literature.cafe chat

Sure! I'll try to be fairly general to avoid spoiling anything.

It's about the youngest, half-goblin son of the elven Emperor, living in exile with his abusive uncle, until a message arrives that his father and older brothers have all perished in a totally-not-suspicious accident and he has unexpectedly inherited the throne. It follows him learning about and navigating courtly politics (and flailing. so much flailing.), his struggles with tradition and the intense alienation he feels as he is suddenly elevated to the top of society and finds that it kinda sucks to be there (and all the reasons why). I really enjoy the tone of this book - it's quite meditative and depicts certain political/social mechanisms in a somewhat realistic way, but is quite hopeful overall (without being preachy). It's very character/feelings focused and doesn't really have one "core" plot beyond following the protagonist's arc. The writing is excellent - especially the way it gives depth to characters who appear only very briefly and how much it conveys through characters' body language.

Word of caution: the jargon and the amount of names and terms that get thrown at you is overwhelming. This is intentional - you are made to feel exactly what the protagonist is feeling - but it still is too much for some. There is a glossary at the end that's helpful and often missed.

Most people seem to love this book, but those who don't tend to bounce off very hard, mostly because of aforementioned jargon/lack of one central intrigue. It's one of my personal faves and I've read it 3 or 4 times so I'm obviously in the first group ^^