/lit/ - Literature

The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison (2014)
This is a fantasy of manners insofar as I understand the term. The primary focus of the novel is not the plot, the setting, or the characters, but rather the processes that are the government. The protagonist who knows almost nothing relevant becomes emperor and for most of the novel he is shown what it means to be emperor and all the manners, etiquette, and proceedings of court life. There seem to be various people who have confused this with worldbuilding, but it isn't in any meaningful way. The protagonist doesn't ever do much of anything, but rather most everything happens to him or simply just happens.
There are many questionable aesthetic choices such as the naming scheme, the occasional archaic language in dialogue, and the usage of elves and goblins that likely detract far more than they add. There's a glossary at the end, and while I didn't extensively check, I suspect most of the entries are for the most minor and trivial of matters and it's possible that there are those included that exist in the setting but are never mentioned in the text itself.
While there is a considerable amount of darkness in the background, it's mostly only alluded to or glossed over. There's a disappointing lack of exploration in the themes that are brought up, only to be pushed aside because it's too difficult to confront them and would alter the tone of the book. There are political assassinations, hunting people for sport, prostitution, kidnapping, attempted rape, attempted murder, jokes about incest, child abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia, forced ritual suicide, several suicides, offers of ritual suicide, executions, the disregard for suffering in pursuit of profit, workers' revolt, mental illness, and tacit approval that revolutionary violence by the common people against the powerful and wealthy is beneficial and necessary for the continuance of society. There's also feminism. This may seem like it would dominate the book, but as I wrote, it's mostly all described in passing because it's much more important to focus on the Bright Side of Life.
I'm not confident that author knew what she wanted this book to be, and if it is what she wanted it to be, then that's unfortunate because I found it to be very inconsistent as to what it ought to be thought as. The antagonists were the weakest part of the book to me due to their almost comical bungling and buffoonery which is somewhat acknowledged even in the text. From what I've seen this has led to widely varying readings from calling this grimdark to being a simplistic feel-good book.
The book received many nominations for awards and even won one. I don't believe that it ought to have been nominated for any, let alone won, and I can't say that I understand why it did, even after looking at various reviews of why it's so great.
Despite all these flaws it was still an enjoyable read and I'll read the next novel in the series which will release next year.
Rating: 3/5