The Goblin Emperor promised to be exactly my kind of book, and it sure did deliver. I heavily prefer noblebright or hopeful books, and I can’t think of a better example. Also, it makes me cry a little bit inside because I want politicians like Maya in real life.

The characters

Maya is the most likeable person, he is good, kind hearted, well meaning, considerate, aware of his own limitations. He’s not unflawed, he’s very self conscious, and lacks a lot of knowledge, though that’s not really on him. He also turns out to be pretty clever. In some ways I found him kind of like a much cleaner, less tits and wine and knowing things, Tyrion Lannister, the ‘other’ that everyone mocks and has to get by solely on his wits. He also has radical ideas such as women could do things besides childcare (radical for the setting).
The other characters range from well meaning to morally grey to downright horrible people, it’s not a case of all sunshine and rainbows.

The setting

Is a bit traditional elves and goblins, and a bit steampunk. This is heavily influenced by my own head images, but I got the feeling of steampunk technology but maybe 17th century fashion. There was a lot of talk about fabric and clothing, and I’m very into that, Maia isn’t such a fan cause the fancy emperor clothes are super uncomfortable.

The plot

The Goblin Emperor is pretty slice of life, but it’s also heavy on political maneuvering. There isn’t a traditional epic fantasy plot, no world saving here. There’s a mystery side plot, but we’re mostly only should conclusions not all the investigating. The main story is Maia trying to adjust to this situation he’s been thrown into, while doing what’s best for his people and trying not to fall victim to any of the many plots his enemies are plotting.

The downside
My biggest problem, and I’ve seen other people mention it too, is keeping up with the names and terminology. I believe this is intended, to make the reader feel as confused in a new world as Maia. There’s a glossary at the end which is a lot of help. I listened to the audio which usually makes telling apart similar names even harder, but despite the problem I still loved the book. There were times when I had no idea who the hell they were talking about, but I got to tell characters apart more by their jobs than names.

I’d recommend people give this a try, it’s so different from the mainstream epic stuff, and so refreshing to have a genuinely good character.