I honestly don’t remember how The Goblin Emperor got on my radar (Cannonball Read is a high possibility!) but it intrigued me enough to write it down on my list of books I’m interested in. To make sure there were plenty of options for my family to get me books for our family Winter Solstice book exchange, I put it on the list, and my daughter picked it for me. It’s the type of fantasy that is mostly fantasy through mentioned details: no dragons, no epic battles, and low magic that is more of an aside than front and center. What it does have are elves that are very pale, white hair, eyes in shades of green/blue/purple, and goblins that are dark skinned, dark haired, and eyes in shades of red/orange/yellow. The two are able to interbreed and the main character Maia is half and half. Fantasy elements aside this book drips with political intrigue, so much intrigue!
Maia is the fourth son of an elven king forced to marry a goblin for political reasons. On the wedding night, the only time the king shared her bed, she conceived Maia. Mother and child were sent to an estate away from the capital. His only trip to the capital and only time he laid eyes on his father, was for his mother’s funeral. Afterwards, he was sent to an even more remote estate with a disgruntled elf who had been sent away from the capital for reasons. In theory Maia was to be educated and trained in court knowledge. Both of which don’t happen. When a horrible accident wipes out the king, Maia’s three half-brothers, and a nephew that would have been heir to the throne, Maia is the only male left of the king’s direct line. He is immediately sent to the capital a complete fish out of water without basic court knowledge and lacking a formal education.
Maia has very few people he can safely rely on and is surrounded by people who at best don’t think him fit to be emperor, and at worst want him killed. Either for being a half-breed, a young man with no training, or wanting the throne for themselves. Maia wants to be a good emperor and is far more concerned with the common people than previous rulers. Which also puts him in conflict with the established court members who oversee the day to day running of the empire.
If you like mysteries with heavy political intrigue, this is the book for you. If you are looking for a more stereotypical fantasy, this is not for you. I would actually rate this book 3.5. What knocks it down from a 4 is due to the made-up elven language and complex naming scheme. The books starts with a pronunciation guide. So, I immediately set out to learn the language rules, which might have been a mistake as I spent the rest of the book figuring out how to properly pronounce words like michen’theileian or Nazhmorhatheveras (words of this length are common). Also, there is a whole system of ranking classes and what prefixes that puts on people’s names. So, I did find it tricky to keep track of who is who as names could be presented in different ways, formal title, informal name, and whether it’s the husband or wife. Overall, I enjoyed the book and wish there was a direct sequel. More books are written in the world setting but don’t have Maia as the main character and they are of a different tone, according to what I found others saying online. I may look into them in the future as The Goblin Emperor is a well-crafted story that kept me engaged.