Jan B reviewed The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (The Goblin Emperor, #1)
Making of a ruler, the super easy way wit a nice lad
3 stars
Readable and forgettable. I should have heeded the Young Adult tag and passed on it, perhaps.
eBook, 447 pages
English language
Published March 30, 2014 by Tor Books.
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 …
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.
Readable and forgettable. I should have heeded the Young Adult tag and passed on it, perhaps.
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 …
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
I’ve put off reading Addison’s Goblin Emperor a long time; I had heard it was lovely, but also disjointed and inconclusive. It’s taken the book’s inclusion in a list of Becky Chamberesque “novels where people are nice to each other” for me to finally take the plunge, and the only thing I regret is I didn’t do so much earlier.
I can see how people have a hard time adjusting to this novel: the intricate, Elven steampunk world it builds and the high stakes court setting seem to promise things the novel never tries to hold itself to. Instead, we are treated to the story of a young man who, motherless at an early age, despised by his cold and all powerful father who banished him to the shticks at the hands of a violently abusive tutor, finds himself on the throne. Faced with the barely hidden contempt of the …
I’ve put off reading Addison’s Goblin Emperor a long time; I had heard it was lovely, but also disjointed and inconclusive. It’s taken the book’s inclusion in a list of Becky Chamberesque “novels where people are nice to each other” for me to finally take the plunge, and the only thing I regret is I didn’t do so much earlier.
I can see how people have a hard time adjusting to this novel: the intricate, Elven steampunk world it builds and the high stakes court setting seem to promise things the novel never tries to hold itself to. Instead, we are treated to the story of a young man who, motherless at an early age, despised by his cold and all powerful father who banished him to the shticks at the hands of a violently abusive tutor, finds himself on the throne. Faced with the barely hidden contempt of the court, ridiculed for his mixed ethnic origin, alienated from simple social contact by his exalted position, the new emperor slowly, quietly turns things around by repaying contempt with empathy, hate with forgiveness, coldness with kindness.
If you do not like your Fantasy to suggest people might not be unconditional products of the world they live in; if you prefer characters to have no moral autonomy; if, simply put, the idea that people, even the most powerful ones, might aspire to do better, is one you disagree with, stay away from the Goblin Emperor. I, for one, know that, of the things I heard about the novel, only “lovely” is true, and that is selling it short.
Content warning maybe general story details
I enjoyed this, i like the world Addison builds and the complex social milieu. my critique would be that the stakes are never very high. it's essentially a fish out of water fairy tale. all the characters are good or evil without much complexity and every crisis is resolved as quickly as it arises, so there isn't much time for tension or suspense. I wished that a few of the characters were more fleshed out; Maia's fiancé, for instance....
Content warning mild spoilies on general theme
this book was an excellent traveling companion!
i loved the style of the narrative, avoiding forced plot events in preference of exploring the social setting and all of the (inner) world-building. exactly the kind of depth i was hoping for after going exiting an extended period of adrian tchaikovski novels—sorry adrian! yv'e got great ideas, but surface-level treatment at times
really enjoyed the general premise (growing into unwanted power), the character interactions, and the confusion i felt regarding all the courtiers and their names and origins.
To be clear this was a re-read because I was planning to get into 'Witness for the Dead' soon. Now, I know I read this but when I did it must not have made a clear impression and would have been in a period when I was not logging reading to Goodreads. This book has extremely positive reviews and word of mouth that I kept banging into, adding to my confusion as to why I did not have a strong recollection of it.
Let me just state right now this is deserving of all it's praise and is an outstanding book. Why I do not recall that impression from the previous read I have no idea.
It is a simple premise, what happens when a gentle soul is thrust into feudal power. Unlike most fantasy this book is not interested in long (and often tedious) discourses about the world or …
To be clear this was a re-read because I was planning to get into 'Witness for the Dead' soon. Now, I know I read this but when I did it must not have made a clear impression and would have been in a period when I was not logging reading to Goodreads. This book has extremely positive reviews and word of mouth that I kept banging into, adding to my confusion as to why I did not have a strong recollection of it.
Let me just state right now this is deserving of all it's praise and is an outstanding book. Why I do not recall that impression from the previous read I have no idea.
It is a simple premise, what happens when a gentle soul is thrust into feudal power. Unlike most fantasy this book is not interested in long (and often tedious) discourses about the world or magic systems or whatever. It focuses down on the characters and the fact that the world is different is merely stage dressing.
It is also to its credit that it is not bloated as many fantasy works are. There is no intent to make this a multi book tale with the inevitable padding that goes along with that. It's tight, taut in places and has a nice feeling of completion.
I very much recommend this book. To anyone.
This is a nice wholesome book, reminds me of the more cheerful Mercedes Lackey books, where it starts crap (for the protagonist) and gets better in a fairly linear progression. There is little drama, but a lot of tea. The language of the goblins is a bit of a blocker though; you'll need to use the glossary or take notes.
On a second reading I find it a bit convenient that the people who are most annoying have an arc. Life isn't like that, some people are just annoying!
The fact that this is more or less a straightforward story of an unlikely youngest son from a persecuted ethnic minority unexpectedly being elevated to emperor and having to reconcile with the sort of ruler his father was and he wants to be is in no way to its detriment. That elves and goblins and magic and steampunk machinery are involved just makes it even better. This is definitely a character drama, with characters relatable or detestable in skilled measure. It takes a little work to keep straight the many unfamiliar names that get thrown at you, but I'm sure our protagonist is feeling the same way.
Perfect for fans of court politics, mysteries, and fantasy affectations - did you like Jo Walton's "Tooth and Claw"? Then this one's for you.
I'm going to repeat what almost every other reviewer has already said: This is a great book, and it does some things really well, including staying away from the "grimdark" genre. There is hardly any action, most of the book takes place inside a palace, there are elves and goblins, and no one is inherently bad.
I finished Farseer trilogy recently, and it gets quite dark at times, and has some entirely evil characters (their motivations might be explained later, but they appear entirely evil for no reason for most of the book). On the other hand, here the characters are all trying their best to do good.
Not just personal good, which is what you expect from the characters (like in A Song of Ice and Fire), but "Good" in general. And navigating this labyrinth is our main character. There are a lot of excellent character studies in the …
I'm going to repeat what almost every other reviewer has already said: This is a great book, and it does some things really well, including staying away from the "grimdark" genre. There is hardly any action, most of the book takes place inside a palace, there are elves and goblins, and no one is inherently bad.
I finished Farseer trilogy recently, and it gets quite dark at times, and has some entirely evil characters (their motivations might be explained later, but they appear entirely evil for no reason for most of the book). On the other hand, here the characters are all trying their best to do good.
Not just personal good, which is what you expect from the characters (like in A Song of Ice and Fire), but "Good" in general. And navigating this labyrinth is our main character. There are a lot of excellent character studies in the book, and the author does a really good job of having us understand the motivations of every character.
5/5, would read again.
Reread Notes [2021]: Did a re-read in anticipation of the sequel ([b:The Witness for the Dead|41302953|The Witness for the Dead (The Goblin Emperor, #2)|Katherine Addison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603852509l/41302953.SY75.jpg|64512163]). Still love everything I loved the first time. I was more confused with names this time around, not sure why. But it gets better towards the last third. The sequel's out, but not in India so far, so I have to wait a bit more. Knowing that Celeher is the protagonist in the sequel, I did search for hints, but only found that the ending of Celeher's arc in the first book sets him up somewhat for the sequel. I also really loved the ending this time, very poignant.
Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. The book itself had characters with a refreshing ordinariness. This didn't mean that they were uninteresting, on the contrary, it made them engaging and realistic.