[Book Rec] The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison

[hoursgoneby]

My god, this book. If you know Katherine Addison as Sarah Monette, her real name and the one she used with her previous publishing house, you already know you're in for an amazing read. (According to Monette, the pen name was required by the new publisher because "publishing is deeply weird".)

The book centres around Maia, a young half-elf/half-goblin who is the youngest son of the reigning Emperor and who unexpectedly inherits his father's throne when his father and brothers die in an airship crash. Maia was the fourth son, and has been effectively living in exile under the care of a cousin since the death of his mother, the Empress Chenelo. Unprepared for the role, and unprepared for court, the plot centres around Maia's growth into becoming Emperor and the mystery behind the crash of the airship.

There's court intrigue, light magic, political maneuvering, steampunk, fantasy, and just a smidgen of clockpunk. I stayed up all night reading it by flashlight, then read it over again. I don't regret picking it up in hardback (indeed, probably the best plan since I know I'll read it over and over again) but a quick peek at Chapters.ca shows me the paperback is available for preorder if that's more your speed.

Comments

[spikedluv]

Late comment is late, but I wanted to let you know that I've added this book as well as the Doctrine of Labyrinths series to my to-buy list. Thanks for the rec!

[hours-gone-by.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! I hope you enjoy it!