The Goblin Emperor

by

paperback, 480 pages

English language

Published March 20, 2019 by REBCA.

ISBN:
978-1-78108-730-5
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4 stars (2 reviews)

Maia, 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 favour 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 spectre of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as …

6 editions

reviewed The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

didn't like it at all

2 stars

the usual fantasy-racism and sexism with a bit of homomisia sprinkled in. the author should just have written the novel in 19th century europe, the fantasy aspect is rarely used at all.

the book seems to want me to have sympathy with an absolutist ruler. 🙄 and what's up with all these different names, and sometimes more than one name for one person? feels like there were a hundred or so names used. oof! and then there are perfectly translatable concepts that are left in some kind of elven language, and sometimes the characters speak really old english? why?!?

at least the story itself is somewhat interesting and has potential, but i'm not gonna read the next books.

reviewed The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

The Goblin Emperor

5 stars

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.

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