I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life.
Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. As far as I’m concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I’m not joining his pack of adoring fans.
I don’t need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artefacts. I’m probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I’ll level mountains and kill untold millions, making myself the dark queen of the world.
At least, that’s what the world expects. Most of the other students in here would be delighted if Orion killed me, like one more evil thing that’s crawled out of the drains. Sometimes I think they want me to turn into the evil witch they assume I am. The school certainly does.
But the Scholomance isn’t getting what it wants from me. And neither is Orion Lake. I may not be anyone’s idea of the shining hero, but I’m going to make it out of this place alive, and I’m not going to slaughter thousands to do it, either.
Although I’m giving serious consideration to just one.
Novik's anti-Hogwarts lives or dies on one question: can you stand El? She narrates in a prickly, defensive, darkly funny voice, and reviewers split right down the middle. Some call it marvellous. Kirkus found her attitude and the constant explaining hard to root for, and thought the romance felt forced.
The case for her is a school that really is dangerous, with an inventive magic system and friendships that sneak up on you. The case against is the early chapters, which stop to explain the rules every few paragraphs. Some readers say it settles by chapter two. Others say it takes a third of the book. Decide within a chapter whether her voice amuses you or wears you out. It won't change much.
Kirkus was mixed, liking the premise and stakes but not the narrator or the romance. Readers split over the same two things: El's furious voice and the book's thick early exposition. It was a 2021 Lodestar Award finalist for Best Young Adult Book.
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Historical alternate fantasy featuring dragons during the Napoleonic Wars introduced readers to a distinct blend of military history and speculative fiction. Naomi Novik established her reputation with the nine-novel Temeraire series before expanding into award-winning standalone folklore reimaginings and dark magical academy fiction.
An avid reader of fantasy literature since age six, Novik combines a lifelong love of speculative worldbuilding with rigorous historical interest. Her works have won the Nebula, Locus, Mythopoeic, and British Fantasy awards, and have been translated into more than thirty languages.
Born in New York in 1973 as a first-generation American, Novik was raised on Polish fairy tales, stories of Baba Yaga, and the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. She developed a deep fascination with the Napoleonic era alongside a fondness for the literary works of Jane Austen and Patrick O'Brian. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Brown University and a Master's degree in Computer Science from Columbia University. Novik initially worked in the computer games industry as a programmer and designer, contributing to Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide at BioWare in Edmonton, Canada. Recognizing that she preferred creative storytelling over computer programming, she returned to New York to focus full-time on writing novels.
Novik made her publishing debut in 2006 with her Temeraire series, reimagining nineteenth-century naval and aerial warfare with intelligent dragons serving in military aviator corps. Following the conclusion of the nine-book series in 2016, she turned to standalone fairy-tale retellings and later developed the dark academic Scholomance trilogy. She lives in New York City with her husband, daughter, and many purring computers.
Novik's writing frequently merges intricate historical detail, folk mythology, and subverted speculative tropes. In her folklore-inspired standalones, she draws upon Eastern European motifs and classic fairy tales to explore themes of isolation, magical bargain dynamics, and systemic power. Her characterization often highlights pragmatic protagonists navigating harsh environments, complex political alliances, and dangerous magical institutions.
The Scholomance
