Sarah Monette

An amazing story that drew me in almost instantly. The main character, Maia, is an engaging, three-dimensional personality, having an unusual back-story of being completely ignored by his emperor-father and 3 older half-brothers. Yet he becomes the heir to the throne with next-to-no training or education in Imperial behaviours and governance. Maia was especially on a steep learning curve in managing court intrigues and self-interested power grabs by the nobles surrounding the royal show more hierarchy.

The saga was amusing and heart-felt, with the characters distinctive and the theme of kindness, honour and fairness in the Imperial court Maia's trademark. Make no mistake that the narrative is soggy schmaltz, however.

Be warned that the author has devised a rather confusing system of Elven and Goblin names and forms of address, along with unusual geographical place names. The glossary at the end was incomplete and a reader is easily lost as to the significance and political role of many of the supporting players.

The words are often very long and unpronounceable (try this one, for example, Ulistheileise Court). If the writing otherwise had not been so accomplished and the plotting excellent, I would have awarded 3 or less stars. The struggle to place the characters as they were mentioned took me out of the narrative too often. The final chapter certainly flatlined and finished on a very disappointing minor scenario.

Despite these caveats, I will recommend the novel for its captivating adventure, likeable main characters, and the effectively nasty villains. show less

In 2015 I started the goal of reading all the Nebula Award nominees for best novel that year. I didn’t accomplish the goal and one of those novels, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, sat on my shelf for a year. I finally read it because while at Vericon 2016 in Boston, it was mentioned that author was going to be the guest of honor at Vericon 2017, until the con went on hiatus that year. It was first described to me as a fantasy novel where friendship saves the day in the end.

Maia is show more the half goblin/half elf son of the elf Emperor and his second wife, a goblin princess. The marriage was loveless, arranged primarily to make an Elf/Goblin peace. After Maia and his mother are exiled from the royal court to a country estate, his mother dies of an illness and Maia is again moved to a small cottage with an abusive guardian. Several years later, Maia is shocked to be named the new Emperor when his father and all of his older half-siblings are killed in an airship accident. The innocent and naive Maia must now navigate Imperial politics with ministers that would take advantage of him, as well as a wary court. His half goblin heritage is a cause for concern among the court because of the ever present tension between the elf empire and the goblin kingdom.



Maia’s innocence and friendliness, in equal parts, frustrates the status quo and causes distrust with elves so used to brutal politics. However, Maia maintains his good nature and uses it as an asset to win over allies. It almost feels like The Goblin Emperor was written as a reaction to “political fantasy” like George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series. Rather than constant royal plotting and backstabbing, kindness and empathy are shown to be effective tools of governing.

Maia also must contend with his own anxiety and self-doubt. After a childhood in exile with his mother, then his harsh adolescence with his bully of a caretaker after her death, it is understandable that Maia lacks self confidence. It is with the support of new friends and allies, won with kindness, that he is able to find the confidence to do what he believes to be is right.

There were times when I had trouble accepting some aspects of Maia’s decision making. I personally know I would not be as forgiving in some of the situations in the novel. Stories of “nice” leaders usually end with the leader’s death or with his corruption. In that respect, The Goblin Emperor is a breath of fresh air. I give The Goblin Emperor 4 out of 5 stars and would definitely recommend it to any fantasy fan. Happy reading! show less

That goblin was just the sweetest child emperor I've ever known. He was always courteous and polite, even when he was abducted. He was so centered and contained even during that that time he almost took the knife of that assassin. Do you remember his name? Yeah. That windbag elf. Well, I don't care what any of his peers say about this dear child. He's looking forward to the future, I tell you! He even says goodbye to the cleaning staff of his late mother, bless his soul.

This novel, in case show more you haven't guessed, is a delightful take on normal people raising an Emperor. It is NOT, however, a tale of war, oppression, or magic. There's plenty of intrigue, but mainly it's a coming of age with a very healthy dose of fish out of water syndrome. On a personal note, it was charming and well paced and very, very political. It had elements of stab you in the back, of course, but the focus was mainly on trying to do a good job in a situation where no one seems to trust you. Believe me, I was very charmed.

This delightful novel was part of this year's Hugo nominations, and in spite of the controversy, I'm reading each novel deeply and seriously because I respect and cherish the Hugos. Anyone nominated will carry prestige because we, the readers, want it to be so. The moment we start devaluing the award in our own minds is the moment we lose a little light in our life.

As for being a contender, this novel definitely is. If I read this outside of the controversy or the nomination, I would still be gibbering and drooling about it, because, after all, it turns our archetypal conventions over to cook more evenly.

The writing is clear, the story is suspenseful, and the mystery around his father's death and his own assassination attempt keeps everything moving nicely. Most importantly, I felt real sympathy for our dear Emperor. If you think that the story is short on wonder or depth, think again. Everything is vividly imagined and deeply drawn, down to the airships or the clockwork bridge or the guard who sang our young Emperor to sleep.

This novel is a breath of fresh air with a huge heart, and that's saying a lot for a novel about a goblin.

Brad K Horner's blog show less

I was greatly looking forward to this book when I found out it existed because I loved The Goblin Emperor. It took me a while to get into this book because, to me, it felt very tonally different from The Goblin Emperor. There is a strong mystery/investigation thread that reminded me more of Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett's Astreiant series. This isn't a detraction from the book--that series is one of my favorites--but it was an unexpected shift. Additionally, none of the main characters show more from The Goblin Emperor appear in The Witness for the Dead, which also made for a difficult start.

Once I got into it though, I loved it and desperately want more of Thara Celehar. I listened to the last five and half hours of the audiobook all in one sitting, which I think shows pretty well how much I ended up enjoying it. Ultimately, if you go into this book wanting more of The Goblin Emperor, you'll end up disappointed. If, however, fantasy mysteries are your jam then I highly recommend The Witness for the Dead. show less