The Goblin Emperor

I came to be a big fan of The Goblin Emperor as I went. It has a good amount of political intrigue; not quite as complicated as GoT, but certainly enough to chew on and feel thoughtful (unlike Sanderson, for example). And being thrown into the machinations of the court puts you in the seat of the young protagonist himself, as you both try to keep up with the names and roles. It's deliberately open-minded without being preachy about it, and (didn't see this one coming) contains an unexpectedly thoughtful portrayal of an egalitarian political terrorist. There's a great exploration of insider-outsider dynamics as well, considering the emperor is of mixed heritage. Also, and perhaps most importantly, it's truly warm-hearted. There are schemers and no shortage of opponents, but the Goblin Emperor does a great job of portraying that, when you get down to it, most people aren't evil. Nobody's perfect, but there is kindness in the world, and a lot of people do try and help others when given the chance. Fantasy so often tries to overcome the trappings of being “just YA lit” by throwing in buckets of blood, sex, and cruelty (GoT is certainly guilty, no matter its other strengths). I love that this book overcomes that by instead having a pretty thoughtful political landscape filled by mostly decent people trying to do what's best for their houses and lands.

Cons: I know it's the point for us to empathize with the emperor at being overwhelmed by all the names, but they're just so weird. Having so many strange titles and invented names is a fantasy trope that the book did NOT avoid. But maybe I'm just close-minded and mentally lazy about new languages