The Goblin Emperor Audiobook By Katherine Addison cover art

The Goblin Emperor

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Goblin Emperor

By: Katherine Addison
Narrated by: Kyle McCarley
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $23.24

Buy for $23.24

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Brought to you by Penguin.

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

©2021 Katherine Addison (P)2021 Penguin Audio and Rebellion Publishing Epic Fantasy Feel-Good

Critic reviews

"Challenging, invigorating and unique." (Scott Lynch, bestselling author of The Lies of Locke Lamora)
All stars
Most relevant  
Listened at the recommendation of my bookseller friend Ron, once I got used to the narrators pronunciations and the complex names and locations it was an enjoyable listen. A faithful mirroring of modern politics in my opinion.

Such is the way of political machinations …

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Names and titles are confusing, so download the free sample of the book including the glossary.

What happens to the 4th son

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I made several attempts at listening to this book and i found it incredibly boring. i just wanted to scream at the protagonist to get up and do something. Didn't finish it.

Boring

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read this straight after finishing The Hands Of The Emperor by Victoria Goddard. Perhaps if I'd read this first I would have enjoyed it more, but for me it suffered from the comparison.
Actually I listened to it and that was unhelpful. The names of people and places were inevitably strings of gibberish so I had little idea who anyone was or if perhaps 'they' were actually a city or a building or a job title. A visual reading would probably have made that easier.
I found the plot rather thin. Everything interesting happens in the past (an airship crashes) or in the future (the Emperor has an arranged marriage) or offstage (the Emperor tasks an interesting character to unravel the mystery of the crash ... character vanishes from the text and returns several chapters later with the complete answer).
The Emperor is a Nice Guy. Oops sorry - in this book that is pretty much a plot spoiler.
If you like the idea of Goblin Emperor, do look for Victoria Goddard's book. For me, she wrote the book that this nice attempt wanted to be.

Just a little disappointed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.