The Goblin Emperor

I'm waffling between a 4 and 4.5 stars for this one. I enjoyed this book a lot but this isn't going to be for everyone. This book goes pretty ham with its world, its lore, and its court politics, so if you're not into that then probably give this one a miss. But if you enjoy that, then this one has it in spades, but also in a fairly digestible format.

The biggest hurdle for someone just getting into the story would be the crazy names: Untheileneise'meire and Dach'osmerrem Tethimada, for example. I'm not even sure if I've spelt that right. Even now, I probably wouldn't be able to remember, pronounce, or spell most of the names I encountered in this book, but you'll be fine as long as you've found a way to digest and tell apart the names.

Our protagonist Maia (who has the easiest name of the lot) is an 18 year old half-elf, half-goblin prince who unexpectedly ascends to the imperial throne of the Elflands after his father the Emperor and all his half-brothers die in an airship crash. Having been born to a goblin empress who was not favoured by his father, Maia has been pretty much shut out from the court for his entire life so he makes a pretty good lens through which us the readers can experience the Untheileian (Elflands) court. He is just ignorant enough to require the explanations on how things work, but also just smart enough that he doesn't make annoyingly daft decisions even though he's a complete newbie to court machinations.

There is a central mystery to this but the author is clearly more interested in establishing the world and the court of the story, so the mystery and action seemed more like a “by the way” thing. If you're looking for fast-paced plots, then this is not the place you'd find it. The resolution to the mystery also felt a little anticlimactic - it just clearly wasn't a focus of this book much, except as a vehicle through which Maia can gain a firmer footing in his new position as Emperor.

I also felt the story ended a little too neatly. The good people win, the bad people die or are exiled. Maia wins the love of his future empress and solves all the conflicts he had had. He is always a little queasy at the thought of people having to be executed even if it's for their crime of nearly having him killed. His niece and nephews, children of his traitorous sister-in-law, are immediately taken to him from the very first moment. Everything just seems a bit too peachy keen by the end.

Overall, a great book and a series I wouldn't mind continuing. I truly appreciated the effort the author put in to the world building. You know a book's got that when there's a whole section at the end of the book on how names are pronounced and how titles work.