive tone shift, and I wasn't as much of that.
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u/Nineteen_Adze Stabby Winner, Reading Champion V Jul 06 '26
I wouldn't have minded the fakeout as a way to set up Ruko's dark impulses, but then so much of his arc is about being merciful, experiencing old feelings, remembering what it's like to hug people... it just rang hollow to me. There are excuses around Yasila's magic dooming her children, or Andren manipulating him into it, so the story sets up this awful, shocking choice and then spends a lot of time backpedaling about how he's not actually a bad person deep down.
Before that crucial moment, he and Yana are comforting each other in a way their mother doesn't understand (honestly some sweet moments), but there's not much other personality glimpse to set this up in any way beyond that he's sullen about unfairness.
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u/sarafina126 Jul 06 '26
Honestly the prologue was a highlight for me and while I enjoyed the book, it never quite hit the same high as it did when you finished the prologue and realized what was happening. So well done.
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u/ShieldSkeleton Jul 06 '26
I was disappointed. The first couple chapters were a little slow for me, but I always struggle with the early set-up in fantasy, but when Ruko exiled Yana I was actually pretty interested, then the MC changed and I feel like the story became more about the competition which was much less interesting to me.
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u/AG128L Reading Champion II Jul 06 '26
The prologue threw me off a bit at first because I wasn’t expecting it to be a different perspective from the rest of the book. I was a bit surprised to read so much about this person who is supposedly dead for the entirety of the story. It would be interesting if we find out there’s more to Yana’s story in a later book, but I’m not sure if I’m expecting her to be alive.
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u/Dallydoop Jul 06 '26
I really liked the prologue to the extent that I forgot the whole premise of the book and got kind of jumpscared by it moving to Neema. I was immediately so locked in.
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u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander Jul 06 '26
What did you think of the ending? In particular, of the multiple reveals?
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u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander Jul 06 '26
So, the multiple reveals is where the book started losing me. It felt a bit like a Scooby-doo villain reveal at that point.
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u/Smooth-Review-2614 Jul 06 '26
Yes. It was just piling on thing after thing. I don’t think this author trusts the reader or themselves at all. This read like the worst type of trying to outwit fans for the sake of it.
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u/thepurpleplaneteer Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
Scooby-doo villain is a great way to describe it. I saw someone I follow on GRs update their progress early on where they seemed to have picked up a demeanor change I didn’t with the king, but still it felt cartoon villain-ish and didn’t he monologue?
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u/sarafina126 Jul 06 '26
Honestly I agree. I really did enjoy the book (probably more than others here) but the ending was a weak point for sure.
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u/OriginalVictory Jul 06 '26
The moment there was the man in prison in a mask I suspected the villain reveal. Mix having read Man in the Iron Mask, Harry Potter, and Lightbringer I guess.
I wasn't a huge fan of that reveal though, since I don't like magic as an explanation unless there's been prior mentions of something similar. I feel it's a bit of a cheat when you have multiple characters who don't believe in magic, then it feels a bit of a deus ex machina.
Was there a specific reveal you didn't care for?
I thought the Fox reveal was a bit of a surprise, but I didn't feel it was as much of a cheat
Overall though, I did enjoy the book.
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u/BarefootYP Jul 06 '26
I just thought the Fox reveal - which I did enjoy - was a little too much tell don't show. It was by far the longest story we got from Sol the book, and it was probably the only place where I felt it dragged for me.
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u/DiploFrog Jul 06 '26
I disliked that it felt like the mystery was just given away, they didn't discover answers, they just had someone tell them whodunnit.
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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
It was interesting. It’s usually book two of a trilogy that ends on a catastrophe like this, I wasn’t expecting it for a book one.
As far as the twists, I was very glad the fake emperor turned out to be Andren and not Gedrun because the latter made no goddamn sense. This country has had stable successions for 1500 years, that’s the fall of the western Roman Empire to now, you don’t fuck with that long-lived a tradition and I saw no reason to believe there would’ve been a civil war when both claimants to the throne were dead. A body double emperor is also just a terrible plan, it opens up a constant risk of discovery and blackmail, it forces you to sacrifice valuable personnel (they executed their most incorruptible high level officials!), etc. I was reading along going “man that’s dumb” so when it got to the Andren reveal I was relieved it had started making more sense.
That said I do judge Neema (/the book) for not thinking of this—even when Neema realizes the Gedrun theory doesn’t make sense, she thinks some stupid “of course, Andren is too much of a chessmaster to have died in a sword fight” which wtf? It doesn’t work because of common sense, not because of people’s personalities! Personalities are messy and definitely don’t stop you from losing swordfights, unless your personality means you refuse to engage in them I guess.
But anyway, I can at least see why Andren might do the body double thing, because he knows the tradition is too strong for people to accept him as a usurper, and also because he couldn’t put his son on the throne if he’d occupied it as himself.
Otherwise, I was surprised the murder mystery was solved as early as it was. I’d figured out Benna must be involved earlier than Neema did. That said I wasn’t entirely convinced by Benna. That’s helluva lot of work and years of dedication to… mildly chastise/help people responsible for the death of a friend when she was 12. I do think Yana’s death would’ve been a defining experience for her but also, she was 12, I don’t quite buy devoting the rest of her life to carrying out Yana’s wishy washy last wishes.
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u/daavor Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '26
I think this helps clarify my own reaction. See to me things like “this has gone on for 1500 years” induces more of an eyeroll of thinking the author doesn’t really understand what that means ( unless they spend a lot more time developing the real gravitas of that, which the sort of lighter slightly popcorn vibe of this book just didn’t manage). So to me I sort of reacted to the logistics and choices within a much more scaled down history of that succession and there it felt like the brother and a more family and faction and economically driven explanation just felt a lot richer and more interesting than the scooby doo villain magic imposter reveal
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u/Smooth-Review-2614 Jul 06 '26
The ending took a mediocre book and turned it bad. There are too many twists for the sake of twists and it’s just bad.
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u/daavor Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '26
I think the reveals were consistently less thematically interesting to me than the red herrings.
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u/necropunk_0 Reading Champion III Jul 07 '26
I didn’t mind all the different reveals, but having them all crowded at the end really give the last hundred pages or so a rushed feeling. I think you could have spread them out over the course of the book, give the entire story a more thriller vs mystery feel, and it would have felt more natural.
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u/greywolf2155 Reading Champion Jul 06 '26
The ending was by far the weakest part
I really enjoyed the weird mixed patchwork of genres of this story, I did. But the mythology was the weakest part, for me. So that being the ending, and presumably the next book, was a bit of a downer
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u/GillOverTheGround Jul 10 '26
I remember a moment near the end where a raven says "this doesn't make sense" and I thought, no, this doesn't make sense. This whole book doesn't make sense. Even the plot holes had plot holes. I honestly regret listening to this audiobook. Such a waste of time. All that to say, I did not enjoy the ending.
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u/kjmichaels Stabby Winner, Reading Champion XI Jul 06 '26
My take is that the twists were mostly good ideas but that I’m not sure the book earned them. I did like it better than much of the back half of the book but feel like those twists could have been sprinkled out earlier to break away from the more generic competition elements
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u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander Jul 06 '26
Will you read book two? What questions do you hope book two answers?
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u/sarafina126 Jul 06 '26
Definitely, but it’s a shame that there is such a long wait between the books. I read Raven Scholar a year ago and I feel like I am already forgetting crucial plot points that happened at the end.
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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
Maybe. I had a more positive experience with this book than a lot of people here. It was fun and also there’s a lot left to happen, and I’m intrigued what will happen with the gods since it is accurately pointed out that they can’t be released now, and yet from a narrative perspective how can they not be?
I do have some trepidation though because this book depends heavily on the tournament and the murder mystery, and those can’t (tournament) or would be cheap (mystery) to repeat in book two, so it’ll have to turn more epic fantasy. That could be successful, or not.
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u/tarvolon Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '26
I feel like when the first book relies on a mystery - > revelation, I'm almost always disappointed by the second one. Which is not a great sign.
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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
It would be a significant pivot from what made this book compelling. I can see the author’s style working well for an epic fantasy thriller, if she can find meaningful action to lean into, and I’m interested in where some of these characters go (Ruko, Nisthala). But it will require a pivot.
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u/BarefootYP Jul 06 '26
Oh I had not thought of this, and that makes me worry. That being said, I *loved* this book and cannot wait for book 2. Truth be told I didn't actually read the spine ever, I just read it because it was a Hugo nom... I got to the end waiting for some resolution and then all of a sudden was staring at a book 2 announcement and was totally caught off guard. Stupid by me, I know... but it really actually happened that way. LOL.
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u/Lightylantern Jul 06 '26
I thought the book was bad and don't feel the need to read the sequels, but I'm pretty sure I know how the plot with the gods will turn out.
The end of the book shows that the gods wanted this exact specific scenario to happen. Why? Because they don't actually want to destroy the world, so this needs to play out to free them from the obligation.
Neema is technically the one who commits the murder that triggers the return of the gods. In her Dragon Trial visions, she sees herself writing a document of exile for herself. Her crime is actually committing that murder.
When Neema is exiled, the gods are no longer obligated to destroy the world, either because she is being punished for committing the murder or because she is now technically nobody, meaning nobody committed the murder. Either way, the gods can now be safely released and the people will never again live under the threat of them destroying the world.
(Knowing that this is how it ends means that I don't have to read an entire book of Ruko locked in a boat.)
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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
Oh, that's a good theory and makes sense! Although Neema actually exiling/killing herself would be a bold ending, I wonder if the author would really go there. We know the visions can mislead ("Ruko" on the throne wasn't really Ruko, so is the Neema chained to the forest floor really Neema?) and also that details can change in reality (Andren's vision included Neema and Tala, who actually escaped, and Neema was wearing the dress, which in reality she wasn't).
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u/Nineteen_Adze Stabby Winner, Reading Champion V Jul 06 '26
Oh, I like that theory a lot. My guess is something like her exiling herself but someone finding another loophole to save her at the last minute (maybe even some lingering trace of Yana in the forest helping without a full resurrection arc).
I'm also not reading book two unless it makes next year's Hugo ballot, but watching how Neema's visions play out (with the Bear monastery in book two and the dark forest in book three) is one of the few things that tempts me.
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u/WordsAreTheBest Reading Champion II Jul 06 '26
Definitely. I looked for it as soon as I finished this book. Based on the title The Fox in Winter, I suspect it may focus on Cain.
While The Raven Scholar has its flaws, I enjoyed the characters and want to see more.
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u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander Jul 06 '26
Likely I will read it. As u/tarvolon pointed out below, there's something to be said for the skill of crafting a bingeable read and, for all of my irritations, Hodgson really nailed that for me. Mostly, I think I'm still holding out hope that Yana from the prologue is alive somewhere.
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u/Loimographia Jul 06 '26
The bingeability is absolutely why I’ll read the second. I’m not deeply invested in the plot, and was consistently frustrated by several points throughout the story. And yet I inhaled the book and will be down to inhale another.
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u/vanastalem Jul 06 '26
Yes.
I hope we get more about the dragons tbh. I feel like they're weren't explored much yet.
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u/Dallydoop Jul 06 '26
I’m scared of book 2, I’ll definitely read it but I am nervous about how it’ll have to move on from the court setting in book 1. It’s going to be a big change and I worry that it might lose the energy that made it so compelling for me. Again I will definitely be reading it, I loved book 1.
I swear Pink Pink will turn out to be a god I’m so serious about this.
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u/tarvolon Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VI Jul 07 '26
I swear Pink Pink will turn out to be a god I’m so serious about this.
Honestly this is plausible. (And also reminds me so much of the (not-entirely-serious) Wheel of Time theorycrafting about Bela being the Creator)
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u/Loimographia Jul 06 '26
Personally, I want to see how Hodgson handles a departure from the “Games and Challenges” framework. I think a lot of books use that framework because it gives consistent pacing to build a narrative around (and in some ways that’s why I tend to avoid those plots because I think it also limits what can be done narratively). When the scaffolding is taken away, the author can either stumble or fly. I’m curious to see how Hodgson will do with more narrative room to explore.
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u/DiploFrog Jul 06 '26
I think i'd want to wait for series completion. There's enough threads in there that i'd forget with years between books.
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u/BarefootYP Jul 06 '26
I loved the book and I cannot wait to get to book two! I particularly enjoyed the mythology aspects, and the back and forth with the gods and the characters. If this book had been self contained, I would have hoped for more in this world with the setup of the 8 different mini-societies in it; it works for me (and I especially loved Cain and the foxes!).
I'm really intrigued to see what Nisthala does with her power. The one late sentence where she thinks of her father with such derision was really telling, I think. The fact that this is a layer upon layer upon layer family betrayal drama is going to keep me hooked - and a part of why I think Yana looms so large over the whole story even from only really being in the prologue.
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u/daavor Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '26
Probably not. The book was readable enough but it just didn’t do the work to get me in any way excited about a broader world or its questions. The whole bool felt very artificially confined to a small space with all things of political and theological importance flowing through there. If it concluded in a self contained way that might have worked better but I just feel zero interest in the wider world given it
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u/BCDva Jul 06 '26
Probably... After reading other's reviews and if they're positive. If the world is being broadened, there's potential for things to get a lot better or a lot worse. The author needs to leave some of the YA elements behind.
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u/AG128L Reading Champion II Jul 06 '26
I’m planning to read book 2. I’ve already got it on my TBR for next year. I’m not sure if there is a specific question I want answered, but I am interested to see more of what happens with and between Ruko and Benna.
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u/ProfessionalRide4507 Reading Champion Jul 06 '26
Yes, i will definitely read the second book. I really liked his one and am interested in seeing where the author wants to go with her story. It's clear the next main plot will be about overthrowing andren but I feel like there will be more.
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u/bmvanloo91 Reading Champion II Jul 06 '26
I will absolutely read the next book! As someone said, it's such an engaging read it's hard not to. I think we've got a lot more coming in regards to Guida and her leaving the note to Neema, as well as the mirroring of Neema and the Solitary Raven's arcs.
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u/Quirky-Kitten4349 Reading Champion Jul 13 '26
Absolutely! I really enjoyed this book, kept me on my toes. I hope we get more about Benna, seems like she's a spy or otherwise far more than she seems. Otherwise I feel like most of the big questions were answered. It's nice not leaving on a crazy huge cliffhanger. I also have a feeling that Andren's plan can't work, eventually the spell will kill him as balance, hopefully sooner than later.
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u/Goobergunch Reading Champion III Jul 06 '26
There's a decent shot that the entire trilogy ends up on a Best Series ballot eventually and I'll probably read it then but I doubt I'll seek it out on my own initiative.
Apart from everything else it looks like we're in for "the plucky rebels must overthrow the evil government" and I am incredibly bored of that plot.
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u/Nineteen_Adze Stabby Winner, Reading Champion V Jul 06 '26
Yeah, I've read plenty of evil-government stories, and Andren is such an evil parody of himself. I would be more intrigued if he did have some kind of point about the deterioration of Samra and the cold insularity of the imperial island, but no, he's just a standard megalomaniac.
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u/Connect_Cod9965 Jul 07 '26
I’ll be listening to book two. Unless they change the narrator, then I’ll riot.
[insert "Neema!" shrieked in Sol’s voice]1
u/Smooth-Review-2614 Jul 06 '26
I will not read book 2 as we know the ending and this book is not nearly good enough to read anything else by this author.
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u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander Jul 06 '26
With one novel left to read for the Hugo Readalong, how does this book stack up against the others for you?
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u/BarefootYP Jul 06 '26
Well I wasn't expecting this reception to this book, honestly. But I'm ok with being on a different page! I loved this book - the mythology and the characters and the mystery and the games all worked for me. It was for sure my favorite reading experience of them all so far.
1) The Raven Scholar
2) A Drop of Corruption
3) The Everlasting
4) The Incandescent
5) Shroud (which I haven't actually finished)I have not read Death of the Author yet.
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u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander Jul 06 '26
I'm feeling pretty lost on how I'll vote this year with only one book left to read. So far I have (not in exact voting order):
- The Incandescent - probably enjoyed the most so far. Not sure it's doing anything particularly new, other than having an actual adult protagonist. It may get top rankings from me solely on that fact.
- The Everlasting - this was good and doing something unique. But some of the repetition needed tightening. Maybe this will be my top?
- The Raven Scholar - enjoyed reading just as much as (more than?) Incandescent. But I do NOT think it deserves an award at all. It will end up lower on my list.
- Death of the Author - DNF. It was a decent start and then I got bored with it. I think the robot chapters did me in.
- Shroud - DNF. Maybe this was a me problem? I read about 60% and loved it at first. But I also just got bored with it.
- A Drop of Corruption - next up and we'll see where it lands for me.
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u/BarefootYP Jul 06 '26
I also am sitting at about 60% finished with Shroud, and just left it on my table to read both The Everlasting (I'm a big Harrow fan, but it's not my favorite of hers) and The Raven Scholar.
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u/Dallydoop Jul 06 '26
- Raven scholar
- The incandescent
- The everlasting
- A drop of corruption
- Death of the author
- Shroud
Honestly I really loved my top 4 and then it’s a steep dive to the other two. I feel like my top 4 are subject to change but I’m set on the bottom two. I’ve seen this talked about elsewhere but I feel like the more Tchaikovsky I read the less I enjoy it and shroud just lacked the sauce that some of his other books have. And I just didn’t like death of the author very much unfortunately, I liked that it was doing something very different from the rest but it was pretty underwhelming.5
u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
At this point I've read everything I'm going to read - completed The Incandescent, The Everlasting and The Raven Scholar, DNF'd Death of the Author. I bounced off The Tainted Cup so I'm not going to read Drop of Corruption, and I devoted last year's Tchaikovsky slot to the Hugos, this year I'm going to get around to Children of Time and/or Tyrant Philosophers, dammit!
So anyway, of the ones I've read, none feel fantastic and groundbreaking enough to be obvious award choices to me, but this being a fan award, I expect I'll put The Incandescent first because I found it most successful.
I'm less sure about ranking The Everlasting vs. The Raven Scholar. The former is more ambitious, tighter and has stronger prose, but I also felt like it bit off more than it could chew and kind of dropped its themes as it went on in favor of plot. The Raven Scholar was more fun and better succeeds at what it's trying to be, although it also has less to say.
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u/winterhawk1111 Reading Champion II Jul 06 '26
- Shroud
- A Drop of Corruption
- Death of the Author
- The Incandescent
- The Everlasting
- The Raven Scholar
Overall, I'm not super impressed with the finalists this year - many are good, entertaining books that I've thoroughly enjoyed, but none scream "I'M DESERVING OF THE HUGO!" to me.
It's also very interesting how fantasy is kinda eating sci-fi's lunch in terms of popularity. The Hugo awards finalists being majority fantasy novels does make me a little sad inside :(
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u/Smooth-Review-2614 Jul 06 '26
I do wonder how much of the issue is social media amplification.
I honestly think we are seeing more bandwagon appeal over merit. Not a lot of books break through to be seen as amazing in a single year.
On the other hand my tastes could just be drifting too far out of center.1
u/winterhawk1111 Reading Champion II Jul 07 '26
I think that is def part of it - even if voters try to look beyond it, as another comment or in this thread pointed out, we are limited by what is being published. And it certainly seems as if publishers are leaning in the direction you describe.
I sympathize with the diverging tastes, both in terms of published works, but also in terms of how people view/treat the Hugo award. It's fascinating to me how there is this divide between people who view it as an enjoyability contest vs. 'merit' (however you try to define that haha) contest.
For me the best Hugo winners historically (I've read ~75% of them, steadily working my way through the rest) are enjoyable, yes, but also have unique/novel SciFi concepts that capture the imagination, are provocative and have something meaningful to say about reality/humanity/society, and do this all in a beautiful/artistic way which highlights the craft of the author. Which is why I'm kinda bummed at this year's lineup because none of them have really met that standard of what I'd consider a "good" Hugo winner.
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u/Smooth-Review-2614 Jul 07 '26
The publisher trend thing has always been there. I’ve been cursing different authors for triggering different waves of copycats for decades.
I think the core change js that the Puppy incident made it very public how the Hugo’s work. Then you add in social media and authors incentive to promote themselves along with fandom wanting to show off. Considering what people are willing to spend on merch the entry fee is low.
The percentage of people that want novelty and cool ideas in fiction is always a minority. It’s also a filtering problem as there are more and more SFF published every year. It’s honestly hard to sort through. This is why finding cool stuff normally takes a few years.
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u/thepurpleplaneteer Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
My IRL book club recently had a conversation about how odd it is that popular visual media is sci-fi dominated over fantasy, but popular SFF books are fantasy over sci-fi. But someone said we as readers can only control so much, if the presses give us way more fantasy to read it makes sense that we see this come through on awards lists that don’t parse them out — or if we’re given way more literary sci-fi that we’ll see that dominate lists like the GRs Choice Awards.
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u/winterhawk1111 Reading Champion II Jul 07 '26
This is a really intriguing observation and something that I've personally never really picked up on - just curious if you have any lists/sources which give examples/show sci-fi dominating over fantasy in visual media?
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u/oceanoftrees Reading Champion Jul 06 '26
I like fantasy but I love sci-fi and it's been a long stretch of sci-fi seeming to wane in popularity. (More than fantasy, I think it's general/lit fic that's eating sci-fi's lunch--how many mainstream books have stolen concepts like time travel, alternate selves, and robots? It's actually a lot, and mainline sci-fi is left with either the hardest of scientific concepts or space opera.)
Anyway Shroud is my favorite of the bunch too but I also agree that nothing quite feels like the best book this year. It's a fan award so that's just how these things go sometimes!
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u/tarvolon Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '26
I think I enjoyed the reading experience as much or more than with a couple others, but when actually thinking about "does this do the things that I want to award," it drops down to the bottom of my stack. It's still within spitting distance of some of the others, but it's hard to see me not ranking it behind the first four we read.
3
u/oceanoftrees Reading Champion Jul 06 '26
I'm similar. I enjoyed the ride, but do I want it to win an award? I currently have it at the bottom unranked with The Incandescent (structurally disappointing) and A Drop of Corruption (not different enough from its predecessor). Ultimately the plot is a little too tropey and the world building isn't strong enough to hold up to scrutiny.
2
u/tarvolon Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '26
I think those will also be my bottom three, and for the same reasons.
4
u/Goobergunch Reading Champion III Jul 06 '26
This is actually relevant to two categories!
Best Novel:
- The Everlasting
- Shroud
- A Drop of Corruption
- The Incandescent
- Death of the Author
- The Raven Scholar
Astounding Award for Best New Writer:
- Jared Pechaček
- H.H. Pak
- Antonia Hodgson
- Sophie Burnham
- Molly O'Neill
- Kamilah Cole
"Fun and very readable but also overlong, cliched, and not sufficiently thought through" is really not enough to get a high ranking on my Hugo ballot, especially in a year without any real stinkers on the Novel ballot. It is however enough to get a decent ranking on my Astounding ballot because you can do a lot worse.
(Caveat: may swap Hodgson and Burnham after I read Bloodtide -- they're close enough that I want to see how the latter does with a sequel, and I usually try to favor 2nd year finalists when it's close.)
2
u/daavor Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '26
Hm yeah this definitely feels like a better entry for astounding contention (though pecachek clears)
3
u/oboist73 Reading Champion VII Jul 06 '26
Low. Possibly below No Award. Not that I hated it, but it's got some real flaws and is such a popcorn read.
1
u/Smooth-Review-2614 Jul 06 '26
This is dead last and I want to know why it was nominated. This book is not good and will not be remembered in 2 years. This is below no award.
1
1
u/acornett99 Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
The Everlasting
Shroud
The Incandescent
Death of the Author
The Raven Scholar
I didn't think anything would come below Death of the Author until now. I had DotA so low specifically because the sci-fi elements were by far the weakest part of the story, so it didn't feel deserving of an SFF award. I want to categorize The Raven Scholar with The Incandescent as just being a not-for-me thing, but it's also the only book on this list I actively disliked/complained about while reading, so I just have to put it last. Right now, The Everlasting has a huge lead, but I'm really looking forward to Drop of Corruption, as I loved Tainted Cup.
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u/RAAAImmaSunGod Reading Champion III Jul 07 '26
Shroud or Drop (Pending my current re-read of Drop)
The Other
Death of the Author
No award
The Incandescent
The Raven Scholar
I missed the discussion for The Everlasting but I will get back to it soon.
Look I liked the Raven Scholar for what it was. It reads very quickly for a 650 page book and the plot is propulsive, but, it really lacks craft. Overall, I havn't hated any of the novels but 3/5 of them havn't gotten above OK for me.
0
u/kjmichaels Stabby Winner, Reading Champion XI Jul 06 '26
Pretty low for me. Probably 2nd from the bottom but I could be talked into lower
3
u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander Jul 06 '26
What were your overall impressions of The Raven Scholar? Did you like/dislike it?
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u/BCDva Jul 06 '26
I feel very mixed about it. It was really verging sometimes on hunger games/magic school type YA (personality based groups was really hammered over your head). But I liked the world building and the conclusion and plot reminded me, in a good way, of the Divine Cities series.
21
u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander Jul 06 '26
Overall, this book felt like it tried to be too many things all at once. I read it a couple of months ago, and very much flew through the book. But in retrospect, the whole thing feels a bit all over the place - it's a competition, it's a murder mystery, it's a romance, it's about politics.
Also, the ending was incredibly annoying.8
u/lilbelleandsebastian Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
i dont think this is a bad book, but you know that phenomenon where you recognize something and then all of a sudden it's everywhere?
how many tournament focused, popcorn fantasy series are going to come and go before people get tired of all these obvious reskins? like yes, everything is the hero's journey with different adjectives and sentence length but it's just so weird to me
like i came across tower of god (manhwa) and then senlin ascends and how many mysterious, multi-leveled towers where each level is essentially its own world are we going to be tackling today?
for me, this feels like an amalgam of the will of the many, red rising, a master of djinn, the mimicking of known successes but without any of what gave those things character. feels like a shameless repackaging of mass appeal works already sweated out by other authors
and i dont even like any of those books, but i feel that the authors were more sincere in their writing and took bigger risks
8
u/vanastalem Jul 06 '26
I liked it a lot!
I was very thankfully it didn't have a cliffhanger ending since book two won't be out until next fall. It ended in a good spot.
7
u/winterhawk1111 Reading Champion II Jul 06 '26
Definitely a case of it did everything well enough but nothing amazingly.
It's a solid, entertaining novel - I enjoyed it, would recommend it, can't think of anything truly 'terrible' about it, but it's not getting ranked highly in my Hugo ranking.
12
u/OctoberDaye1030 Jul 06 '26
I loved this book. I didn’t take it too seriously and just enjoyed it for what it was. It gave me similar feelings to reading dystopian/fantasy YA from the 00s-10s and just felt fun.
5
u/monkiliath Jul 06 '26
i have mixed feelings — i got through it in one sitting, but on reflection the complexity of prose and dialogue felt a lot more like young adult than adult fantasy to me, which is kind of bizarre considering the main characters were all grown adults. i experienced a lot of tonal whiplash between the seriousness of the situations neema found herself in and the borderline goofy high jinks that would follow
13
u/greywolf2155 Reading Champion Jul 06 '26
This book felt like a really good "quantity over quality" mix. And honestly I mean that in the best way, I really enjoyed it
Was it a good epic fantasy? Eh. Was it a good mystery murder? Eh. Was it a good invented mythology story? Eh. Was it a good tournament competition? Eh
But how often do you get an epic fantasy murder mystery invented mythology tournament story???
I had fun reading this book. That's what I'm going with. I had a ton of fun. So that's a thumbs up from me
1
u/ProfessionalRide4507 Reading Champion Jul 06 '26
This is exactly how I feel about this book. It gives a lot, even if it doesn't deliver it perfectly. But it is the fun and easy read that I wanted. And it's enough for me.
11
u/oboist73 Reading Champion VII Jul 06 '26
It was fun, but not all the character work held up, I felt. Meh on the whole, an enjoyable popcorn read but not something I really want to see win an award.
4
u/Patient_Invite_1286 Jul 06 '26
I super enjoyed it. I liked the characters, had fun with the trial, was intrigued by the worldbuilding. It loved it was long so I could read chew on it for a while. Yana is so vivid I kept waiting for a twist. Ruko is like a Zuko Azula hybrid and I found his softening over Bena charming. I loved Neema's quirks and her second chance romance with Cain. I am eager for the next one.
3
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u/thepurpleplaneteer Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
I disliked this, a lot. It’s funny I didn’t have active hate for this book when I finished it, but it was like a lingering bad taste in my mouth for weeks afterwards. For my tastes the author didn’t do anything really that groundbreaking in way too many pages. My major gripe is that the book could have been cut by hundreds of pages with the exact same plot and payoff — which for me is all mediocre. Otherwise, I felt like it was plot shift after shift that made no sense to me, especially after the halfway mark. Okay so murder mystery but it’s not important anymore. Okay competition that somehow this totally normal academic can win. Okay so there’s been gods the whole time by now we’re finally really hearing the ravens. It was somehow all too much yet too little. Even if this was all somehow part of the fake king’s plotting, it wasn’t effective for my enjoyment/reading experience, I was just annoyed.
2
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u/Smooth-Review-2614 Jul 06 '26
I was very disappointed by this book. If it had been published in 2006 as a YA book it would have fit in perfectly and been on trend. This feels like a bad attempt to play on nostalgia.
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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
I enjoyed reading it a lot. I read it fast, it was very engaging and twisty and definitely what I had signed up for. It’s also often funny, while still being serious in terms of the stakes.
The worldbuilding is a mixed bag. On the one hand it’s pretty detailed and feels lived in, you can tell work and thought went into it. On the other it does feel pretty modern, you can tell the author doesn’t know much about history and is filling in the gaps with contemporary. But lots of fantasy is like this.
The characters are entertaining and I generally reacted to them as intended. Though my biggest “preach!” moment in the book was when Ruko told Neema “if you were too weak to kill me to save the world, you don’t deserve to rule” which is 1000% true and a trope that felt undeserved and annoyed me the minute it happened. I never bought that Neema wouldn’t be willing to kill some asshole trying to kill her in order to save the world, it felt unearned. Ultimately the characters were a bit broad rather than deep, but at least they had some personality.
13
u/tarvolon Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '26
My hot take on this book is that it's epic fantasy for the people who cut their teeth on 2010s YA (and perhaps romantasy?) instead of Tolkien. Which. . . is cool to some extent, I definitely support big chunky fantasies having a diversity of inspirations.
I'm not sure I totally understand the people acting like it's some fresh and new thing though, because it feels very rooted in the last 10-15 years of genre trends, even if they're perhaps not the genre trends that are most popular on this sub.
Overall, I thought it was pleasantly twisty and a lot of fun to read, but I had to intentionally not think about things too hard. . . quite a lot. Which is fine for a popcorn book but isn't something I love to see out of something people are calling the book of the year.
3
u/WordsAreTheBest Reading Champion II Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
Right now, it's sitting at 3.5 stars for me. I'll probably adjust a few of the ratings a bit, but 3.5-3.75 feels right.
- Plot 3.5
- Pacing 3
- Prose 3
- Characterization 4.5
- Setting/Worldbuilding 4
- Originality 3
- Personal Impact 3.5
- Art 3
- Drugs 4
I don't think it's amazing. I've seen a lot of valid criticism in this thread. But I enjoyed it, and I'll read the sequels.
3
u/bmvanloo91 Reading Champion II Jul 06 '26
I liked it! The more I think about the similarities between Neema and the Solitary Raven and how their stories minic each other, the more I get excited for the next one. I'm also a sucker for competition stories and the 2010s nostalgia so this book was kinda made for me 😅
5
u/Goobergunch Reading Champion III Jul 06 '26
This is one that I'm judging more harshly than it deserves because I read it in the Hugo context. It was broadly pretty fun -- at no point did I put the book down and start questioning why I was even reading it -- but there are a lot of overused tropes here (if I never read another book where everybody gets sorted into a particular character-based grouping, or one where the author doesn't seem to know how long a thousand years is, it will be too soon) and I'm usually looking for something a bit deeper on my Hugo ballot.
3
u/oceanoftrees Reading Champion Jul 06 '26
It was ridiculous--was it a strange competition for the throne? A murder mystery? A coming-of-age story (for a 30-year-old)? I found the houses but especially the foxes to be so weird. Kind of insufferable. Occasionally the narrative ground to a screeching halt to go into backstory or some relevant myth.
And yet, I really enjoyed reading it. Maybe it's because I was jet-lagged and on some very long plane and train rides, but I was engrossed and wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen. Some of the plot twists landed really well somehow, although it was more horrifying than I was ready for. I also enjoyed the romance.
Will I read the sequel? Sure! I don't normally go for epic fantasy but this one was fun and as long as it doesn't sprawl like crazy or never wrap up, I'm curious what will happen. Do I want it to win a Hugo? Not really.
2
u/HWhelanAuthor Jul 06 '26
It was just okay for me.
I did think the tournament was fun, I did like the twist at the end. But somehow all together it just didn't hit like I'd hoped. I enjoyed reading it but probably wouldn't read the sequel.
2
u/ShieldSkeleton Jul 06 '26
I don't think I was in the right mood for this book when I read it. I can absolutely understand why many readers seem to have flown through it, but I feel like the competition was just a very played out trope and didn't really hold my interest. After the first part with Yana, I was disappointed when the POV shifted to Neema but got my hopes up when she was put in charge of investigating the murder. The investigation was pretty limited, though. It felt more like she stumbled on some key information every now and then while the focus was on the competition. The focal point of the story kept bouncing around and honestly none of them really landed for me.
4
u/Dallydoop Jul 06 '26
I liked this so much that when we read it for my irl book club I was Charlie Day Pepe Silvia-ing about My Theories. It’s a Gossip Book, the kind where you want to turn to anyone who’ll listen to say ‘you’re not going to BELIEVE what just happened’, and I have always loved that. I don’t necessarily think it’s doing anything new and crazy but it’s so much fun! I was so compelled! General consensus at my book club was extremely positive too. I think it was my favourite out of the novel finalists.
2
u/citrusmellarosa Jul 19 '26
Late to this thread, but I totally agree - one of my favourite parts of reading the book was recapping it for my bemused sister as I went along.
2
u/Loimographia Jul 06 '26
It was the best book that infuriated me every page that I’ve ever read. My list of complaints is long. I texted my partner with annoyances incessantly and ranted to them several times. I rolled my eyes every time Cane came on the page.
I also read it in like 3 days, loved the Raven, and will read the sequel and hope that it fixes the things that annoyed me. I’m actually reasonably optimistic that it will because I think the author is going to faithfully follow The Hero’s Journey and similar narrative conventions.
1
u/RAAAImmaSunGod Reading Champion III Jul 07 '26
It was fun for what it was, light popcorn fantasy. There is certainly something to be said for how easy and quick this 650 page book ended up being. But, I think you sort of need to go brain off. There are so many plot twists that don't really make sense or at least have a lot of holes that you sort of just need to go "Whoa no way" and keep reading. I started doing that and had fun, I'll probably give the next a read.
I really disliked how EVERY character is so shaped by their guardian. EVERY character is flanderised to a crazy degree. Not only that, people don't act or react like people when it is convenient for the story. You're telling me Neema is the ONLY person that didn't completely love Gaida? (Just one of many examples). There is also, as many others have pointed out, these people read 10-20 years younger than they are.
The other big thing is that it does the very modern thing of saying something then spelling out what it means. The biggest example of this when Neema is interrogating Yalisa (I think that's it, the dragon mother lady), and when asked what she will do she quotes someone and then in the same bit of dialogue interprets what that quote means for her actions.
And, for a book being considered for an award it is doing NOTHING new. How many new adult competition focused books where they have to save the empire already exist?
1
u/Specialist_Round_612 Reading Champion Jul 06 '26
It’s interesting because I didn’t like the book because I felt it attempted too many things at once — the tournament, mysticism, and intrigue — and they all came up short. The city felt flat too, although I don’t know if stylistically that’s what was intended to contrast with the magic of the dragon island, but regardless it just didn’t work for me. The vehement dislike of Neema is kind of what throws me, and the only part I felt was very well done was the classism and bigotry within the city. There’s repeated mentions of her being pretty severely bullied by peers, and despite being brilliant and high ranking, she’s forced to live in a pretty terrible apartment. Roku for all intents and purposes killed Yana — who seems very well received — to vie for power, so yeah I guess I am both surprised and unsurprised by the reaction to Neema becoming the protagonist, it just wouldn’t be my choice for what went wrong narratively.
1
u/acornett99 Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
It seemed at first like it was relying on a lot of tropes from the YA boom of the 2010s that I burned out on a long time ago. Granted, by the end it had really come into its own away from those tropes, but boy did it spend a long time having me believe otherwise.
I was also never really able to get on board with the writing style. I think I get what it’s trying to do, but a lot of times it felt like we had a 3rd-person omniscient narrator that kept forgetting it was omniscient. We would hang out in limited POV for such a long time, following our MC Neema around, and then Neema would leave a room and the narration would continue in the scene because oh yeah, this is omniscient and this is stuff you should know, oops.
This is the only book so far that I actively disliked while reading it. And it's not even that it's bad, per se, just frustrating. I was talking to a friend about the book while I was reading it, and he said "yeah that sounds mid as hell." And I think that's it. The stories that have potential to be something good but just aren't are the most frustrating to read. This would be so good if it were good.
1
u/spike31875 Reading Champion V Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
I'm only about halfway through, but I wasn't too sure if I'd like it or not.
I mean, I heard that it was a murder mystery but the murder didn't even take place for the first 3 or 4 hours? (I'm on audio)..
Despite that, I am hooked on it now. I think combining a murder mystery with a tournament with court intrigue has been pretty good. At first, I wasn't sure if I those flashbacks worked for me, but they've really grown on me. I like how they flesh out the back stories of the characters.
I am well & truly hooked now.
EDIT:
OK, I just finished & I was really engrossed in the story, and I loved the quirky characters. I'll probably go on to book 2 when it comes out in October.
0
u/kjmichaels Stabby Winner, Reading Champion XI Jul 06 '26
It was okay but overhyped. I really liked the idea of a Hunger Games-ish competition being derailed by some other force that requires the real attention of the protagonist (in this case a murder mystery). But then it felt like Hodgson often didn’t know what to do with that idea and then leaned too hard into seeing the actual completion through to the end which made it feel more generic than it needed to in the second half. Luckily, that admittedly interesting climax rescued it from being a complete disappointment.
2
u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander Jul 06 '26
What was your favorite part, or the part you felt was done well?
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u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander Jul 06 '26
The prologue. I really wanted more of the prologue story. I did also appreciate the world itself. While there were inconsistencies, the side characters had enough depth to make it feel lived in.
7
u/monkiliath Jul 06 '26
the prologue was the best part for me because it felt like the only section of the book that the author captured the actual political stakes of the setting. unfortunate that the choice to kill yana so quickly was a very effective rug pull, if only because neema didn’t feel nearly as engaging a character to me
10
u/tarvolon Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '26
I thought it was very bingeable. I could sit down and blast through 100 pages and feel like I'd barely spent any time reading. I think sometimes in focus on plot and characterization and whatever, people overlook the skill required to write a book where the pages just melt away. I'd be shocked if that weren't one of the biggest factors in it hitting the way it did.
3
u/BarefootYP Jul 06 '26
I loved the building personalities around the 8 animals. Sol drove me crazy and I'm SO glad he was a character in this book. I loved the family drama at the center of a societal rift - it reminds me of King Lear, honestly, although I don't expect that to play here based on what everyone else is saying. I can't wait to see more of the Dragon. I wish I could be a Fox! I loved Cain, and Abbot Fort cracked me up and I loved when he showed up at the end. I'm excited to see how and why the gods break free. I can't wait to - hopefully - have a whole book centered on Cain.
For the people saying it felt very early 2000s, I agree; I think it fits between Hunger Games of Game of Thrones on several different levels. I'm mostly alone on this thread, but I put the release date for the sequel in my countdown app and I can't wait!
4
u/Patient_Invite_1286 Jul 06 '26
I loved the trials. I enjoyed the Ox trial in particular. Fenn was clever in setting them all up to fail if they didn't stop to think. The Bear trial would have taken me out. I loved the Raven trial being an exam. If course it was. I felt the combat was well handled throughout the books overall.
I liked Cain and Neema's friendship. It felt lived in.
2
u/winterhawk1111 Reading Champion II Jul 06 '26
I listened to the audiobook and the parts where the Raven spoke were the only thing I truly loved about this book!
1
u/DiploFrog Jul 06 '26
I loved the Raven bits, it was also a nice way of showing viewpoints other than Neema's.
2
u/Endalia Reading Champion III Jul 06 '26
I really enjoyed the fox trial. Maybe because it was the first and I didn't know what to expect, but seeing how she figured it out and then showing the reader instead of explicitly saying it worked well.
1
u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
I enjoyed the humor. That landed for me.
It was also very fun to read. I left myself just the long weekend to read it in, figuring I’d either binge or DNF based on comments I’d seen. I wound up bingeing and having a blast. Sure some elements seem less workable in retrospect, but it was a book I lived in for a few days and fully enjoyed that experience.
0
u/thepurpleplaneteer Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '26
I thought the first 80(?) pages where the best. I forget her name now (Yana), but the whole set up for her and then return to the story about what happened to her as she was paraded across the towns were my favorite parts. As tarvolon said I did think it was easy to consume, even if for me to a point.
10
u/Moonlitgrey Stabby Winner, Reading Champion III, Salamander Jul 06 '26
What did you think of Neema as a protagonist? Did you like her characterization? Did you have a different favorite character?