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Do you like period dramas, ghost stories, and courtly romance? Then Raven of the Inner Palace by Kouko Shirakawa will bewitch you with tales of intrigue and spooky delight.
If you watch anime, you may have already heard of Raven of the Inner Palace. Now, the English translation of the light novel is up for preorder, to be released on 5 January 2023. If you don’t know, ‘light novel’ is a category of fiction in the Japanese market. It is not manga, because the books are mostly prose. But there are manga-style illustrations scattered throughout. The overall effect is something like Alice in Wonderland, though of course lots of different stories, aimed at lots of different ages of reader, either start their lives as light novels or are later translated from other formats into light novels. They are not only for kids.
Raven of the Inner Palace is a fantasy horror romance story set in an imperial court that bears some resemblances to both Chinese and Japanese courts of about 1000 years ago. It follows the story of the mysterious Raven Consort who lives within the Imperial Palace, but who does not function as a wife of the Emperor like the other consorts: rather, she is more like a priestess and an exorcist.
The story would appeal to anyone who likes watching Chinese, Korean, or Japanese period dramas, particularly court dramas, and to people who like quieter, gentler ghost stories, where most ghosts find peace at the end. Though, trigger warning: there is some gore and scary ghosts in the series, too.
I’ve had the privilege of reading volumes 1 & 2 with my editor hat on. It was a real joy to work on these, though I kept having to remind myself I was working, because I kept getting lost in the story!
I highly recommend this book.
Who is the Raven Consort?
Deep within the palace's walls lives the secluded and mysterious Raven Consort. Some say she is an old woman, while others claim she is young and beautiful. What all stories agree upon is that she has the power to exorcise spirits, lay fatal curses, and find lost objects--for a price. When the young emperor arrives at the door of the Raven Consort seeking magical assistance, his request could shake up the palace...or perhaps even the entire kingdom.
