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Lois Bujold's Reviews > The Goblin Emperor
The Goblin Emperor (The Chronicles of Osreth, #1)
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Well, that was riveting.
The exiled half-blood son of an emperor's discarded fourth wife suddenly and unexpectedly inherits the throne after a terrible airship accident, and must scramble to find his feet in a Byzantine several-thousand-year-old elvish court. I adore the fact that this isn't a war story at all, for a wonderful, wonderful change, though it does have a nice murder mystery going on in the background at times.
It reminded me a lot of The King of Attolia, a favorite, with a bit of Gormenghast thrown in, some steampunk, and maybe some Dragonlance. This melange is made to work through the headspace of the main and sole-viewpoint character, Maia, which is a pretty congenial place to be for 400 or so pages.
I found the the fantasy neologisms and place and personal names were rather too thick on the page. Since I wasn't facing a quiz next period, I let them slide past my eye as undifferentiated word salad, possibly not the effect the author hoped for.
Brilliant cover art, apropos and very attractive. I am deeply envious.
Ta, L.
by
Well, that was riveting.
The exiled half-blood son of an emperor's discarded fourth wife suddenly and unexpectedly inherits the throne after a terrible airship accident, and must scramble to find his feet in a Byzantine several-thousand-year-old elvish court. I adore the fact that this isn't a war story at all, for a wonderful, wonderful change, though it does have a nice murder mystery going on in the background at times.
It reminded me a lot of The King of Attolia, a favorite, with a bit of Gormenghast thrown in, some steampunk, and maybe some Dragonlance. This melange is made to work through the headspace of the main and sole-viewpoint character, Maia, which is a pretty congenial place to be for 400 or so pages.
I found the the fantasy neologisms and place and personal names were rather too thick on the page. Since I wasn't facing a quiz next period, I let them slide past my eye as undifferentiated word salad, possibly not the effect the author hoped for.
Brilliant cover art, apropos and very attractive. I am deeply envious.
Ta, L.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
May 1, 2014
–
Finished Reading
May 16, 2014
– Shelved
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I loved this book too! Sarah Monette is awesome.
Yes, I also thought of King of Attolia with this, even though it's different in a lot of ways too.
Fayley wrote: "Yes, I also thought of King of Attolia with this, even though it's different in a lot of ways too."Yep.
A frustration of mine with this book's plot, although it is in character for Maia, was that the climax of one (and to a degree both) of the important plot threads was engineered through the villain's stupidity, and not through the hero's cleverness. I grant the attractions of the set-piece in which it took place, and it does get realism points, but I'd have liked to have seen its set-up tweaked to show more agency on Maia's part. The smarter one makes one's villain, the smarter one's hero looks for bringing him/her down, though it does make for harder writing. "Smarts" seems to be one of the most prominent values F&SF readers demand of their protagonists. I'm glad I bought the book, though, since I expect I will read it again sometime. There are some interesting Japanese influences running through the setting, among other vibes.
Ta, L.
Have looked at the sample on Kindle. Mmmn. Well, at least she knows how to deal with the 2nd person pronoun singular, but so far, the only person who's really interesting me is the cousin. (Cf me to my mate Tess Williams, whose favourite hunk in LotR was Lurtz.)SK
Sylvia wrote: "Have looked at the sample on Kindle. Mmmn. Well, at least she knows how to deal with the 2nd person pronoun singular, but so far, the only person who's really interesting me is the cousin. (Cf me t..."The cousin, alas, gets rather lost in the ensuing shuffle. I thought he was under-rated by Maia, given how much he'd taught the kid about how to survive in a hostile environment. Advertently and in-.
I was reminded a bit of the young Queen Victoria escaping her early handlers. It plays nicely on the fantasy of escaping an abusive family and/or bullies by becoming king of the universe. With, of course, a few little snags...
Ta, L.
Yeah, except the cousin didn't seem *seriously* abusive. A couple of punches when drunk, derogatory remarks, but no sexual abuse or torture or such. And he sure did teach Maia a lot. I also, in my usual contrary way, kept wondering what life HE had to give up to ride herd on Maia.
And the damn name keeps putting me off because I read Richard Adams' *Maia* years ago and she was very female.
Still thinking if I want the rest. The reviews are tempting.
Maiai wasn't a great character because he was smart (as yes I often prefer), but because he was kind.
Sylvia wrote: "Yeah, except the cousin didn't seem *seriously* abusive. A couple of punches when drunk, derogatory remarks, but no sexual abuse or torture or such. And he sure did teach Maia a lot. I also, in my..."
You're a fast reader. Give it a whirl.
:-), L.
Fayley wrote: "Maiai wasn't a great character because he was smart (as yes I often prefer), but because he was kind."That is an excellent point.
Kindness is not usually held up as a survival trait in much fiction; more usually it's a vehicle for violence fantasies. Nonviolence fantasies are quite rare.
Ta, L.
I'm tempted to give it a whirl, but it's over $10, high for a Kindle book. And then, thinking about it today, I decided what wasn't ringing true to me was Maia's character. He's not coming across as 18, in whatever breed or whatever culture. Where are the rampaging hormones? Where's the ego? I remember what even I was like at 18, half know- it-all and half know-nothing, but deadly impatient to get on with life, to have and do and be.
Maybe if you were in Alex the Great's time it wd. be a v. different story at 18, but at the moment, M's thought processes are coming across to me as those of a long experienced, intelligent, cautious, almost tired, middle-aged lady. Very concerned aboutother people, very little really burning hatred for Setheris, or much else. Middle-age reflexes. Not 18 year-old's
I really enjoyed this book, Lois. Thanks for the honest review. I too struggled with the names and the nomenclature but I found Maia a delightful character. All full of self-doubt but without being too shrill and for once, and I am sorry to say this but... I am glad the main character wasn't some kind of savant of government or genius extraordinaire. You know, I think quiet, hardworking people can make a difference in the world as well as those endowed with all the brain power and bravura.
Thanks for the review of this book . . . a favorite author's good words plus mentions of Attolia are more than enough to get a book to the top of the to-read shelf! I picked it up from the library yesterday and devoured it in one day (a privilege, perhaps, of students on break). I really enjoyed the characterization. The names washed over me too, which troubled me at first (why can't I keep them straight?!), but then I decided to just let them give me more sympathy for poor Maia. I truly enjoyed the similarities with Attolia. I felt that there were key moments showing Maia's vulnerability and age, such as his interactions with the singer and with his betrothed, as well as his need for friendship and his continual remembrance of his mother, and that his maturity was remarkable, yes, but perhaps not unbelievable.
I also requested this from the library as a result of your review, Lois. Thank you, because I enjoyed it tremendously (and the two books read just before it were The Martian and Jo Walton's new My Real Children, so it definitely had some competition). I agree, it is Maia's character that makes him special, especially his compassion. I thought there were a lot of great characters and I loved the world-building.
"He's not coming across as 18, in whatever breed or whatever culture." I met my husband when he was 18 and I couldn't disagree more.
There are exceptions to every generalization, but I've taught at University for 30 years and I've seen a lot of male undergrads around the 18-19 mark. This guy does not sound or think like any of them.
Sylvia wrote: "There are exceptions to every generalization, but I've taught at University for 30 years and I've seen a lot of male undergrads around the 18-19 mark. This guy does not sound or think like any of t..."I love the rare chance to see men like my husband and our friends in literature. Why should every person be written to a general type? I'm enjoying the book tremendously.
Sylvia wrote: "Yeah, except the cousin didn't seem *seriously* abusive. A couple of punches when drunk, derogatory remarks, but no sexual abuse or torture or such. And he sure did teach Maia a lot. I also, in my..."
Having now listened further in the book, I'm utterly aghast that this comment was let pass. The cousin unquestionably abused him, emotionally and physically. He did something with a fire iron that left visible scars on Maia's body. Moreover, he was basically the only person in Maia's life for ten years. No other influences at all to help counteract the abuse. CPS would have removed him in a heartbeat.
Seriously. These names! Word salad indeed.
"Recommended for readers who like court intrigue fantasy" reminds me of Dan Crawford's Nimnestl trilogy. The new boy-king, only half Maia's age, is thrown in to the "treachery, intrigues, and perils of the Kingdom of Rossacotta." Hair-raising court intrigue! Five people out of 25 gave the first one, Rouse a Sleeping Cat, a 5-STAR rating.
I really appreciate the comments here!
I'm glad you liked this -- I'm looking forward to reading it and seeing what else Monette can do.