Book Review: The Goblin Emperor
Hello Dear Reader! Today I’m going to review The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. (And some additional thoughts)
I have a confession to make. I picked this book up because I was snooping on Christopher Buehlman’s Goodreads to see what he likes to read. I really want to improve my writing and my story telling and I so love Buehlman’s work. So I figured, why not check out what he likes to read and see what other great authors are out there? Thus, I stumbled on this book.
This is a book that I have no idea how else to describe except (cozy?) fantasy slice of life, but the slice of life follows the exiled son of an emperor who must suddenly take the throne upon the death of his father and several older brothers. This is a book for people who love language and also people who like political machinations in their books.
A second confession… I have no idea what all genres and sub-genres and all that are out there anymore. I was an avid fantasy reader through high school, reading Lord of the Rings, Dragon Lance, The Legend of Drizzt, and just about every vampire book I could get my hands on. Then I took aba little over a decade off through various college and life challenges, only reading in spurts. (Dresden Files, Mistborn, etc.) And now I’m back in it, but I admit I don’t keep up with the trends. so you’ll have to forgive me if I mislabel something.
Maia, who is the Half-Goblin son of the now deceased emperor, must learn to navigate the world of Elvin court politics. A task he is woefully unprepared for having lived in exile for nearly a decade. The story follows Maia's sudden transition from a remote estate under the care of an abusive relative to the most important person in the entire kingdom. Maia has no friends, no allies, and certainly no idea who he can trust in the court.
I generally prefer books with a good deal of action, sweeping adventure, and high stakes. So this was quite a step outside my comfort zone.
There are no epic battles or riveting fight scenes in this book, yet I found myself drawn in by Maia's struggle to be the best emperor he can be for his people, but also simply to obtain the most basic human things all of us long for: a genuine connection to others and sense of belonging. Maia was a protagonist I could root for, and I found myself worried about him and really wanting things to be ok for him throughout the book. Despite the abuse he suffered at the hands of his relative, he remains a kind and gentle soul who just wants to do a good job and take care of those under his rule.
I am reminded of another book I read two years ago. I remember finishing the book and saying to Dustin, “I just read a whole book where nothing happened.” Because to me, that’s what it felt like. I finished it because I was curious about what was going to happen and how it ended, but I was kind of bored. The book centered largely on what was going on inside the main character’s head as events unfolded. There were a lot of conversations with other characters, navigating personal and professional relationships, and how to solve interpersonal quandaries. There was a pressing matter that needed to be solved or bad things would happen, but it wasn’t the same earth-shattering-save-the-world kind of stakes that had to be solved with an epic showdown with the BBEG.
Initially I felt a wee bit dissatisfied with The Goblin Emperor… How could I like a book but also feel a let down by the lack of action? I took to Discord to discuss my thoughts on this with Dustin and Phil. I want to be a better reader and understand books and storytelling better. Through our conversation one of the guys told me that their wife doesn’t like thriller, action, big explosion type movies. She likes quieter movies that focus a lot more around what a main character is thinking, feeling, how they are building or not building relationships with those around them and problem solving with not bullets and explosions. Hence why I can’t think of what else to call it except Slice of Life. Is this what people mean when they refer to something as cozy? What’s the opposite of Action and Adventure in terms of story telling? Non-Action Problem Solving At Home? I can’t say that I fully understand this, because I do like big explosions and lots of action and adventure, but I can still appreciate the perspective and the sentiment.
I really liked The Goblin Emperor, even if I don’t fully understand why. I would read more about Maia and like to spend more time in world that Addison built. And as I continue to ponder Addison’s book, I think perhaps I may have judged the other book I read a few years ago too harshly. I have been trying really hard to read outside my preferred micro-niche this year, to expose myself to new styles, new genres, new authors, in my quest to become a better writer myself. And I have to say, I feel like it is helping me maturing as a reader. I’ll probably always love big fights and high stakes, but I am getting much better at appreciating different types of stories and storytelling.
Not to have tangented away from the book, but this particular story really did help crystalize some of those thoughts and ideas for me, which I think is really neat. It was able to open doors to help me enjoy new types of stories that I might not have previously been open to. And that is such a cool thing to get from a book.
I can tell that a lot of care and consideration went into the linguistic aspect of this book. The author has a note at the beginning which helps explain all the naming conventions and honorifics. The world building hints at a very rich and imaged history, and indeed I found the world building to be both subtle and interesting. I kind of like it when author’s don’t explain a whole lot and just drop you in the middle of things, letting you experience the world as the book goes along, seeing and understanding things through the characters as they experience it. It really hooks me in and makes me insatiably curious to learn more, so well done there. Further, Addison’s world is one I would be curious to learn more about and would definitely spend more time in. (Which, as of writing this I found out she did another series in this same world, so I will have to check it out.)
In summary, this book was sweet and touching in a way I did not expect. The world building is handled beautifully and delicately. The linguistics are fascinating and a little bit over my head, but still really cool to read. I would whole-heartedly recommend.
