Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

19 reviews

mars's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Such a captivating story! The charaters are very well fleshed out, you're either rooting for some and love to hate a select number of characters. The universe, though at first intimidating with its foreign words/names, is explored thoroughly that you want to know more about it. It was such a hard book to put down I ended up finishing The Goblin Emperor in just 2 days! I'm looking forward to reading more of Katherine Addison's other books 📚

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Suicide

Moderate: Murder, Bullying, and Sexism

Minor: Confinement and Injury/Injury detail

birdofalltrades's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Violence, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Murder, Blood, and Sexism

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, and Alcoholism

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Infertility

clarabooksit's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Sexism, Abandonment, Grief, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Death, and Murder

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

fictionandflora's review against another edition

emotional reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A new all time fav! 
Watching Maia grow both as a person and as an emperor had me glued to the page. The depictions, of race, class, and gender were interesting and nuanced insofar as someone in his position is able. His struggles dealing with the prejudices of his subjects, his own trauma, and the responsibilities of rulership all on the landscape of a hostile court had me rooting for him every step of the way. Maia's struggles and triumphs felt personal in a way that had me aching with loneliness and giggling with joy. 

The way the Addison was able to weave in the history of this world throughout the story was engaging. Every character, even the most minor, felt distinct in a way rarely found. The interactions between them fleshed out the world and story more than simple descriptions ever could and their progression through out was something to look forward to. Truly this felt like a peak into a small section of an expansive world.

It's rare for me to want to re-read a book as soon as I put it down but The Goblin Emperor is one such book. Everything about its works so harmoniously and the read flowed so easily that its has me wanting to experience it again and again. 

I highly recommend this to fans of coming of age, cozy fantasy, and character driven books.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Sexism

k_bb's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

This was quite laborious to read and overall I’m not sure it was worth the labour. The use of language was frustrating, although I became accustomed to it after some time. The names and honorifics were so cumbersome to read that it actually impeded the flow of the narrative. I found the political scenes tiresome, especially because politics was actually dealt with quite superficially at the end of the day. I felt the characters were flat and the commentary insipid. I love fantasy and read this because it was recommended as “cozy fantasy”, but perhaps this is just not the type of fantasy I enjoy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Minor: Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Homophobia

leguinstan's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Homophobia and Sexism

pvbobrien's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Suicide

Moderate: Grief, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Violence, and Racism

Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Classism, Confinement, Colonisation, Infertility, Alcohol, and War

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexism

Minor: Violence, Suicide, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Murder

mal_eficent's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If you enjoy stories that just follow a character through their life in a fantasy world, whether it's full of adventure or not, this will scratch that itch for you in the most satisfying way. I wouldn't consider this a character driven story (Maia doesn't quite have enough agency for his choices to be driving the plot) but it's almost entirely character focussed. Which means unless you're really into the details, this might feel like it the story is slow and meandering–especially as the writing is slightly formal to match the expectations of court life. The narrative warms as Maia finds his place, and if the coldness of the beginning puts you off I'd recommend sticking with it to see the change. 

What plot there is isn't hugely complicated or action filled–even when it gets fully into the politics–but it is thorough look. Every aspect of life as an Emperor is considered and addressed, and Maia is the perspective we learn everything about this world through. The world building is excellently paced and explained. Information is there precisely when the story needs it without overwhelming the narrative.  

Except the information at the beginning of the book. There's a couple of pages explaining the naming systems, court addresses, and pronunciation (presented as an in world travel guide). Since I started with the audiobook I didn't realise it was there, and was a little confused for the earlier part of the narrative as it introduced a ton of characters with 'the same name' but never explained why. Turns out I was confusing the 'Sir and Madam' of this world for names. So, bear in mind if you're starting audio first you'll be missing some information - and about five pages of chapter 30, which are just missing. The pay off is that the narrator, Kyle McCarley, is fantastic. His accent and cadence suits the formal setting of the world immeasurably, and the voices he gives each character makes them come alive off the page. Even Maia's speaking voice or direct thoughts sound slightly different to plain narration. 

If you enjoy works like Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy, Tamora Pierce's Tortall books, Chris Bunch's Dragon Master series, or even Game of Thrones (though this is much 'simpler'), then I'd recommend Goblin Emperor 100%.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Grief, Xenophobia, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Classism, Sexism, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

briely's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Death of parent and Sexism

Minor: Racism, Self harm, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Homophobia