I'm going to repeat what almost every other reviewer has already said: This is a great book, and it does some things really well, including staying away from the "grimdark" genre. There is hardly any action, most of the book takes place inside a palace, there are elves and goblins, and no one is inherently bad.

I finished Farseer trilogy recently, and it gets quite dark at times, and has some entirely evil characters (their motivations might be explained later, but they appear entirely evil for no reason for most of the book). On the other hand, here the characters are all trying their best to do good.

Not just personal good, which is what you expect from the characters (like in A Song of Ice and Fire), but "Good" in general. And navigating this labyrinth is our main character. There are a lot of excellent character studies in the book, and the author does a really good job of having us understand the motivations of every character.

5/5, would read again.

Reread Notes [2021]: Did a re-read in anticipation of the sequel ([b:The Witness for the Dead|41302953|The Witness for the Dead (The Goblin Emperor, #2)|Katherine Addison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603852509l/41302953.SY75.jpg|64512163]). Still love everything I loved the first time. I was more confused with names this time around, not sure why. But it gets better towards the last third. The sequel's out, but not in India so far, so I have to wait a bit more. Knowing that Celeher is the protagonist in the sequel, I did search for hints, but only found that the ending of Celeher's arc in the first book sets him up somewhat for the sequel. I also really loved the ending this time, very poignant.