Book one of the Prince of Nothing by R. Scott Bakker
I find it difficult to break it down. Either because it's on a higher level or because breaking it down gets in the way of the enjoyment and it's highly enjoyable. Not quite as enjoyable as Hobb's Farseer Trilogy but nothing else is as good.

There is some injustice but not put out there very bluntly. Not dwelled upon. Injustice is simply a fact of life from Bakker's POV.

There is an unknown related to magic. Definitely not overexplained. Done just right.

The main "hero" has a hidden ace that instead of being related to magic concerns his having defeated his unconscious. Which is pretty cerebral as is the book in general for fantasy fiction. Considering though what an important idea conquering the unconscious has been to me the last few years, it's almost notable how little it matters with regards to enjoying/not enjoying this book.

This is the most cerebral fantasy fiction I've ever read. And the story has held me pretty well. I suppose not quite as well as George Martin or Robin Hobb. Occasionally he stops the action too much in order to describe a setting. Occasionally he goes off to characters that don't appear to be of any importance or much interest. He has a bad habit of having characters asks themselves a lot of questions which I don't care for. Strays a bit toward the boring stuff of reality.

The political intrigue reminds me of Dune and gets somewhat tiresome and the setting is generic middle ages. Still excellent though. Probably will read much more, maybe everything by Bakker, whom has so little popularity he's going to have to go get another job he says.