Hardcover, 446 pages
English language
Published April 2014 by Tor.
A vividly imagined fantasy of court intrigue and dark magics in a steampunk-inflected world, by a brilliant young talent
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 …
A vividly imagined fantasy of court intrigue and dark magics in a steampunk-inflected world, by a brilliant young talent
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.
Now this one was great!
On the prose level, I was not into it; every turn of phrase was a one-two punching unkilled darling. Although the conlanging and formality levels were great.
On the macro level is where I loved the book! Separate vignettes that end up braiding together almost like the typical Pratchett or Dumas structure. Fun idea and great setting and characters.
Best example of courtly political intrigue in a fantasy novel? If not the best, easily top five. I can see why Addison chose to write about another character in her next novel in this world, though. She created a fascinating and developed elvish steampunk world, and we only get to see a small bit of it because main character Maia is stuck in a handful of locations that are mostly ancient buildings. Also I appreciate her showing how boring the everyday actions of governance can be.
Bonus points for accurate use of the English formal and informal first- and second-person tense. Thee and thy isn't formal just because it's archaic, y'all. The narrative indicates that in these elves' language plural and formal would be different, unlike in English, but I was able to follow when it was the former and when it was the latter.
Best example of courtly political intrigue in a fantasy novel? If not the best, easily top five. I can see why Addison chose to write about another character in her next novel in this world, though. She created a fascinating and developed elvish steampunk world, and we only get to see a small bit of it because main character Maia is stuck in a handful of locations that are mostly ancient buildings. Also I appreciate her showing how boring the everyday actions of governance can be.
Bonus points for accurate use of the English formal and informal first- and second-person tense. Thee and thy isn't formal just because it's archaic, y'all. The narrative indicates that in these elves' language plural and formal would be different, unlike in English, but I was able to follow when it was the former and when it was the latter.
Despiertas y plaf te toca encabezar un imperio, tú el cuarto hijo, el relegado, cuasi-exiliado. Nadie esperaba que te tocaría, cualquiera de los otros iba antes, pero así es cuando se mueren todos en un accidente.
Por lo tanto todo es duda y sorpresa, pero cual diplomático japonés te toca ocultar todo estado emocional, ser ilegible conviene a los intereses del imperio. No ayuda que tienes orejas, pues eres un goblin, una raza más oscura de elfo.
En esto ayuda tu inocencia: el imperio no te interesa más que como estructura de poder para ayudar a tu gente. Pronto se nota que no eres como el previo emperador, como los previos: tienes otra sensibilidad, te interesas por todos.
Es que tu guardián hasta ayer era tu primo que te odiaba y maltrataba. Por eso tu capacidad refinada de sentir el dolor ajeno. Por eso serás otro tipo …
Despiertas y plaf te toca encabezar un imperio, tú el cuarto hijo, el relegado, cuasi-exiliado. Nadie esperaba que te tocaría, cualquiera de los otros iba antes, pero así es cuando se mueren todos en un accidente.
Por lo tanto todo es duda y sorpresa, pero cual diplomático japonés te toca ocultar todo estado emocional, ser ilegible conviene a los intereses del imperio. No ayuda que tienes orejas, pues eres un goblin, una raza más oscura de elfo.
En esto ayuda tu inocencia: el imperio no te interesa más que como estructura de poder para ayudar a tu gente. Pronto se nota que no eres como el previo emperador, como los previos: tienes otra sensibilidad, te interesas por todos.
Es que tu guardián hasta ayer era tu primo que te odiaba y maltrataba. Por eso tu capacidad refinada de sentir el dolor ajeno. Por eso serás otro tipo de emperador, nomás tienes que creertela.
En este punto la novela nos ha impulsado a reflexiones interesantes, acerca de El Poder, de los vínculos entre monoteiso y monarquía, de la vida interior y cómo se gobierna como se es.
¡Y apenas va construyendo el mundo! De ahí vienen como tres diferentes puntos de inflexión, cada uno complica la trama, arrecia la crisis, acelera la narrativa. Todo aderezado con dos o tres sub-tramas que construyen al personaje central y a sus cuates y a sus adversarios.
Ahora que trato de reconstruirlos en mi mente me doy cuenta de que cada arco narrativo va trenzado con los demás, justo como se peinaría una elfa cantante de ópera.
En suma: recomendable fantasía para lectores receptivos.
Overall this was a good book. It was fairly straightforward in its plot and characters, which allowed it to have a more personal feel to the main character. The setting is hindered a little by aspects of the language which, while they add some depth, they also add a great amount of complexity. I can certainly see the similarities to The Hands of the Emperor, though I prefer that book for its broader story and the focus on the secretary rather than the emperor himself.
For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2023/07/book-review-goblin-emperor-by-katherine.html
Before reading Witness for the Dead, I took the excuse to reread Goblin Emperor for the nth time, and oh wow is it still such a comfort read for me.
I think it's really that Maia is an endearing (and easy to connect to for me) character. An anxious, apologetic, people-pleasing half-goblin forced into being an emperor that he doesn't know anything about. Wanting to be kind and make friends but struggling with being awkward and trying to do that through an extreme power dynamic differential.
It takes a little to get into the swing of the various courtiers and naming conventions, but it feels a little like a reflection how lost Maia is himself.
Overall, it's just a nice gentle character arc of growing into competency and friendship that always seems to be exactly what I need.
Before reading Witness for the Dead, I took the excuse to reread Goblin Emperor for the nth time, and oh wow is it still such a comfort read for me.
I think it's really that Maia is an endearing (and easy to connect to for me) character. An anxious, apologetic, people-pleasing half-goblin forced into being an emperor that he doesn't know anything about. Wanting to be kind and make friends but struggling with being awkward and trying to do that through an extreme power dynamic differential.
It takes a little to get into the swing of the various courtiers and naming conventions, but it feels a little like a reflection how lost Maia is himself.
Overall, it's just a nice gentle character arc of growing into competency and friendship that always seems to be exactly what I need.
Content warning Vague spoilerish chat. No specific plot points discussed.
This is a flawed book. It's also a strange one. Most of the things one might praise are also the causes of its flaws.
The world-building is interesting and well-thought out. Indeed, I get the impression the author put a lot of thought into the names and language in the book, but the myriad similar sounding names made me often confused as to who this or that character or place were. There are airships, which is an interesting detail, but I'm left wondering: how are they powered? Is it steam driven? If so, do they have trains? The world also has some kind of magic, but again, we're left to guess at most of the details. Of course, this is the first book in a series, so I imagine that some of these details are being held back for books two, three and so on.
The book is a pretty gentle read. I mean, it's theoretically about a member of an oppressed group becoming emperor of a powerful state and suffering under all the stress and intrigues that come with the job. But, there's not much suggestion that any of the (infrequent) hints at racism has much effect on the main character. Honestly, there isn't much in the way of peril. For a book about a half-caste character, it's surprisingly black and white. Either a character will hate and betray Maia, or they will warm to him and become someone he can trust implicitly. There's none of the ambiguity, shades of grey, double-dealing that you get in, for example, game of thrones. This isn't necessarily a criticism: it makes for a much gentler, easier read, if one that's a bit lacking in spice.
The writing is fine, barring a handful of awkward torturous sentences that maybe needed another round of editing.
As well as a lot of similar sounding names, many of the characters are fairly one-dimensional. In fairness, there's quite a few characters, but it would have been nice to see a little more of something or other from one or two more.
In summary, The Goblin Emperor is a gentle, low-stakes book, that is perhaps just lacking a bit of edge, a bit of spice, some colour.
Not what I expected, but definitely interesting. The 18 year old Maia, son of the elf emperor and his shunned goblin wife totally unexpectedly rises to ascend his father when an airship with the emperor and all his other sons crashes. Totally unprepared he has to learn all the ways of elven court and earn the respect of his people.
My biggest hurdle were all the names. The author uses a complex elven language that to the end of the book made me confused about characters. Nevertheless it was gripping reading, if a bit slow at times
Deep and well written
I liked this book, the character growth and the deepening of the reader's understanding of the society that Maia finds himself in.
Deep and well written
I liked this book, the character growth and the deepening of the reader's understanding of the society that Maia finds himself in.
Not bad but stuffy names
I liked the book. I'd read even more if there was more to read. I found the names to be a bit obstructive to reading. They are too similar, too numerous and could have just as well done without them in many cases.
Not bad but stuffy names
I liked the book. I'd read even more if there was more to read. I found the names to be a bit obstructive to reading. They are too similar, too numerous and could have just as well done without them in many cases.
Enjoyable
I am not a big fan of politics, I feel I am much more like the Goblin Emperor himself when he first joined his court, but I wanted to read this due to the Sword and Laser book club. I enjoyed this book, the story was interesting and entertaining, but managing the politics is not my style.
Enjoyable
I am not a big fan of politics, I feel I am much more like the Goblin Emperor himself when he first joined his court, but I wanted to read this due to the Sword and Laser book club. I enjoyed this book, the story was interesting and entertaining, but managing the politics is not my style.
