Maia is the fourth son of the emperor, poorly regarded,
only from the fourth wife and shuffled off to a rural home
to be tutored by Setheris, a man who resents being made to
leave his wife at court. Then an airship crash kills the
emperor and heirs. Maia is thrust into a position he never
expected.
THE GOBLIN EMPEROR is how the people see Maia, though they
call him Serenity to his face. The court nobles are elves
and servants are goblins, and we gradually realise that
Maia is from a token mixed marriage. The contrasts early in
the story are amusing as Maia gets proper clothing and
instructs the awkward steward about funerals and his
coronation. He listened to his lawyer cousin's lessons and
knows his only hope is to take control - he's eighteen,
friendless and vulnerable. Using the imperial "we" and
having everyone prostrate themselves is all good fun, but
the life of the ruler contains formality and loneliness.
Maia is unconventional from the start. Csevet, a messenger
who seems loyal, gets promoted to look after his personal
affairs, and Maia is reminded that he must marry... sooner
would be wise, rather than later. He's never had anything
to do with girls, and now he's the most eligible man in
several lands. He can't even dance.
I got into the story quickly and felt sympathetic for Maia;
it was also easy to see why Setheris resented being Maia's
guardian at the expected dead-end of his career and family
life. Labyrinthine court formalities take the place of
action but newness, unexpectedness and Maia's learning to
cope keep the reader occupied. Then there's the matter of
the sabotage conspiracy which killed the last ruler... this
adds tension and keeps us guessing.
The difficult part of THE GOBLIN EMPEROR is the names. Lord
Deshehar, Varenechibel, Csevet, Setherin, Nedao Vechin,
Nemrian, Nurevis, Dachensol Habrobar, just for a few; then
we get the longer and similar-sounding place names. I don't
know how the author kept them straight and many readers
won't try too hard. The occasional steampunk element is
more mentioned than present, but it does lift the tale away
from normal medieval fantasies. We find Katherine
Addison's formal style of writing enjoyably different, and
we hope to read more by her, more tales of bridge-building
and character growth amid uncertainty such as THE GOBLIN
EMPEROR.
A vividly imagined debut fantasy of court intrigue in a steampunk-inflected magical world from Katherine Addison.
Unbound Worlds 100 Best Fantasy Novels of All Time
The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.
Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.
Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend . . . and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne–or his life.
Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor is an exciting fantasy novel, set against the pageantry and color of a fascinating, unique world, is a memorable debut for a great new talent.
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