(Image by Thanks for your recognition • Donations ♡ welcome from Pixabay)

Pro-life activism can be dispiriting. It can feel like you’re getting nowhere or that your efforts have no effect. It can also just be tiring. 

In light of this, here’s a cosy January read I’d recommend. It’s a recent fantasy book about a goblin who suddenly finds that he has ascended to the throne, and who faces many uphill battles: to establish his own authority and ability as emperor, to avoid assassination attempts, and to rule his kingdom peacefully and justly. The fantasy setting provides the backdrop for a story that is more about letter writing, dinner parties, and court politics than it is about sword fights, quests, or magical creatures. 

What’s relevant to our interest is how the intrigues play out and are resolved – mainly through small acts of courage, forgiveness, and kindness. The protagonists are clever and navigate different factions and feuds skillfully, but also without malice. There is almost no ‘necessary cruelty’. This is a story about a good person trying to live a good life and do right by people and it shows how small gestures and good actions can have far-reaching consequences; that social change can happen slowly but surely as a result of people just trying to live their lives and make small but good decisions.

What’s more, it gives a compelling portrayal of the people who attempt to block changes for the better. Some of them have genuinely bad characters. A surprising amount of them turn out not to – they’re basically good people who are generally just doing their best to muddle through life.  It’s unusual to find a story like this that feels gripping or believable and The Goblin Emperor manages both. 

The stories we tell can influence how we interact with the world around us. This story about goblins and elves takes us by the hand and leads us through a world full of conflict, and meaningful moral struggles. Remarkably, it does so while also introducing a range of people, most of whom feel like they’re… just people.

When we’re engaged in moral struggles, it can be easy to give up; and it can also be easy to see enemies instead of people like us who’ve just come to different conclusions about what the best way to create an equal, compassionate and just society is. The Goblin Emperor is a gently and enjoyably engaging read full of psychological insights and hope. 

Ciara