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A review by ldasoqi
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Who doesn't love a little bit of Court Intrigue? I know it's one of my biggest guilty pleasures, but this book didn't scratch the itch. The Dandelion Dynasty might have spoiled this genre for me because no matter what this story threw my way it was being silently compared and found lacking. This is not a bad book by any means, it just doesn't have the grit- It seems the Elflands have yet to meet their version of Machiavelli (Machiavelzihar or whatever). So if you find "court" to be way too dangerous and deadly, but you want some of that sweet-sweet court talk/politics, look no further, this is court intrigue for hippies.
This story follows Maia, the Emperor's fourth son; half elf and half goblin, Maia has grown up in exile from the court living with his abusive Cousin in the backwaters of the Empire. All of that changes when the Emperor and his three favored sons die in an Airship accident. Regardless of how unlikely and ill-equipped he is to rule, Maia ascends to the Imperial throne, invested as Edrihasivar VII.
Honestly, I love that set-up, it's just unfortunate that this book isn't up-front about what kind of story this will be. This is High-Fantasy, not Grimdark-even though the story sort of begs for it to be that way. What does that mean, exactly? It means that danger is fleeting, the risks and threats posed against our new Emperor spend all the book developing in the shadows just to evaporate in contrived and anti-climactic surprises. It's crazy that I can say that when there are multiple attempts on Maia's life over the course of this book. The problem is that those attempts are something an infant would plan. I am spoiling a little bit here, but one of these would be assassins straight up tries to stab him at a party, with his Imperial guards literally right next to him. It really bothered me, how the politics and the world could be so rich, and yet the schemes and "intrigue" could be so one dimensional. What remains is a coming of age (at court) story that is by no means terrible, but not really what I signed up for.
That leads into probably my biggest problem with the book; I hate Maia. Obviously the Elflands play by a different set of rules, but if Maia were a Roman Emperor, they'd have found his body in a dumpster on his second day. He's kindhearted, apologetic, and visibly unprepared for the task at hand; perfect for a coming of age out in the prairie but (having read a million of these) an obvious mark in the court. He changes over the course of the story, experience colors in the gaps in his education and demeanor, but he retains his softness thanks to the Nerf™ world that surrounds him. If this story dealt with something other than a succession plot, or if the story twisted my expectations with some trope subversion, I could maybe get behind Maia, but that's not what this book is about. At the end of the day, he's just too much of a fairy tale protagonist for my taste.
My final criticism is aimed at the world building; specifically the entirely new vocabulary this book invents. Now, court intrigue is tough to write because of how much emphasis there is on characterization and dialogue; it has to be that way since we are confined to one setting. The world building is always weaker in books like this, but I have to say that this book does the most it can on this front. This world is interesting, just not tonally consistent and mainly delivered by exposition. I can appreciate just how much world building we get when you consider we're basically stuck in the same gloomy set of chambers all book long. Since so much of the world building is relegated to atmosphere and flavor we get to pick through a 300 word glossary and character sheet that is unreadable. I hate when books give a massive glossary, but I hate it even more when I can't read any of the words. This is definitely one of those books where you should start with the audiobook (which is actually amazing, Kyle McCarley kills it).
This is well written and interesting, but it feels like someone replaced the filling in my Grimdark Oreo with some fairy tale cream. If you like court drama, but you're tired of everyone including the MC being a calculating piece of work, this might be exactly what you're looking for. Personally, I can't get off unless the MC is planning to destroy every noble house that stands in his way.
This story follows Maia, the Emperor's fourth son; half elf and half goblin, Maia has grown up in exile from the court living with his abusive Cousin in the backwaters of the Empire. All of that changes when the Emperor and his three favored sons die in an Airship accident. Regardless of how unlikely and ill-equipped he is to rule, Maia ascends to the Imperial throne, invested as Edrihasivar VII.
Honestly, I love that set-up, it's just unfortunate that this book isn't up-front about what kind of story this will be. This is High-Fantasy, not Grimdark-even though the story sort of begs for it to be that way. What does that mean, exactly? It means that danger is fleeting, the risks and threats posed against our new Emperor spend all the book developing in the shadows just to evaporate in contrived and anti-climactic surprises. It's crazy that I can say that when there are multiple attempts on Maia's life over the course of this book. The problem is that those attempts are something an infant would plan. I am spoiling a little bit here, but one of these would be assassins straight up tries to stab him at a party, with his Imperial guards literally right next to him. It really bothered me, how the politics and the world could be so rich, and yet the schemes and "intrigue" could be so one dimensional. What remains is a coming of age (at court) story that is by no means terrible, but not really what I signed up for.
That leads into probably my biggest problem with the book; I hate Maia. Obviously the Elflands play by a different set of rules, but if Maia were a Roman Emperor, they'd have found his body in a dumpster on his second day. He's kindhearted, apologetic, and visibly unprepared for the task at hand; perfect for a coming of age out in the prairie but (having read a million of these) an obvious mark in the court. He changes over the course of the story, experience colors in the gaps in his education and demeanor, but he retains his softness thanks to the Nerf™ world that surrounds him. If this story dealt with something other than a succession plot, or if the story twisted my expectations with some trope subversion, I could maybe get behind Maia, but that's not what this book is about. At the end of the day, he's just too much of a fairy tale protagonist for my taste.
My final criticism is aimed at the world building; specifically the entirely new vocabulary this book invents. Now, court intrigue is tough to write because of how much emphasis there is on characterization and dialogue; it has to be that way since we are confined to one setting. The world building is always weaker in books like this, but I have to say that this book does the most it can on this front. This world is interesting, just not tonally consistent and mainly delivered by exposition. I can appreciate just how much world building we get when you consider we're basically stuck in the same gloomy set of chambers all book long. Since so much of the world building is relegated to atmosphere and flavor we get to pick through a 300 word glossary and character sheet that is unreadable. I hate when books give a massive glossary, but I hate it even more when I can't read any of the words. This is definitely one of those books where you should start with the audiobook (which is actually amazing, Kyle McCarley kills it).
This is well written and interesting, but it feels like someone replaced the filling in my Grimdark Oreo with some fairy tale cream. If you like court drama, but you're tired of everyone including the MC being a calculating piece of work, this might be exactly what you're looking for. Personally, I can't get off unless the MC is planning to destroy every noble house that stands in his way.