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The Goblin Emperor
by Katherine Addison
I have bounced off this story a few times, but it was finally the right time and place for long fantasy names and isolated friendless exiled princes to become isolated emperors.
Honestly I like this book more as a concept piece rather than in execution - I think it's a genuinely fascinating example of how a book can mostly take place in like, three rooms (a bedroom, a receiving room (there are, I think, three receiving rooms but they are just about degrees of formality and comfort) and a ballroom. Maia is the Emperor, which means he can make decisions but he can't do things. He visits a sick woman who was kind to him; he asks his secretary to procure more coal for the household and reflects that that's what it means to be emperor, you just ask other people to put themselves out for you. It's a novel that is a series of meetings; Maia wakes up dreading them, and you sympathize about burnout.
He is very goodhearted, and it's nice to watch his treacherous court bloom around him in loyalty as he tries his best to learn as quickly as possible. I do think it's a genuinely fascinating take on the "farmboy becomes king" story, given that it's a lot about The Harsh Realities of Bureaucracy (so many meetings); I also like that the emotional culmination is a bit sideways from standard
it's weird but different! I admire the swing, and it will undoubtedly influence how I think about fantasy politics forever.
Thing I really liked: TWITCHY EARS!!!!
Honestly I like this book more as a concept piece rather than in execution - I think it's a genuinely fascinating example of how a book can mostly take place in like, three rooms (a bedroom, a receiving room (there are, I think, three receiving rooms but they are just about degrees of formality and comfort) and a ballroom. Maia is the Emperor, which means he can make decisions but he can't do things. He visits a sick woman who was kind to him; he asks his secretary to procure more coal for the household and reflects that that's what it means to be emperor, you just ask other people to put themselves out for you. It's a novel that is a series of meetings; Maia wakes up dreading them, and you sympathize about burnout.
He is very goodhearted, and it's nice to watch his treacherous court bloom around him in loyalty as he tries his best to learn as quickly as possible. I do think it's a genuinely fascinating take on the "farmboy becomes king" story, given that it's a lot about The Harsh Realities of Bureaucracy (so many meetings); I also like that the emotional culmination is a bit sideways from standard
Spoiler
(there's no epic friendships here, just an epically competent secretary and alliances and like, warm working relationships; the victory is in scoring time in your schedule for self-care, and is much less about surviving an assassination attempt.)it's weird but different! I admire the swing, and it will undoubtedly influence how I think about fantasy politics forever.
Thing I really liked: TWITCHY EARS!!!!