4.16 AVERAGE

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

“We don’t understand,” Maia said helplessly, sinking into a chair. “What do they want?”

Csevet frowned. “They want you to have a happy birthday.”

I went through my shelves and this is my first 5-star read since 2021. I loved this book so much I still have it on Libby because no one else has checked it out yet and so I keep renewing it to reread scenes, chapters, even the character guide! I’m ordering a physical copy of this book so that I can have it on my shelves.

I think part of the reason this book made me so happy was because it felt nice to completely fangirl and obsess over a book from my favorite genre again. Something I haven’t done since Throne of Glass in high school (back when I’d had expectations from the series and Sarah J. Maas as an author). The craziest thing is that this book apparently came out in the mid-2010s.

My favorite part of the book is Maia, the 18-year-old half-goblin, half-elf unwanted child of the emperor who becomes emperor himself when his father and elder half-brothers are all killed in an airship crash. Addison could’ve gone in any direction here. She could’ve shown Maia being overwhelmed with the politics of the court and eventually become what he had detested to maintain power in the end. He could’ve been the one to outsmart everyone as someone who was underestimated.

But Addison just keeps Maia as someone who reaches out to others for help. Maia changes, but not who he is. He is kind at his core. Maia trusts others because he has to be emperor if he doesn’t want his empire to fall into chaos. Maia takes the first step when it comes to making relationships with others. And sometimes Maia’s kindness and honesty backfire onto him. There are characters that will never be moved by him or anything he does because of his half-goblin background. But he does this anyway.

The world of The Goblin Emperor is a complicated one. But I at least felt like I was learning with Maia. Addison does a great job of showing and telling us things about the world without excessive info-dumps (at least in my opinion). I think I might want to read more books where there’s a fantasy industrial and/or steampunk setting.

I felt so sad when I reached the end because it was over.

That said I wouldn’t recommend this book for everyone. I know everyone’s biggest complaints were the naming system (I’ll explain below) and language words that are dropped once. Secondly, this is a character-driven, political book with court intrigue. If you like character-driven books but you don’t like court politics you’re not going to have a fun time with this one. I would probably recommend this for more experienced fantasy readers. And if you still want to try then you’re going to need a lot of patience for this book.

Anyway, thank you Katherine Addison for this beautiful book. I will give you my money in a few days.

The Goblin Emperor Naming System
First names have gendered endings. There is also some minor stuff on the names of places, titles, etc. but I think the last/family names were the most intimidating part of the book.

Family names have a root to which a suffix is added for an individual which depend on a person’s gender. If they’re a woman it depends on whether they’re single or married.
• the suffix -ada usually refers to the family house or many members of the house
• for men the suffix tends to be -ar or -el
• for unmarried women the suffix tends to be –in
• for married women the suffix tends to be -aran

An example:
The current ruling house of the Elflands are the Drazhada. Maia’s last name is Drazhar. His father, brothers, and nephews hold this same last name.

Now let’s look at the women of the family. Maia’s mother’s last name was Drazharan as she had married into the family.

Maia’s nieces on the other hand have the last name Drazhin. When these nieces will be married their last names will change to taking the root of their husband’s family names and -aran will be added to the end of it.
hopeful reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
emotional hopeful slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Great read for anyone who likes highly political landscapes! 

I personally loved seeing how Maia grows as a leader in this story! He has enough self awareness to navigate new situations with ample caution, but also does not have enough self importance where he does not listen to others. He is made an even better person and leader through the bonds he creates with his friends <3

(I feel as though one of my recent reads [will of the many] made my rating a little lower than I probably would have previously rated it. Both books were very similar in a way and I couldn't help but compare them)
challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Maybe I will return to it, but so far it was pretty boring
challenging emotional funny hopeful
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I have loved goblins since my world of warcraft days which, despite being an alliance main, I had a few goblins. They're adorable, funny, sarcastic little chaos gremlins and I love them. They often get the short end of the stick in media, though - monsters, villains, evil, etc.

So, when I saw that this book featured a goblin who becomes emperor, I was sold. And a goblin that is HALF ELF?? That's kinda neat. The characters are quite likeable and, despite having a pretty shitty hand, Maia(?) is a good guy, a good emperor, who does his best. He seems to struggle with doing what feels right versus what's expected of him and he often finds a nice bit of middle ground between the two.

This was a really good, well written book that kept my attention. It made me laugh. It made me smile. It left me shocked and intrigued. The only real complaint I have is the whole "we/us" options when they speak. If I understand correctly, it's a formality/respect thing?? But it feels strange to me and was quite jarring. It is said A LOT in the book and I found myself stopping multiple times because it felt off.

"Who the hell is 'we'?" I kept asking at first and then it switched to, "It's such a strange choice I wonder why the author chose that." Very distracting.

Other than that, no complaints. I adore the main character.

I will leave off with my favorite line from the whole book:

"We are perfectly well!" "You're the color of old cheese." 🧀 
emotional funny hopeful slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
hopeful inspiring reflective sad
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book was the first I read by Katherine Addison, and it sparked my love for her writing. While the plot isn't especially gripping or complex, the strengths of this book lie in its lovable cast of characters and the core theme of kindness, loyalty, and connection.
Maia might be my favorite fantasy protagonist of all time. He starts out very shy, conflict-avoidant, and with low self-esteem, and the development he goes through in the book is fantastic. It was endearing to see Maia being taken aback by his newfound power and influence, but it was wonderful to see Maia finally realize that people actually like him for who he is, and not just his title. It was also amazing to see him gain agency and confidence throughout his rule.
The other characters complement Maia perfectly. Csevet was my favorite, it was heartwarming to see how much he cared about both his job and Maia himself. The nohecharei were also great protectors; the relationship between Maia, Cala, and Bechelar was one of my favorites.
However, I think what makes this book really stand out is its central thesis that wielding power with kindness and compassion will always be better than holding onto it. By the end of the book,
Maia has so many people who are fiercely loyal to him. His epithet of The Bridge Builder supports this thesis and made me really emotional, because it describes who Maia is so well, and why his kind nature works out for him in the end.

I love this book and will probably reread it again. As a small aside, I'm interested how Addison went from writing the extremely dark and angsty Doctrine of Labyrinths series to writing this, since they're so different in tone and seem to send opposite messages.
emotional hopeful slow-paced