The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison

[beatrice_otter]

So I'm reading my way through the Hugo packet (slowly, in between other commitments, OMG this summer has been so frantic summer is supposed to be my DOWN TIME), and decided to start the Best Novel category today.  (This is actually something to be grateful to the Sad/Rabid puppies slate; I will be voting No Award above them, and would even if I didn't find their politics and beliefs to be abhorrent, because the way they gamed the noms was shitty and against the spirit of the Hugos, and SHOULD NOT be rewarded.  Anyway, because I know I will not be voting for their works, that means I don't have to read them, which cuts down the amount of reading to do.  Which, one can normally count on the Hugo packet to be a lot of good reading, but this summer I DO NOT HAVE TIME.)

Anyway, I tend to be of the opinion that a Hugo-winning book should be both a) really good fun to read and either b) have a really fascinating/new thing to bring to enrich the genre, or c) be exquisitely well written.  And The Goblin Emperor is certainly good fun, but there's nothing new about it, and it's not exquisitely well written.

On the other hand, I couldn't put it down, so ... we'll see.

Comments

[laurajv]

Someone asked me what I liked about it the other day (because I may have accidentally read it 4 times already) and I paused and said, you know how sometimes you just REALLY LIKE a character? I just REALLY LIKE the main character. The book is fun otherwise, but the major draw for me is Maia, who is sweet and awkward and injured, and trying SO HARD, oh Maia.

[beatrice_otter]

I couldn't put it down. And I wanted to start a sequel right away. But I don't have any great desire to re-read it.