Tor Books The Goblin Emperor

The front cover was damaged but otherwise it’s in good condition

I can't begin to explain how much this has become my favourite book. I have read it three times now and also listened to the audiobook. I have read all of the spin-off series as well and I absolutely adore the world building. Maia is such a refreshing character to read from his point of view. I was so tired of reading about characters who's defining trait was being frustrating, angry, or justifying their poor personality or hurting other based on their trauma. Which yes, those are interesting characters when well written, but so often they are flat and it's exhausting when you yourself just want to be kind and want to see kindness reflected into the world around you. In comparison Maia is given great power and is uncomfortable with himself as a person in a world that he's not accustomed to and feels alien in, but he remains kind and caring and open to others. He has suffered through his life and experienced pain, but does not use his power for revenge and treats everyone as he wishes to be treated. This does not mean that Maia has no interesting characteristics or problems with characters around him. There's lots of court drama and miscommunication and I find him a wholly fleshed out character whose growth is slow and believable. I wish there were a hundred more books with this main character and I'm always happy to see him mentioned in the spin-off series. (Please I need a book about Maia dealing with the war that keeps being mentioned off and on throughout the book series as a background conflict!) The supporting cast is also great and I really enjoyed seeing how Maia's relationships grew over time. The world building is also fantastic. I want to know everything about the culture, the people in the world and the magic and magical creatures that are mostly talked about and not shown. I will say the ending felt a bit abrupt/tied up very quickly compared to the slow build of the book, but I wasn't unsatisfied.

Honestly I have no idea if this review is even going to be coherent, because if I could give this book all the stars in the sky I would. After I finished The Goblin Emperor I felt so lost. The story was over. There was nothing more to be said. And though I'd finished the story only seconds before I already missed the world and all of the characters in it. I usually love standalones, but for the first time in a long while I found myself mourning that The Goblin Emperor isn't the first in a series. If you're a fan of sprawling, epic fantasies with quests and dragons and sword fights and the whole world being at stake, then The Goblin Emperor might disappoint you. I say 'might' because I don't see how this book could disappoint anyone. Rather than being a 'typical' fantasy book, The Goblin Emperor is a story of politics and courtly intrigue that also just happens to be a fantasy novel. I understand that you might see the word 'politics' and think 'boring', but it really isn't. If you're a fan of history or historical fiction then I'd say this book is right up your alley, especially if you don't tend to stray into fantasy but would like to. I'm only just getting back into high fantasy and, as a big history nerd, I love a bit of political intrigue, so this book was perfect for me. The writing style took a little getting used to at first, but after a few pages I had no trouble whatsoever, and sometimes the names could be confusing - luckily for me, however, I read this on my kindle, so whenever I wasn't 100% sure who someone was I just had to tap on their name and remind myself! So, why isn't this book boring? For one thing the entire world Katherine Addison has created is so rich I still can't quite believe it's not real, and for another... it's the characters. I don't think I can put into words how much I fell in love with Maia, the fourth, half-goblin son of the late emperor who is suddenly thrust onto the throne after the deaths of his father and his three older half-brothers. It was so refreshing to read a book about a character who is a good person, but is still a believable person. Poor Maia is thrust into kingship with no idea whatsoever what he's supposed to do or whom he can trust, but throughout his many trials he stays true to himself and I love him for it. He's a little sweetheart and I have never wanted to befriend and cuddle a character more. And then there are characters like Csevet, Cala, Beshelar, Csethiro, Vedero, Kiru, Telimezh and Idra, so many characters to fall head over heels in love with. I want to hold a dinner party and invite all of them because they're all amazing and I really hope Katherine Addison writes something else about these characters, even if it's just the odd short story. Basically I could gush about this book forever, and I'm probably going to gush about it on my blog for the rest of the year and every year after. It's that good. In fact it's so good that as soon as I finished it on my kindle I ordered myself a pretty hardback edition, because I need a copy of it on my shelf. Please, please, please just read it.

For me this is a cosy read. Read it on kindle and had to get the book.

Muy bueno, completamente diferente.