
'The Goblin Emperor' by Katherine Addison follows the story of Maia, the overlooked and despised half-goblin son of the emperor, who unexpectedly becomes the emperor after a tragic accident claims the lives of his father and brothers. Thrust into a world of court intrigue and political maneuvering, Maia must navigate his new role as emperor, facing challenges of betrayal, loneliness, and the complexities of ruling a kingdom. The writing style is described as character-driven, with a focus on interpersonal tensions, political negotiations, and a subtle touch of fantasy elements to explain cultural differences.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Triggers for abuse and neglect in the protagonist's backstory, themes of racial prejudice, and mild peril from political machinations may be present.
From The Publisher:
A vividly imagined debut fantasy of court intrigue in a steampunk-inflected magical world from Katherine Addison.
Unbound Worlds 100 Best Fantasy Novels of All Time
The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.
Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.
Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend . . . and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne-or his life.
Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor is an exciting fantasy novel, set against the pageantry and color of a fascinating, unique world, is a memorable debut for a great new talent.
Ratings (85)
Incredible (29) | |
Loved It (34) | |
Liked It (11) | |
It Was OK (9) | |
Did Not Like (1) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (222):
Read It (87) | |
Want To Read (102) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (32) |
6 comment(s)
Maia is infinitely lovable. This book has plenty of pitfalls but all of them are forgivable in light of that fact.
Reminiscent of C.J. Cherryh, this book would do well as the beginning of a series. As a stand-alone, it leaves things rather open-ended. There is excellent world-building here, even if some of the proper nouns are a bit hard to parse.
Short version: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, only with steampunk elves and goblins. Quite enjoyable, but with an irritating number of long Elvish words and names and complicated title and naming systems. Hint: read the "Travellers' Notes" in the back as soon as all that starts to trip you up.
Longer version:
Spoiler There's something a little unsettling about the book. Maia, a disregarded, half-goblin fourth heir is suddenly and unexpectedly elevated to the imperial throne of the Elflands. He's sort of the quiet, still center about which everything moves. He's humble, kind, naive, young, and sometimes overwhelmed but consistently determined to do the right thing and surprisingly able to suss out what the right thing is, given his lack of preparation and political experience. And the imperial government is huge, and there's always this feeling that he's not seeing or touching half of what's going on. Which is kind of the point, but the fact that he manages to make it all work is a little hard to buy -- the plots against him fall down in a bit of a deus-ex-machina sort of way. I also think he's eventually get it in the teeth for his leniency with the conspirators (I don't know whether there's a sequel in the works or not). I enjoyed this a lot, and will read whatever Addison puts out next, but there is this kind of unbalancedness about it all.
This was wonderful. I like that Maia doesnt really know how to act . He knows what he needs to do but getting the realm to follow is another thing.
I'm not generally one to enjoy books filled with court drama and intrigue, so it comes as quite a surprise to me that I loved this book so much. My hunch is that the real reason I've always stayed away from court drama is that I haven't liked the characters involved. Maia was the cure for that block in this book.
Maia is not your typical emperor; kind and generous instead of stern and unbending, equipped with none of the knowledge necessary to his station. Watching Maia develop as a person and a leader was my favorite aspect of this story. He might not be the most fierce leader in his country's history, but his unique perspective and willingness to bring change to the system is what makes him a great emperor.
My only complaint about this book (and this is to be taken with a grain of salt) is how confusing it was to keep the character names and location titles straight in my mind. The glossary at the beginning of the book would've been helpful to reference, but flipping back and forth from the beginning to my chapter is not the easiest thing to do in an ebook. I admire the dedication of the author to create a culture of naming unique to the world, but goodness, it was hard to tell people apart!
Despite my struggles with the naming system, I still highly recommend you check it out, and better luck to you in navigating these names!
I recommend the ebook. Character list and searching for when a character was introduced is a must; there's a whole lot in here.
About the Author:
KATHERINE ADDISON's short fiction has been selected by The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and The Year's Best Science Fiction. She lives near Madison, Wisconsin.
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