Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The Right Kind of Fantasy for Now

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

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The Goblin Emperor was exactly what I needed. First, I bought it recently when one of my local bookstores opened back up (in a limited socially distanced capacity), and it turned out to be the right kind of fantasy, still serious and interesting but ultimately hopeful. I was worried at first because the opening pages present the grammar and forms of address used by the characters, and a 300-ish entry long dictionary of characters and place names that’s actually hard to use is you don’t […]

I’m pretty sure it’s not you, book, it’s me

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

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3.5 stars Official description: 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 […]

A quiet fantasy that speaks to the heart (#AwardWinner)

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

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One of the truly loveliest fantasies I read this year was The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. This one came highly recommended to me on a facebook group where I asked for non-grimdark, political intrigue fantasy. The recommender really hit the mark, and I recommend it to any lover of fantasy! It’s steampunk but not in-your-face about it, bittersweet but not everything-is-s*** like grimdark, and it’s also an award winner! It won the 2015 Locus Award (and was also nominated for the 2014 Nebula and the […]

I didn’t know what was going on half of the time, but I’m okay with that.

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I had this book on my TBR list before CBR10 Bingo came out, purely because it was being read by Kyle McCarley.  He’s the narrator for the Super Powereds series by Drew Hayes, so I’ve spent many an hour listening to Kyle’s awesome talent.  (Note: none of this book was read in anything close to his normal speaking voice, which I discovered by looking up an interview on YouTube.)  The language is often old and formal, with a lot of thee’s and thou’s, which Kyle […]

A fantasy novel about court intrigue and kindness.

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A brief review, for a very enjoyable book. I’ve been stuck on this review for a couple of weeks now, so I’m just going to accept I won’t be able to say anything eloquent about it, and move on with my life. The Goblin Emperor follows half-goblin/half-elven Maia, who after his father and three older brothers are killed in an accident, becomes Emperor. Out of favor his whole life and not allowed to grow up at court, Maia is completely out of his depth being thrown into […]



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