 The series incidentally explores various pros and cons of different modes of governance as the action moves through Novaria and various other countries.Most of the stories have satirical themes – e.g., of academic conferences (the magicians' conclave, which ends "The Goblin Tower"), monotheistic religion (the toad-god Gorgolor, a minor deity in other places, but the supreme god of the universe in theocratic Tarxia), and modern poetry (Jorian's tale of a king in his native Kortoli refusing to grant an award to a poem composed of randomly chosen words).The core of the Novarian series is the "Reluctant King" trilogy, consisting of "The Goblin Tower" (1968), "The Clocks of Iraz" (1971), and "The Unbeheaded King" (1983), all collected as "The Reluctant King" (1985).