The Goblin Emperor

The Goblin Emperor (2014) is a fantasy novel by Katherine Addison, and an example of the “fantasy of manners” subgenre, focusing on courtly intrigue and social negotiation rather than epic quests. The story follows Maia, the exiled son of an elven emperor and his goblin wife, who is suddenly called to the throne after his father and brothers are killed in an airship crash. Unprepared for the complexities of rule and surrounded by prejudice, Maia must navigate a treacherous political landscape. The novel explores themes including The Political Power of Kindness and Empathy, Navigating Identity in the Face of Prejudice, and The Burdens and Responsibilities of Unwanted Power.

Katherine Addison is the pseudonym for Sarah Monette, an American author of fantasy and horror fiction. The Goblin Emperor received widespread critical acclaim and numerous accolades: It won the 2015 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and was a finalist for the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award, and the World Fantasy Award. Addison’s short fiction has also been featured in annual best-of collections.

This guide is based on the 2019 Tor Books trade paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide feature depictions of racism, bullying, gender discrimination, anti-gay bias, physical abuse, emotional abuse, illness, death, and death by suicide.

Plot Summary

Maia, the youngest, half-goblin son of Emperor Varenechibel IV, lives in exile at the remote manor of Edonomee. His guardian is his abusive and resentful cousin, Setheris Nelar. One night, Setheris wakes Maia with news that a messenger from the Untheileneise Court has arrived. The messenger, Csevet Aisava, informs Maia that the imperial airship, Wisdom of Choharo, has crashed, killing the emperor and Maia’s three older half-brothers. As the only surviving legitimate heir, Maia is now the emperor. A letter from the Lord Chancellor, Uleris Chavar, confirms the news. Wary of Chavar’s intentions, Setheris advises Maia to travel to the capital immediately by airship to assert his authority before the Lord Chancellor can sideline him.

Maia journeys to the court aboard the airship Radiance of Cairado, reflecting on his isolation and lack of preparation for rule. Upon arriving at the Untheileneise Court, Maia immediately asserts his authority by retaining Csevet as his secretary and surprising Lord Chancellor Chavar with the demand that his coronation be arranged before the state funeral. He also establishes his independence from Setheris by requesting a private audience room.

Maia meets the household steward, Echelo Esaran, and senses the staff’s lingering loyalty to his father. In another unexpected act of compassion, Maia arranges to attend the funeral for the commoners, crew, and servants who died in the crash, an event held at the humble Ceth’ulimeire. This act surprises his new personal guards, or nohecharei, Lieutenant Deret Beshelar and maza Cala Athmaza.

Maia’s first days are overwhelming as he navigates the complex world of court politics. He meets with the widow empress, Csoru Drazharan, and firmly rebuffs her attempts to assert undue influence. He chooses the regnal name Edrehasivar VII and endures the lengthy coronation rituals, pointedly selecting his own nohecharei as his ceremonial guides over the relatives suggested by Chavar.

Soon after, the Imperial Witnesses for the Wisdom of Choharo deliver their report, confirming that the crash was an act of sabotage. Distrusting Chavar’s official investigation, Maia secretly hires Thara Celehar, a clerical Witness for the Dead who has renounced his position after a personal tragedy, to conduct a private inquiry. Maia then presides over the public funerals for his father and brothers, facing the open hostility of some family members, particularly his sister-in-law, Princess Sheveän.

As emperor, Maia must manage the ambitions of the court’s powerful nobles. He fields marriage proposals for his half-sister, the Archduchess Vedero, from the powerful Eshevis Tethimar and the scheming Count Bazhevel. When Vedero confides in Maia that she wishes to study astronomy rather than marry, he grants her a reprieve from the negotiations, frustrating the political plans of several noble houses. He is also pressured to secure the succession by choosing his own empress. During this period, he is introduced to court society and meets the celebrated opera singer, Min Nedaö Vechin.

Maia addresses the problem of his cousin Setheris by appointing him to a bureaucratic post under the authority of Lord Chancellor Chavar, effectively neutralizing him. Soon after, Maia’s maternal grandfather, the Great Avar, leader of the goblin kingdom of Barizhan, arrives for a state visit. The visit brings goblin culture and merchants to the elvish court, and Maia meets previously unknown relatives, including his aunt, Nadeian Vizhenka. The Avar, concerned for Maia’s isolation and lack of practical skills, gifts him a horse named Velvet and insists he learn to ride.

Through Min Vechin, Maia is secretly approached by members of the Clocksmiths’ Guild of Zhaö. They present him with a working model and plans for an ambitious bridge over the Istandaärtha River. Impressed by their ingenuity and the project’s potential to unite the empire, Maia successfully advocates for the clocksmiths to be heard by the Corazhas, the emperor’s council of Witnesses, overcoming significant political opposition.

Maia’s reign is threatened when Princess Sheveän and Lord Chancellor Chavar orchestrate a coup, kidnapping Maia and attempting to force his abdication in favor of Sheveän’s young son, Maia’s nephew Idra. The plot collapses when Idra, summoned at Maia’s insistence, refuses to usurp the throne. One of Maia’s own guards, Dazhis Athmaza, is revealed as a traitor for his part in the coup and dies by revethvoran (ritual suicide).

Meanwhile, Thara Celehar’s investigation into the airship crash makes a breakthrough. Traveling to the city of Amalo, Celehar goes undercover and infiltrates a group of radical Curnisei workers, who believe in violently seizing power from the nobility. His inquiry concludes that these workers sabotaged the Wisdom of Choharo, likely paid and encouraged by Eshevis Tethimar. The conspiracy culminates at the Winternight Ball, where a desperate Tethimar attempts to assassinate Maia but is killed by Cala Athmaza, who uses a death-spell to protect the emperor.

In the aftermath, public trials are held for all conspirators. Sheveän and Chavar are shown clemency and are exiled to remote estates. The members of the Tethimadeise conspiracy are executed for treason. Maia ensures the safety and well-being of his nephew Idra and his nieces, who remain at court under his protection. Freed from the immediate threats, Maia begins to form genuine alliances. He develops a warm relationship with his fiancée, Dach’osmin Csethiro Ceredin, who teaches him to dance. He also grows closer to his sister Vedero and his heir Idra. He grants Thara Celehar’s request to leave the imperial household and serve as a Witness vel ama, a special clerical Witness who speaks for the voiceless.

The Corazhas remains deadlocked on the clocksmiths’ bridge proposal. With the council tied, Maia casts the deciding vote in favor of its construction. He names it the Wisdom Bridge, in memory of all who died aboard the sabotaged airship. Reflecting on his unexpected journey from a despised exile to a ruling emperor, Maia embraces his new role, hoping his legacy will be that of Edrehasivar the Bridge-Builder.