Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Goblin Emperor

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

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

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
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Will of the Many cover art
The Andari Chronicles Box Set 1 cover art
The Angel of the Crows cover art
Paladin's Grace cover art
Clockwork Boys cover art
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City cover art
Tigana cover art
All Systems Red (Dramatized Adaptation) cover art
Jade Shards cover art
The Hallowed Hunt cover art
Shadowborn cover art
Daughter of Mystery cover art
The Secret Bride cover art
Fitz Darcy and the Drowned Heiress cover art
Elantris (3 of 3) [Dramatized Adaptation] cover art
A Day of Fallen Night cover art

Critic reviews

"Challenging, invigorating and unique." (Scott Lynch, bestselling author of The Lies of Locke Lamora)

What listeners say about The Goblin Emperor

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    138
  • 4 Stars
    58
  • 3 Stars
    26
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    133
  • 4 Stars
    41
  • 3 Stars
    22
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    130
  • 4 Stars
    41
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Can't get past the narration

Why on earth does the narrator insist on pronouncing every other o as oh. It sounds utterly ridiculous and as if he is trying (and failing) to sound upper class.

Maybe this is a good story but the narration is so off putting and the names so strange that after
Struggling through a few chapters I find I simply don't care what is going on.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous

I’ve read this and listened to the audiobook version so many times I’ve lost count. The story builds a wonderful world and fills it with believable characters and great plots. It’s a perfect read for a bit of escapism.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A beautiful modern classic of SFF

One of my all time favourites, brilliantly read! Maia and the rest of the cast linger long in the memory, hopeful without ever becoming saccharine.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Can I have more please?

I read it, and then read it again and then the audiobook was finally available and I listened. I'm so happy!

Katherine Addison builds a rich, compelling world with a brilliant assortment of personalities. We follow the story with Maia, a very likeable young man who is totally out of his depths. Or is he? He navigates a world he was never even supposed to be a part of, and through chance and tragic circumstances, he's now at the head.

Maia is a true outsider and through him we unravel the intrigues, lies, and corruption of the Elvish court.

Incredible world build, wonderful writing, and my only complaint is that I want more. Much more....

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A fantasy West Wing: an optimistic vision of leadership

I greatly enjoyed this book which was a thoughtful and creative meditation on the nature of ethical leadership.

It did all this whilst building a thoroughly immersive fantasy setting. Others have bemoaned a lack of ‘action’ but I found the shifting politics, alliances and betrayals gripping throughout.

Performance was a bit of a shame and might be a problem for Brits. The ‘received pronunciation’ accent is off. He hasn’t quite nailed all of his vowels. Fans of the Adam and Joe podcast will be muttering ‘hot cougheeee’ to themselves for days afterwards.

Don’t let this out you off downloading though, I loved it.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

love!!!

ah i love this book so so much - ive read it about 3 times and it was so fun to experience it as an audiobook - it felt like i was reading it for the first time again! kyle mcCarley does SUCH a good job with the narration - all the different voices he does for the characters really brought them all to life, and he conveys such rich emotion in his speaking as well. by far one of the best audiobooks ive ever listened to!! :)

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fantastic book and good reading

there were some odd echos in this recording, with lines repeating quietly in the background as the reading continued. other than that, the book and the performance are wonderful

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Engaging story line.

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

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story & performance but parts are missing

Great performance, beautiful story but unfortunately there are some technical issues with the audiobook, like missing the very important last part of chapter 30.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Really good, but…

The faux British accent really takes you out of it, and if you listen to this, do yourself a favour and keep a notebook to keep track of all the names, titles etc.
And last thing is that the Elves really have nothing to distinguish them from Human except in name, and the Goblins are really just a bit foreign instead of being a different race. It’s just a bit of a gimmick.
Otherwise this is a really enjoyable story with a good resolution

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!