The Goblin Emperor: Difference between revisions

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| name = The Goblin Emperor

| image = The Goblin Emperor cover.jpg

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| author = [[Katherine Addison]]

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| cover_artist = Anna and Elena Balbusso

| country = United States

| language = English

| series = The Goblin Emperor

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| genre = [[Fantasy of manners]]

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| published = 20141 ([[TorApril Books]])2014

| publisher = [[Tor Books]]

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| pages = 446

| award = [[Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel]] (2015)

| isbn = = 978-0765326997

| oclc = 1031918177

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| preceded_by =

| followed_by = [[The Witness for the Dead]]

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'''''The Goblin Emperor''''' is a 2014 [[fantasy]] novel written by the American author [[Sarah Monette]] under the pseudonym Katherine Addison. The novel received the [[Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel]] and was nominated for the [[Nebula Award for Best Novel|Nebula]], [[Hugo Award for Best Novel|Hugo]] and [[World Fantasy Award|World Fantasy]] Awards. It was well -received by critics, who noted the strength of the protagonist's characterization and, unusual for fantasy, the work's warm and understated tone.

The book tells the story of Maia, a young man of mixed Elven and Goblin heritage, who unexpectedly becomes Emperor of the Elflands, and has to contend with the court's Byzantinebyzantine power structure as well as racial and social tension in his realm.

Maia, theyoungest onlyand least-favored son of the fourth wife of the Emperor of the Elflands and of mixed Elven and Goblin heritage, unexpectedly ascends to the throne after his father and half-brothers are killed in an [[Aviation accidents and incidents|airship crash]]. Having been brought up, lookedentirely downin upon[[exile]] byfrom histhe fathercourt, inliving the household ofwith an exiled, abusive cousin, the court is alien to him and his lack of social awkwardnesspolish makesand himconnections strugglemake withit difficult to take up his new responsibilities even more.

In the course of the first few months of his reign, Maia agrees to marry the noblewoman Csethiro,; is seized by a crush on the opera singer Vechin,; is visited by his maternal grandfather, the ruler of the Goblins,; and slowly comes to terms with the loss of privacy that comes with being accompanied by bodyguards and retainers inat everyall minute of his lifetimes. He survives an attempted [[Coup d'état|coup]] by his half-brother's widow and his lord chancellor because his young cousinnephew Idra refuses to [[Usurper|usurp the throne;]], and his investigation into the death of his father uncovers a conspiracy by disaffected noblemen that had been using a group of worker [[Revolutionary|revolutionaries]] to kill the previous Emperor.

The end of the novel sees Maia survive an assassination attempt by the conspiracy's ringleader, and push through a controversial project to bridge the realm's principal river. An [[epithet]] accorded to him by a courtier, "the bridgebuilder", represents his efforts to connect emotionally with the people surrounding him slowly coming to fruition.

''The Goblin Emperor'' received positive reviews. At ''[[io9]]'', Michael Ann Dobbs appreciated that the strong characterization made the novel "remarkably compelling and fascinating" despite consisting almost exclusively of court intrigue and not having the protagonist really do anything: the novel, according to Dobbs, "mostly eschews plot-heavy histrionics in favor of warmth, psychological depth, and hope".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dobbs|first1=Michael Ann|title=Goblin Emperor Has One Ofof Thethe Most Lovable Characters We've Met Inin Ages|url=http://io9.com/goblin-emperor-has-one-of-the-most-lovable-characters-w-1580180709|accessdate=14 February 2015|workpublisher=[[io9]]|date=23 May 2014|archive-date=14 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214223150/http://io9.com/goblin-emperor-has-one-of-the-most-lovable-characters-w-1580180709|url-status=live}}</ref> Liz Bourke, writing an enthusiastic review for ''[[Reactor (magazine)|Tor.com]]'', noted the "compelling attractiveness of Maia’s character" as a fundamentally decent person, as well as the author's detailed [[worldbuilding]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bourke|first1=Liz|title=Building Bridges: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison|url=http://www.tor.com/2014/02/20/book-review-the-goblin-emperor-katherine-addison-sarah-monette/|accessdate=14 February 2015|workpublisher=Tor.com|date=20 February 2014|archive-date=24 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524042821/http://www.tor.com/2014/02/20/book-review-the-goblin-emperor-katherine-addison-sarah-monette/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In ''[[Strange Horizons]]'', [[Foz Meadows]] wrote that in addition to the novel's "elegant prose, intricate worldbuilding, compelling politics and (...) poignantly sympathetic protagonist", its appeal was as much thematic as structural in that it successfully joined the trappings of [[high fantasy]] to those of [[steampunk]].<ref name="Foz"/> She also appreciated the novel's handling "issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality in subtle but important ways", and noted that, as "a novel about abuse and power", it did not personify either as a "cackling overlord" but as institutionalized, internalized practices of entitlement, pride, and callousness, while ending not in triumph but with a muted, steady sense of progress, trust and healing.<ref name="Foz">{{cite news|last1=Meadows|first1=Foz|title=The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison|url=http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2014/05/the_goblin_empe.shtml|accessdate=14 February 2015|work=Strange Horizons|date=26 May 2014|archive-date=14 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214060356/http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2014/05/the_goblin_empe.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

Writing for ''[[Pornokitsch]]'', Jared Shurin felt that the novel should not be classified as "[[grimdark]]" because the protagonist Maia Drazhar more closely fits a high fantasy style in which characters are driven by destiny, rather than a "fantasy Protestantism" in which they choose between good and evil.<ref name="Shurin"/> Addison herself says that her protagonist turned the story "in a defiantly non-grimdark direction".<ref name=Smugglers>{{cite web|title=SFF In Conversation: Katherine Addison on The Goblin Emperor and Grimdark|url=http://thebooksmugglers.com/2014/04/sff-in-conversation-katherine-addison-on-the-goblin-emperor-and-grimdark.html|website=The Book Smugglers|date=22 April 2014|accessdate=14 March 2015|archive-date=9 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309092854/http://thebooksmugglers.com/2014/04/sff-in-conversation-katherine-addison-on-the-goblin-emperor-and-grimdark.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Shurin was disappointed that the "subtle, characterful and deeply emotive" novel was packaged in alienating genre clichés, including an excess of invented language, a "heavy-handed morality", and a "too-perfect protagonist".<ref name="Shurin">{{cite news|last1=Shurin|first1=Jared|title=NEW RELEASES: THE GOBLIN EMPEROR BY KATHERINE ADDISON|url=http://www.pornokitsch.com/2015/01/new-releases-the-goblin-emperor-by-katherine-addison.html|accessdate=15 February 2015|work=Pornokitsch|date=28 January 2015|archive-date=15 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215135529/http://www.pornokitsch.com/2015/01/new-releases-the-goblin-emperor-by-katherine-addison.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In a starred review, ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'' recommended the novel unreservedly as a "spellbinding and genuinely affecting drama", noting its "powerful character studies".<ref>{{cite news|title=THE GOBLIN EMPEROR by Katherine Addison|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/katherine-addison/goblin-emperor/|accessdate=15 February 2015|work=Kirkus Reviews|date=1 April 2014|archive-date=15 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215135727/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/katherine-addison/goblin-emperor/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' described the work as "less a novel than a series of anecdotes", but considered that it was "carried by the strength of atmosphere and Maia’s resonant good-heartedness".<ref>{{cite news|title=The Goblin Emperor|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7653-2699-7|accessdate=15 February 2015|work=Publishers Weekly|archive-date=14 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214074828/http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7653-2699-7|url-status=live}}</ref>

''The Goblin Emperor'' received the 2015 [[Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel]].<ref>{{cite news|title=2015 Locus Awards Winners|url=http://www.locusmag.com/News/2015/06/2015-locus-awards-winners/|accessdate=28 June 2015|work=Locus|date=27 June 2015|archive-date=12 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612165136/http://www.locusmag.com/News/2015/06/2015-locus-awards-winners/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was nominated for the 2014 [[Nebula Award for Best Novel]] of 2014,<ref>{{cite web|title=2014 Nebula Awards Nominees Announced|url=http://www.sfwa.org/2015/02/2014-nebula-awards-nominees-announced/|publisher=[[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America]]|date=February 20, 2015|accessdate=February 21, 2015|archive-date=February 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220184858/http://www.sfwa.org/2015/02/2014-nebula-awards-nominees-announced/|url-status=live}}</ref> the 2015 [[Hugo Award for Best Novel]]<ref name="Hugo15">{{cite web |url=http://www.locusmag.com/News/2015/04/2015-hugo-and-campbell-award-finalists/ |title=2015 Hugo and Campbell Award Finalists |work=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=2015-04-04 |accessdate=2015-04-04 |archive-date=2015-12-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211174921/http://www.locusmag.com/News/2015/04/2015-hugo-and-campbell-award-finalists |url-status=live }}</ref> and the 2015 [[World Fantasy Award for Best NovelAward—Novel]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=World Fantasy Convention 2015|title=WORLD FANTASY AWARDS NOMINEES|url=http://www.wfc2015.org/wf-nominees01.html|accessdate=9 July 2015|archive-date=8 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608024854/https://www.wfc2015.org/wf-nominees01.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Category:2010s2014 fantasy novels]]

[[Category:LocusTor Award-winningBooks worksbooks]]