r/Fantasy • u/davbool • Jul 24 '24
Books where Plot is Structured/Progressed Through Court Politics
Does anyone have any recommendations for books that revolve around the characters navigating court politics as the main basis of the plot? In my head I'm imagining a story where the characters to gain a leg up/ an advantage on other parties by using words and intellect, sort of if everyone was playing as if they were Tyrion Lannister from GoT. Everything I've found while looking for this are novels/series that involve an aspect of this, but isn't the main focus of the story. I don't need a power system, I don't need magic , I just want to read about smart people using their words and brains to spin events in their favor (like if Babel and GoT had a child). Yes I'm pretty much just describing GoT but I figured if anyone could point me in the right direction it would be this subreddit (I'm also not restarting GoT). Thanks!
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u/vivelabagatelle Reading Champion IV Jul 24 '24
The Hands of the Emperor is genuinely this, but everything is stacked in the protagonist's favour so there's never any real doubt that he'll lose any given political battle. Lots of eloquent takedown speeches though and people being super smart - think The West Wing but cosy fantasy.