u/LibrariansNightmare

I recently started the Essalieyan series. I saw it recommended here for its noble house politics.

I liked the first book, Hunter’s Oath. It was fun. I liked Stephen quite a bit. The atmospheric writing and central mystery were very enjoyable. The noble house in Breodanir was fine, and its custom rituals were unique. But in the second book, the story went to a different country, and we were introduced to a new character who seemed to be the main protagonist now. She was a street orphan like Stephen. Stephen was somewhat sidelined, which wasn’t a big deal because I liked the central plot.

Everything was more or less okay, but the noble houses in the new country were just like a college dorm. They are literally structured like a dorm. We already get a not-so-subtle hint that the new protagonist will become the leader of the main noble house.

Every character in a house lacked proper motivation. Imagine killing people and giving up your life for a dorm. And the politics, my god, are basically Netflix teen drama. A huge amount of the politics is literally about who is marrying whom, whose “suit” is accepted, and who is jealous of whom. It's a shame because I liked the main mystery elements.

It is not just this; most of the fantasy noble houses I have come across are like this, specially Romantasy. I mean, how do they earn money, govern if the only thing they do is party and gossip?

Though I liked the politics in ASOIAF and The Traitor Baru Cormorant. They seemed mature. So what are some books where noble houses are done well and feel mature? You know, proper noble houses with sigils, land, oaths, customs etc.

Edit: Those who are saying noble families are like that in real life;

Really?

Like a dorm? Anyone can become the leader of a house?

No land, No population, No state to run! Just a house in a city! That's it?

Gossip and pettiness exist but these are the only things they do?

Le Carre is just a wizard. I read most of his books, and they ruined other spy fiction for me. I couldn’t get into most of the books I tried afterward, not even fantasy which I usually love. So I ended up taking a long break from reading.

Just today, I discovered Len Deighton. The first chapter of Berlin Game gave me the same feeling I had when I first read The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. I finished it in one sitting.

I mean, it’s not le Carre but I enjoyed it a lot. It’s a classic Cold War era spy fiction, and there’s just something about Cold War espionage that acts like a magnet for me. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.