The Goblin Emperor / Katherine Addison

Title / The Goblin Emperor

Author / Katherine Addison

First Published / 2014

Page no. / 512

Overall Rating / ★★★★.5

This is a fantastic slower paced fantasy book that follows Maia, a young half goblin and half elven male, who becomes the emperor at the very start of the book. At it’s core this is a coming of age story, but there is so much more to this wonderful book. I am so glad I finally picked this up, after having it on my TBR for quite a long time.

 

The Goblin Emperor is quite unique in terms of the fantasy genre, at least in terms of the fantasy books that I read. There is little magic used throughout the book and there isn’t a lot of action or battle scenes.  Its also more insular in some ways – the main focus is on Maia and his reign and we don’t get to see far beyond that. From the very beginning I was invested in the story and the world. Maia is a fantastic protagonist and Addison does a wonderful job at developing him throughout the book. One of my favourite things about this book was the characters and the way their relationships develop, in particular Maia and the people directly surrounding him.

 

The world is a really interesting one and the writing is fantastic. I found it so easy to settle into the flow of the writing – sometimes it takes me a little while to get into the books written by authors I’ve never read before but that wasn’t the case with this book. From the start I was completely invested and I enjoyed every second of reading it. The world is so well written and I would love to be able to explore more of it in other books. The plot was compelling throughout and Addison does a great job at weaving all of the elements of the story together. It is definitely a slower paced book, so don’t come into it expecting it to be fast paced and action packed.

 

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend checking it out. A sequel was announced last year and I cannot wait for it to be released – it’s not a direct sequel but it is set during Maia’s reign. As far as I’m aware there is no cover or release date right now, but the books title is The Witness for the Dead. Have you guys read this book? I’d love to know what you thought. Let’s chat in the comments. I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.

 

 

Pippa