The Grace of Kings (The Dandelion Dynasty, #1)

by Ken Liu

Creation seems to favor making friends of those destined to be enemies.”

“Emperor, king, general, duke,” he whispered to himself. “These are just labels. Climb up the family tree of any of them high enough and you’ll find a commoner who dared to take a chance.”

“When you learn enough about the world, even a blade of grass can be a weapon.”

“There is far more happiness in a life that is your own,” his father had said to Jizu, “than a life in which you are handed the lines to say and shown the gestures to make. Do not ever be ambitious.”