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The Goblin Emperor

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The Goblin Emperor

By: Katherine Addison
Narrated by: Kyle McCarley
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"Challenging, invigorating, and unique." - Scott Lynch, bestselling author of The Lies of Locke Lamora

Maia, 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 favour with the naive 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 spectre of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor.

© Katherine Addison 2021 (P) Penguin Audio and Rebellion Publishing 2021

 Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction
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The Orb of Cairado By: Katherine Addison
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I first read the book several years ago, but revisiting it as an audiobook really was an untrammelled delight. It’s a deeply beloved novel in my circles, with its cinnamon roll protagonist gradually overcoming the bigotry and Macchiavellian schemes of the court which he finds himself suddenly ruling, but I have to say the vocal performance really elevated the story. Cracking character voices and a crisp, engaging narrative voice; I’m horribly fussy about narrators so it is a real joy to find a beloved book so well served by the voice artist.

Glorious

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I love this book. The narrator has an odd attitude; he sounds annoyed or sardonic a lot of the time, Words with the vowel la' in are sometimes pronounced very oddly, but the names and words unique to this imaginary world are spoken faultlessly. Odd!

strange pronunciation of common words

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One of my favourite fantasy novels beautifully narrated. Definitely one to listen to over again and again.

Excellent

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Enjoyed the story but the character names we're confusing as place names.
Narration was annoying.

Engaging story line.

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The narrator had9 very weird pronunciation of some words, for instance a drawled 'kohlm' for 'calm' which was a bit disconcerting, but overall the narration was okay. I felt the story was quite slow moving but it got better towards the end of the book. I'll probably get the next one in the series.

Slow moving but fairly enjoyable

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