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guppyur's review
4.0
I liked this a lot. As others have noted, the premise is pretty conventional, but what makes it stand out is the culture Addison has created, which is well-realized and complex. Characters feel fleshed-out and authentic, and the plot has the lopsided shape of something organic; the major threads are wrapped up, but Addison never feels compelled to set everything neatly in its place. One can see the arc ahead for characters who have left the stage, but the camera isn't compelled to show us that arc explicitly.
janeanthereadingqueen's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
xeyra1's review
4.0
The Goblin Emperor was a delight to read. It's a lovely, simple and enchanting little story about a half-elf-half-goblin fourth son who unexpectedly finds himself emperor without having any training or, in fact, much confidence that he can actually do the job.
The book follows this young man, who, despite a terrible childhood at the hands of an abusive cousin, manages to retain his sweetness of spirit, through a series of slightly episodic but interconnected events at a court he doesn't understand and comes woefully unprepared for. And yet, because he is naive but not dumb, ignorant but not spineless, he manages to make the best he can of it. And that's why this novel was such a wonder to read, because Maia, our young protagonist, is absolutely lovely and it's impossible not to cheer at his small victories or to be sad when things go badly for him. He is the kind of protagonist you're actually really rooting for, and that just motivates your reading.
Despite dealing with court politics, the book doesn't read so much as a complex political drama. It never really gets too dark and there's not really much backstabbing from anyone you didn't already expect to engage in betrayal at some point. The people who end up betraying Maia are very openly antagonistic of and to him already. Though it's a bit of a breath of fresh air to read something and find out the characters you like don't actually end up being traitors, it also robs a bit of the suspense of the novel. Especially because the traitors/bad guys end up being really... dumb? You'll know what I mean when you read it.
I loved reading this, though, regardless of its dumb villains, because it's just so sweet and bright and hopeful and Maia's voice is just so sympathetic as he goes through feelings of confusion, ineptitude, ignorance, loneliness, hope, anger, fear, through this new unexpected stage of his life. And I did identify with his confusion too, because despite its simple, fable-like story, The Goblin Emperor does have much thought put to naming terms and its language is elvish complex and some double takes were necessary at times to understand who was that character or that other.
It's a high 4 but some of the simplicity of the plot and the dumbness of Maia's enemies did drop this from the 5-stars I might have otherwise been tempted to give it just because it was such a lovely, unexpectedly sweet book.
The book follows this young man, who, despite a terrible childhood at the hands of an abusive cousin, manages to retain his sweetness of spirit, through a series of slightly episodic but interconnected events at a court he doesn't understand and comes woefully unprepared for. And yet, because he is naive but not dumb, ignorant but not spineless, he manages to make the best he can of it. And that's why this novel was such a wonder to read, because Maia, our young protagonist, is absolutely lovely and it's impossible not to cheer at his small victories or to be sad when things go badly for him. He is the kind of protagonist you're actually really rooting for, and that just motivates your reading.
Despite dealing with court politics, the book doesn't read so much as a complex political drama. It never really gets too dark and there's not really much backstabbing from anyone you didn't already expect to engage in betrayal at some point. The people who end up betraying Maia are very openly antagonistic of and to him already. Though it's a bit of a breath of fresh air to read something and find out the characters you like don't actually end up being traitors, it also robs a bit of the suspense of the novel. Especially because the traitors/bad guys end up being really... dumb? You'll know what I mean when you read it.
I loved reading this, though, regardless of its dumb villains, because it's just so sweet and bright and hopeful and Maia's voice is just so sympathetic as he goes through feelings of confusion, ineptitude, ignorance, loneliness, hope, anger, fear, through this new unexpected stage of his life. And I did identify with his confusion too, because despite its simple, fable-like story, The Goblin Emperor does have much thought put to naming terms and its language is elvish complex and some double takes were necessary at times to understand who was that character or that other.
It's a high 4 but some of the simplicity of the plot and the dumbness of Maia's enemies did drop this from the 5-stars I might have otherwise been tempted to give it just because it was such a lovely, unexpectedly sweet book.
lady_mel's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn't sure how to rate this book. It's a nice book, and I really liked Maia's character, but, courtly intrigue is not my cup of tea.
The book follows Maia, a despised half-elf, half-goblin, fourth son of the Emporer of the Elflands. Maia was raised far from court, and had received no training or education of court life at all.
Due to a tragic accident that caused the deaths of Maia's father and older brothers, he, at age 18, finds himself emporer.
Maia is a very likeable character, and I truly felt sorry for his loneliness as he tries to make his way as emporer.
The book follows Maia, a despised half-elf, half-goblin, fourth son of the Emporer of the Elflands. Maia was raised far from court, and had received no training or education of court life at all.
Due to a tragic accident that caused the deaths of Maia's father and older brothers, he, at age 18, finds himself emporer.
Maia is a very likeable character, and I truly felt sorry for his loneliness as he tries to make his way as emporer.
aruarian_melody's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.75
I really enjoyed this one and especially loved the main character, Maia. It was very interesting to see him deal with suddenly becoming an unwanted emperor and I loved seeing the different relationships he developed. This was a surprisingly cosy read, given the court intrigue and murder plots. The only thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars is the world building. It was fine in general, but the huge cast had very similar names and often additional titles, but few characteristics to keep them apart (at least for anyone outside of the core group of 10-15 people). Combined with all the other titles and terms, which also were hard to distinguish, I just gave up on trying to keep up with the court intrigue part. I don't normally have problems with following stuff like this in complex fantasy settings, but the names/terms were too similar and too surface level to sink in within one single novel. Still, I really loved Maia and the more immediate group surrounding him and had a great time with this.
shragoo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
solid book, just a great little guy doing his best even though no one likes him
changes's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.5
anallambias's review against another edition
2.0
Ok, so I’ve been torn about the rating for this book. Part of me wanted to give it 3 stars because of the complexity of the lexicon, grammar, and syntax, but ultimately I have to go with 2 for the following reasons. The protagonist did have character development, but the book felt slow for first two-thirds of it. He often had these mini tantrums but would otherwise display really low self-esteem, which totally made sense at the beginning but not later on. I do understand that the focus of the narrative was the court politics, but it could have been more dynamic and I feel like the good stuff was saved for the end. I found myself only enjoying the last third of the book because the beginning was just him sitting and having boring conversations with people whose names were simply wild. I also found myself craving a bit more from the romance and about the “epic journey” that a character such as this should have - at least in my opinion. I also didn’t really appreciate how the goblin race was described. I found it somewhat racist and I didn’t like how they were often perceived as “ugly.” Overall, I just felt like I wanted to like it a lot more than I actually did. I’m somewhat disappointed. I know this is a standalone that is part of a series, but I do not think I’ll read any subsequent books.
numbuh12's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
5.0
I'm sure scores of people have already said this, but the fact that this is a debut is ASTOUNDING. This court intrigue high fantasy was phenomenal, and I savored every single page. I've already ordered the first book in the trilogy set in this same world.