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The Goblin Emperor

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The Goblin Emperor

By: Katherine Addison
Narrated by: Kyle McCarley
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Maia, 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 favour 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 spectre of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor.

©2021 Katherine Addison (P)2021 Penguin Audio and Rebellion Publishing Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction

Critic Reviews

"Challenging, invigorating and unique." (Scott Lynch, bestselling author of The Lies of Locke Lamora)
All stars
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Great narrator and an okay story. But it's not edge of your seat reading - not a lot happens. Just a mild sort of a listen. Still, I'd read more if there is more.

Tolerable

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A thought-provoking & deeply hopeful story set in an intricate & intriguing new world. Maia is a likeable & sympathetic protagonist & is surrounded by interesting characters. The world-building is masterful and rich - there's so much detail & depth, and much more to explore in this world.
The story grapples with a lot of the ways in which a dominant culture discriminates against minorities, but is beautifully written and isn't didactic.
The narration didn't suit Maia's gentle and curious voice particularly well, but was perfectly competent.

Thought provoking & beautiful

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The Goblin Emperor marks my very first audio book and it didn't disappoint. This is a somewhat slower paced fantasy read more concerned with the day to day affairs of running an empire-by an ill-equipped and often unwanted half-goblin, half-elf emperor nonetheless. While some of the names were difficult to keep track of, the author would include just enough additional context for the reader/listener to be able to place them whenever they appeared on page.

While I enjoyed the underlying conspiracy plot lines that parallelled the more character driven ones, some of the villains seemed a tad too inept to be able to mastermind some of these threads. Additionally, the author is very impressive for being able to maintain the archaic dialogue.

I would much like a sequal, although I'm pretty sure there is a spin-off focusing on one of the more prominent supporting characters.

A different kind of fantasy read.

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The names though.. Phew. Hard to keep track of. I recommend writing them down as you meet them.

really lovely, and interesting world building

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If you like books where everything is super dramatic and stuff is happening all of the time, this is not the book for you. I loved the exploration of Maya ( spelling unsure) and his character as he’s thrown into the formal and rigid world of the elven high court. The underlying plot threads held it all together without rushing the story. The names were incredibly difficult to keep in my head and I very much had to rely on context to know who the hell what who when their full names and titles were used as they were all similar- I wonder if this is problem is moreso for audiobooks readers?

Anyway I thought it was very interesting and charming

A interesting slow paced read

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Whilst I enjoyed the story, the characters, the writing and the narration, I was so very lost (90%of the time) given the pure infinite number of strange names I couldn't wrap my head round or keep track of. This took so much away from the story that I just wished it would get to the end. :(

So many names

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I had heard many good things about this book and had been warned that it was quite slow and very focused on courtly life and drama. I went in with no expectations but in the end I really struggled and gave up by the 4 hour mark. This story is INCREDIBLY slow and the characters and world are simply uninteresting (plus it doesn't help that all of the characters names are nonsensical and extremely similar). I hate to say it, but I was simply bored. I gave it a solid try but in the end it's not for me.

Not for me

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A light and enjoyable story which was overall very satisfying. Seeing how much of the storyline was based around politics and etiquette, I was surprised by how entertained I was by this book. The characters names were long and complex which made it hard to follow at times, but may have been easier if reading. I found the racism a bit heavy handed.... was it really necessary to constantly refer to the shame of being dark skinned?

enjoyable fantasy with political intrigue

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What a great listen. I don't usually start with the narrator, but he was perfect for this book, especially since The Goblin Emperor is told entirely from the perspective of one character.
The story is a simple premise, being an unfavoured son plucked from obscurity, but also mixes in some whodunit, court politics, and intrigue.
I was really quite captivated by this book, and despite the names being quite complex and the levels of hierarchy having unfamiliar names, this was a great listen.
There are two other books that follow, but as the focus moves from this character and the narrator changes, I decided to leave it with just this one book and enjoy it for what it is.

Thoroughly enjoyable

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I have never enjoyed politics in fantasy books but after listening to the goblin emperor I can appreciate it a lot more. I was hooked from beginning to end and the narrator was amazing. I loved all the characters and definitely enjoyed the main character's progression.

unexpectedly great

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