The Goblin Emperor
When you're in the mood for lyrical political intrigue or steampunk mystery
Picture this, you’re the fourth or fifth son of the Emperor, the child of his least favorite wife. Your mother died when you were small, and you’ve been raised away from court. You were used as the punishment for the cousin who was exiled to raise you.
You’re woken up in the middle of the night by a courier come to fetch you to court. The reason? The airship carrying you father and all of your brothers crashed, and you are now Emperor.
The Goblin Emperor
I don’t know how to to describe The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison1. It’s lyrical, thoughtful, and the complex worldbuilding is part of the story—but not in a boring or overwhelming way. The language and names and titles are complex but so beautiful and right feeling that understanding is intuitive—and even if you don’t fully understand it’s so beautiful that it doesn’t matter.
This is a gas lamp fantasy/steampunk, a world with palaces and airships. It’s real enough to touch, its politics grounded in concerns as concrete as building a bridge over a river and the socio-economic impact it would have—not to mention the scientific debate over whether it’s even possible. Maia’s story explores questions of power and fame: the isolation it causes, the difficulty remaining compassionate when you are an object and symbol rather than a person. Plus, there is a mystery afoot about who/why/how the entire imperial line was destroyed.
The story is an illustration of the idea that specificity is relatable. Have I ever been orphaned and crowned emperor? No, but were Maia’s struggles relatable? Yes.
Maia is an extremely likable protagonist. He’s been thrust into a new and wild situation, and he is doing the best he can to be a good ruler and as good a person he can be at the same time.
I found the ending extremely satisfying.
I experienced this story as an audiobook, and if you like audiobooks at all I would strongly recommend. The narrator, Liam Gerrard, nails the voices and accents, including world important pronunciation differences, and portrays Maia with such heart you just want the best for him.
This is the Goodreads summary:
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 and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.
Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend... and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.
The Cemeteries of Amalo
If political intrigue isn’t your thing, but you like mysteries or stories about vicars dealing with daily life, try the Witness for the Dead.2 It follows Thara Celehar, an important side character in The Goblin Emperor. Thara is a Witness for the Dead, a government position similar to detective. This is the person responsible for giving the dead a voice, finding out how they died and bringing people to justice if necessary. Some Witnesses, like Thara, are touched by Ulis, the god of the dead, and he can actually speak with the dead when he touches their body. People with his gifting are also responsible for dealing with any undead monsters that arise from improperly buried dead.
Thara is middle-aged and world weary, but he’s also kind and trying to put himself back together after going through some stuff earlier in his life and career. The story has a semi-episodic feel, as Thara sees many petitioners throughout the story, while pursuing an overarching mystery.
Here is the Goodreads Summary:
When the young half-goblin emperor Maia sought to learn who had killed his father and half-brothers, he turned to an obscure resident of his Court, a Prelate of Ulis and a Witness for the Dead. Thara Celehar found the truth, though it did him no good to discover it. He lost his place as a retainer of his cousin the former Empress, and made far too many enemies among the many factions vying for power in the new Court. The favor of the Emperor is a dangerous coin.
Now Celehar lives in the city of Amalo, far from the Court though not exactly in exile. He has not escaped from politics, but his position gives him the ability to serve the common people of the city, which is his preference. He lives modestly, but his decency and fundamental honesty will not permit him to live quietly. As a Witness for the Dead, he can, sometimes, speak to the recently dead: see the last thing they saw, know the last thought they had, experience the last thing they felt. it is his duty to use that ability to resolve disputes, to ascertain the intent of the dead, to find the killers of the murdered.
Celehar's skills now lead him out of the quiet and into a morass of treachery, murder, and injustice. No matter his own background with the imperial house, Celehar will stand with the commoners, and possibly find a light in the darkness.
The story is slow, methodical, and incredibly wholesome. He makes friends in The Witness for the Dead who recur in book 2, the Grief of Stones. You don’t have to read both books, or even start with one over the other, they stand alone well enough. But, as I adore them both, I prefer reading them in order.
To me, Thara’s story shows the impact one man can have just by doing his best to be decent. I think we need stories like this to remind us that it’s the small acts of kindness that hold the darkness at bay (thanks, Gandalf!).
Thara’s audiobooks are also excellent. Also narrated by Liam Gerrard, I cannot get over that because it’s from Thara’s point of view the whole thing is narrated in Thara’s voice. So if you listened to The Goblin Emperor, then The Witness for the Dead, it’s not the same. I know that’s a small thing, really, but it’s so huge and I love details like that. People are so talented.
Anyway, if it sounds interesting to you, check it out. These books are top notch work by Katherine Addison and I have already listened to them multiple times.
Read what you like!
The Goblin Emperor and the Cemeteries of Amalo books are a 1 on the spice-o-meter, there are some very oblique references to sex. Thara’s investigation takes him to a brothel, and in book 2 he breaks a crime ring related to pornographic photography. This is discussed in the most delicate of terms (but squarely places all the blame in the right places).
There is light LGBTQ representation in the character of Thara, who is gay. I say light because the romance is in his past, and he’s not bombastically queer coded. He’s just a person, which I appreciate. (Edited to add: There is some very light romantic threads in book 3, which came out in Spring 2025)
LOL, Sara, I felt the same way.
I do like the set-up of the unexpected son becoming king rather than the heir apparent or "chosen one"
Your description of the writing in The Goblin Emperor was tempting until I got to the actual story, which sounds so terribly stressful. Witness for the Dead sounds very intriguing.