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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
Time to admit something: I actually tried to read this a few years ago, only got through the first page, and then decided nope, not for me. The dialogue looked strangely archaic with it's use of thee and thou, the writing was dense, and I knew the book was described as having a lot of political drama, which I'm never very enthusiastic about in my fiction. However, last week my father read the book and told it me it was worth trying again, and since he's one of the few people who knows my taste in books decently well, I decided to take another stab at The Goblin Emperor.
And I'm very glad I did! My misgivings about this book were only somewhat accurate and I found this to be a delightful read. Yes the dialogue is a little wordy, but it turns out to reflect the author's deep interest in language, with different forms of you being utilized for formal and informal settings in a way that makes the book feel translated from some language and world beyond our own - what a wonderful way to hint at the depth of this fantasy setting. The writing IS dense, but sometimes it's very nice to sink your teeth into a meatier narrative that demands your full attention, and I did enjoy taking my time to understand the unique setting and customs of this story - thank god for the appendix in the back, however, without which I would have been very confused by the many characters with their many names. And yes, this is something of a political drama, but the main character is not conniving at all, and forms so many heartwarming relationships that the story feels much more feel-good than most books described as political.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one, which is definitely more character than plot focused even with the more dramatic story lines about mystery murders and court intrigue. The pacing is maybe a little slow for my taste normally, and I don't think I'll be reading more of this series, but slowing down a bit this time was a nice change of pace.
And I'm very glad I did! My misgivings about this book were only somewhat accurate and I found this to be a delightful read. Yes the dialogue is a little wordy, but it turns out to reflect the author's deep interest in language, with different forms of you being utilized for formal and informal settings in a way that makes the book feel translated from some language and world beyond our own - what a wonderful way to hint at the depth of this fantasy setting. The writing IS dense, but sometimes it's very nice to sink your teeth into a meatier narrative that demands your full attention, and I did enjoy taking my time to understand the unique setting and customs of this story - thank god for the appendix in the back, however, without which I would have been very confused by the many characters with their many names. And yes, this is something of a political drama, but the main character is not conniving at all, and forms so many heartwarming relationships that the story feels much more feel-good than most books described as political.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one, which is definitely more character than plot focused even with the more dramatic story lines about mystery murders and court intrigue. The pacing is maybe a little slow for my taste normally, and I don't think I'll be reading more of this series, but slowing down a bit this time was a nice change of pace.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
inspiring
mysterious
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:
Yes
Sort of a fantasy Shipping News; where the protagonist goes from being a self defeating nonentity to someone who sees themselves as a person with a life, a future and the start of faith in themselves. So naturally, I loved it! The names of everyone were difficult and, frankly rather irritating, but all told I enjoyed the book a lot.
4/5
It took a while to get used to the writing style and even then there was a bit of an awkwardness with reading it, but the story itself was great. I loved watching Maia navigate the courts and power structure while still trying to stay true to himself and do what he thinks is the right thing.
I think he was certainly lucky to have a good mentor right from the start who was able to steer him in good directions rather than run headfirst into trouble, but it did result in a lot less tension as there was never any real danger. It was certainly written for an audience who expects a more lighthearted dip into medieval politics.
Overall I loved the story but struggled with the prose itself.
It took a while to get used to the writing style and even then there was a bit of an awkwardness with reading it, but the story itself was great. I loved watching Maia navigate the courts and power structure while still trying to stay true to himself and do what he thinks is the right thing.
I think he was certainly lucky to have a good mentor right from the start who was able to steer him in good directions rather than run headfirst into trouble, but it did result in a lot less tension as there was never any real danger. It was certainly written for an audience who expects a more lighthearted dip into medieval politics.
Overall I loved the story but struggled with the prose itself.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't read books with the intention of hating them, you know. This thing was short-listed for a Hugo and the Nebula award. I came into it in good faith thinking I was going to get an enjoyable novel of manners (which also has elves in it). But, as you can see from my two-star rating...
The character work is terrible. The protagonist is pretty well-drawn (I found him more unlikable than I suspect maybe I was supposed to, but that's fine) but the rest of the cast is shockingly thin for a novel of this type. And this isn't the type of fantasy novel with lengthy battles or anything of the sort; it's just people talking, and if the people aren't interesting, you've got nothing, and most members of the cast are lucky if they have a single personality trait. There's absolutely no ambiguity either; you'd think that, in a novel about a character being thrust into a position of authority he's unready for, you could turn that into something (who's trying to use him for what ends?) but the author makes no efforts in that direction; the people who are nice to the protagonist are, in fact, Good and Noble. It's a wildly unfair comparison to make, but I spent this novel wishing I was reading Jane Austin instead; there was someone who could write a novel of manners with some damn characters in it.
The protagonist (I call him that because everyone in this novel has a fake fantasy name that makes them almost impossible to remember) is almost completely passive. He doesn't appear to have policy opinions, or to want to change anything, or really want to do much of anything. Any time anything that matters happens, it's someone else's doing. The investigation of his father's murder? Done off-screen by someone else. The bridge-building project that we're supposed to care about? Entirely someone else's baby (and the protagonist only casts one of the four votes that allows it to happen, making that vote a climactic tie-breaker doesn't fool me.) Physical danger? One of his body-guards can apparently use “death magic” to kill would-be assassins, a piece of world-building that I was totally unprepared for given the otherwise low-magic nature of this setting. If I had more faith in the author, I'd think that this novel about a largely useless emperor who somehow gets the credit for everyone else's hard work was a bit of satire, but I'm basically certain it isn't. On the other hand, the author chose to forgo a direct sequel and instead write spin-off novels about the dude who investigated the old emperor's murder, so I wonder if she did have an impression that Emperor What's-His-Name was pretty limited as a protagonist?
Because the protagonist isn't doing anything to drive a plot, there is no plot. Things happen, one after the other, with no relationship to what has come before. The attempted coup doesn't happen in the chapter it happens because events have led up to it; nothing led up to it. The investigation isn't completed when it is because events lead to it being complete; we're told it's happening, and when it's convenient for it to be done, it's done. The vote on the bridge could have happened half-way through the novel; it happens when it happens again with no relation to anything that came before it. The assassination attempt could have happened at any time, or not have happened at all, and it wouldn't have mattered. The alleged conflict that the emperor wants to view his bodyguards as friends, but cannot have friends as emperor, is resolved for no reason except that the author is sick of it and wanted a happy ending; its resolution, too, could have appeared anywhere, because nothing causes it.
This sucks, and it's embarrassing that it was nominated for a Nebula award. At least it lost. Annihilation is definitely a better novel, although given how different it is from this, I can't say you should read it instead. But seriously, have you read Pride and Prejudice? Go read that, I promise it's good.
The character work is terrible. The protagonist is pretty well-drawn (I found him more unlikable than I suspect maybe I was supposed to, but that's fine) but the rest of the cast is shockingly thin for a novel of this type. And this isn't the type of fantasy novel with lengthy battles or anything of the sort; it's just people talking, and if the people aren't interesting, you've got nothing, and most members of the cast are lucky if they have a single personality trait. There's absolutely no ambiguity either; you'd think that, in a novel about a character being thrust into a position of authority he's unready for, you could turn that into something (who's trying to use him for what ends?) but the author makes no efforts in that direction; the people who are nice to the protagonist are, in fact, Good and Noble. It's a wildly unfair comparison to make, but I spent this novel wishing I was reading Jane Austin instead; there was someone who could write a novel of manners with some damn characters in it.
The protagonist (I call him that because everyone in this novel has a fake fantasy name that makes them almost impossible to remember) is almost completely passive. He doesn't appear to have policy opinions, or to want to change anything, or really want to do much of anything. Any time anything that matters happens, it's someone else's doing. The investigation of his father's murder? Done off-screen by someone else. The bridge-building project that we're supposed to care about? Entirely someone else's baby (and the protagonist only casts one of the four votes that allows it to happen, making that vote a climactic tie-breaker doesn't fool me.) Physical danger? One of his body-guards can apparently use “death magic” to kill would-be assassins, a piece of world-building that I was totally unprepared for given the otherwise low-magic nature of this setting. If I had more faith in the author, I'd think that this novel about a largely useless emperor who somehow gets the credit for everyone else's hard work was a bit of satire, but I'm basically certain it isn't. On the other hand, the author chose to forgo a direct sequel and instead write spin-off novels about the dude who investigated the old emperor's murder, so I wonder if she did have an impression that Emperor What's-His-Name was pretty limited as a protagonist?
Because the protagonist isn't doing anything to drive a plot, there is no plot. Things happen, one after the other, with no relationship to what has come before. The attempted coup doesn't happen in the chapter it happens because events have led up to it; nothing led up to it. The investigation isn't completed when it is because events lead to it being complete; we're told it's happening, and when it's convenient for it to be done, it's done. The vote on the bridge could have happened half-way through the novel; it happens when it happens again with no relation to anything that came before it. The assassination attempt could have happened at any time, or not have happened at all, and it wouldn't have mattered. The alleged conflict that the emperor wants to view his bodyguards as friends, but cannot have friends as emperor, is resolved for no reason except that the author is sick of it and wanted a happy ending; its resolution, too, could have appeared anywhere, because nothing causes it.
This sucks, and it's embarrassing that it was nominated for a Nebula award. At least it lost. Annihilation is definitely a better novel, although given how different it is from this, I can't say you should read it instead. But seriously, have you read Pride and Prejudice? Go read that, I promise it's good.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Well-paced and well-structured to keep the story moving. The main character is not so much someone with a 'heart of gold' as someone who tries to do the right thing.