A fast-paced, tightly contained and somewhat straightforward mystery set in the world of The Goblin Emperor. Short and fun, adventurous, easy to digest in a sitting or two. I suspect if I got to spend more time with the characters, I would get just as invested in them as I am with the cast of Cemeteries of Amalo. Overall, I'd say it's definitely worth the read - a treat to tide you over until Thara Celehar returns in March!

Fun novella and I think any fantasy reader familiar enough with the genre to go yes yes, goblins, elves go on could follow the story just fine it works better if you’re already familiar with the world. And if you like fantasy and haven’t read the Goblin Emperor you really should. Under this pen name she write cozy-ish fantasy of poor souls who are really just muddling through the pile of crap they find themselves in as best they can while people around them are horrible. They’ve all been excellent reads.

A wonderful return to the world of the "Goblin Emperor", this time focusing on some of the middle class individuals who were impacted by the airship explosion that led to Maia becoming Emperor. Add in an academic archeological heist and I loved this short novel. The characters were a unique look at different view points on history and how that history should be and is interacted with.
Not going into the plot here, given that this a very short read, but the heist was interesting and the perspective of Ulcetha as a fallen academic attempting to redeem himself to the upper eschelons of academic authority is so poignant.
If you enjoyed either the Goblin Emperor, and the Witness for the Dead, you will probably also enjoy this short entry into the world.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I was overjoyed to hear about this novella set in the same world as the goblin emperor.  Reading about this world is a comfort to me and I have already read this book twice.  This features Ulcetha Zhorvena, a disgraced historian whose best friend dies in an airship blast and leaves him a puzzle.  This puzzle leads him to an artifact, treasure, and a murder.

On the first read, I found Ulcetha Zhorvena to be a bit distasteful while still compelling.  This is because he uses his history background to write fake provenances for false artifacts because it pays well.  And he enjoys it even though selling the fakes does make him a bit uncomfortable.  It was interesting to read about a character in the world that is disreputable given that the other books set in this world have exemplary main characters.

On the second read, Ulcetha Zhorvena had a lot more of my sympathy.  He is kicked out of university due to a stolen artifact and he was innocent of the charge.  In addition, one of the leaders of the university is completely prejudiced against Ulgetha for class issues and that is awful.  His best friend is dead and leaves him a puzzle that leads to painful truths and Ulcetha Zhorvena chooses to do the right thing even though the consequences for him are stark.  Plus the years of being outside the university system do cause him to mature in unexpected ways.  Ulcetha Zhorvena may have made bad choices but fundamentally is a good person in the end.

Reading about Ulcetha Zhorvena is fascinating but so is the world building and history.  This novella ties in nicely to the events of the world as seen in other books but very subtly.  I continue to love insight into the culture and politics.  I would very much love to read future events of Ulcetha Zhorvena and see what happens to him next.  Arrr!

Remember how Maia Drazhar got to be Edrehasivar VII, the Goblin Emperor, when the airship Wisdom of Choharo blew up? The pilot of that airship, Mara Lilana, had a best friend, and that grieving best friend, Ulcetha Zhorneva, is the protagonist here.

Ulcetha is a historian, booted from the university in disgrace because he's believed to have stolen an artifact called the Orish Veltavan, itself in turn a clue to the whereabouts of the Orb of the title. And now Mara has left him a bequest, also a clue -- to the whereabouts of the Orish Veltavan. Which in turn leads to another mystery, a murder this time.

So look: that little bit of scene-setting probably makes it clear that The Orb of Cairado is best enjoyed if you're already familiar with the Goblin Emperor world, so you can laugh out loud at a line like "it became steadily less likely that Edrehasivar VII would start his reign with a purge" and enjoy the blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to every Addison fan's favorite Sad Gay, Thara Celehar. All of which having been said, we GE-world fans love these books in large part for the fundamental decency of their protagonists; thanks to their goodness, they succeed in certain important ways, but they all pay a price, as well. Maia does, Thara does, and Ulcetha does as well.

I could have used some more relationship development -- I'll skip the spoiler explaining which one(s) and why, but I'm dinging half a star there, and rounding up.

A slow, academic, cozy. I want to say it's a mystery, but Katherine Addison is, as always, crafting something that is all her own outside of genre boundaries.

I'm not sure if I would recommend it as an entry point to this fantasy world. However, I would wholeheartedly recommend it to people who have already read something else in this fantasy world. It's got the same charm.

Thanks to Netgalley and Subterranean Press for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I read the Goblin Emperor years ago, and when this novella popped up on NetGalley, I requested it with excitement to get back to the setting I remember fondly. Unfortunately, I got lost in the info-dumpy world-building and couldn't get into the story at all. Made me question if I even liked the Goblin Emperor as much as I remembered (what I remember are the interesting reveals and emotional beats, but I don't remember being this annoyed by the world-building and writing style). Overall, an underwhelming experience for me, but someone who likes this writing style will enjoy it more than I did.

This is a wonderful return to the world of The Goblin Emperor, one of my favorite books of all time. The characters are so real, and I love how the history of the world is woven through it in stories and artifacts. I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the Cemeteries of Amalo series, and this was the perfect little story to tide me over. All of the stories are about grief and love and friendship, and this one was no exception.

Free ARC received from Subterranean Press via NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. Publish date 31 January 2025.

I've been a longtime fan of Katherine Addison's, and I was excited to see there was a new novella coming out set in the Goblin Emperor universe. In The Orb of Cairado, Ulcetha Zhorvena, a thoroughly disgraced ex-university scholar, receives a mysterious letter after a close friend dies in an explosion. The letter leads Ulcetha on an investigation which encompasses a long-lost secret, ruthless departmental politics, and the eponymous Orb of Cairado.

The novella is fully a standalone, with few to no references to previous novels set in the universe. However, the rich depth of the worldbuilding—including the complex system of forms of address, the switch between formal and informal grammar in dialogue, and a fair bit of terminology—gets less explanation here than in The Goblin Emperor. Personally, I love the complexity. The incorporation of ear body language alone is fascinating, and the conlang Addison uses for names is lovely (Sinzharo, Salathgarad, Trenivar, Csecoro...) However, without the appendix that was included in The Goblin Emperor, new readers entering the universe with this novella might find themselves a little lost.

Ulcetha himself is a delight. His rather rakish introduction, as he climbs out a woman's window to avoid her irate father, implies a dissolute failed younger son persona that we gradually learn is not accurate. He's a scholar to the core, and he hates his job forging artifact provenances because he doesn't think it's ethical. I also enjoyed the little glimpses we got of him working on his thesis. (And in fact, he was in the woman's room in the first place because she was covertly letting him into the family's private archives.) The two driving elements of the story are Ulcetha's scholarly tendencies, and Ulcetha's grief for his dearest friend, who has left him with the uncomfortable legacy of an ugly tangle of secrets.

A lovely little fantasy mystery with exquisite worldbuilding. A must-read for fans of The Goblin Emperor, but if the premise sounds appealing, new readers might be better off starting with The Goblin Emperor rather than jumping in here.

A short mystery novella taking place during the events of The Goblin Emperor, I found this a fun and enjoyable read that made me excited to get back into this world in anticipation for the third book in the Cemeteries of Amalo. A fairly quick and easy read, this book focuses on a disgraced historian named Ulcetha accused of stealing an artifact, unable to continue his scholarship when unable to clear his name. With the crashing of the Emperor’s airship - and his friend who was the pilot - he’s left mysterious clues that lead him into an investigation with more twists than he ever saw coming.

I found this novella to be fun and entertaining, but I would consider the way this book is written to be more on par with the offshoot series starring Thara Celehar, as opposed to the political court intrigue present in the Goblin Emperor. While this novella is short, and the pieces to the puzzle come together fairly quickly, I enjoyed Ulcetha’s investigation and think he would greatly get along with Thara, if the two were to ever meet. (Forgive me if this character has come up before, but if so I don't remember him - it’s been a while since I’ve read these books.) Both Thara and Ulcetha work to uncover the truth behind the investigation - even when everyone else is against them, and doing so would cause them more strife than anything else. I appreciated his determination to uncover the full mystery, even when the consequences would not benefit him.

All in all, I found this to be a nice appetizer to getting myself back into the world of the Goblin Emperor, and any fan of the series who likes mysteries and investigations I believe would find this to be a fun read. While the events taking place in TGE are present in the background of this book, I don’t believe you need to be overly familiar - or remember them too closely - to understand the timeline in this book. While taking place in the same universe, much like the Cemeteries of Amalo series, this book focuses on our main character as he tries to live the life the world has dealt him, and get to the bottom of the mystery that has landed in his lap.

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Subterranean Press for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Returning to the world of elves and goblins that was first introduced in The Goblin Emperor is always such a delight. Every tale is an enigma wrapped in the rich fabrics of Katherine Addison's meticulously detailed settings and beguiling characters, and this novella, though brief, is no exception. The central character, Ulcetha Zhorvena, a dishonored scholar of history is left with the breadcrumb of a mystery after the death of his closest, maybe only, friend. We follow him as he solves a chain of puzzles, uncovers a murder, and deals with the consequences. As with The Cemeteries of Amalo series, the mystery is only a fraction of the attraction of the story and getting absorbed in the setting completes the experience. This novella is a treat for anyone who has enjoyed any of the other stories from this world and a nice short sampling for anyone who has wanted to try this author or just enjoys cozy mysteries.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Subterranean Press) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

The Orb of Cairado by Katherine Addison is a limited edition hardcover set in the world of The Goblin Emperor. This story begins at the same time, with the destruction of the airship Wisdom of Choharo. A disgraced scholar, Ulcetha, was falsely accused of stealing a rare artifact. He receives an odd message from his deceased friend, a pilot on the airship. This initial clue leads to more clues and eventually discovering a murder. The story had a somewhat noir feel, and ends with Ulcetha leaving for a new city. I can easily see this story becoming a series.

This is a novella set in the world of the Goblin Emperor. It was quite a pleasant read.

We follow along with Ulcetha in his daily life in his world and he follows one clue after another as a a mystery solved. As we follow along we learn more about the world and the various interests and self interests play out.

I gave this story three stars because there isn't any character immersion or development. Ulcetha seems quite a nice honest sort of a fellow. That's all we are left with, even though the story is told from his point of view. There are very brief references to his family and other connections. The mystery is about the Orb of Cairado...and we care why? It just seems to be some boring jewel. All in all, this is a muted linear story which was an okay way to pass the time. Perhaps it will gain more significance and resonance as the author writes more stories in this universe.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an advanced review copy.

What more can I say? It’s a Goblin Emperor story. A lovely human story about unraveling a mystery. I really like that Katherine Addison has been exploring the universe she created rather than sticking too close to Maia; it makes the world feel more lived-in.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC for this. It showed up just in time as I was finishing a reread of the Goblin Emperor, before diving into the sequels. The events in this happen in parallel with those in Goblin Emperor and it gives another good look at the deep and vivid worldbuilding. The story itself isn't long or complex, although it could've been a bit longer with more intrigue. But it paints a very effective picture of power structures and who and how they fail. I don't know if the protagonist features in the future novels, but much like Maia, he's someone humble origins who got screwed over by the powers that be, in this case, in academia. There's also similar, gentler themes of loss and grief and trying to do the best one can in treacherous situations.

The Orb of Cairado by Katherine Addison


Wohoo! Unexpected novella in a universe I cannot get enough of!

Like many people, I first encountered Katherine Addison when I found the Goblin Emperor on a bunch of awards ballots and was immediately enchanted. Within six months of reading it, I doubled back and listened to the audiobook - that novel was charming and delightful and wonderful. (I also adored her unrelated book, the Angel of the Crows, and I think more people need to read that.) I was thrilled beyond belief when Tor and NetGalley gave me an eARC for The Witness For the Dead, a related book in the same universe as The Goblin Emperor. That book was a book of my heart - It was the most enjoyable reading experience I had in months when I read it the first time. I was even more exited two years ago when Tor and NetGalley gave me an eARC for The Grief of Stones, the direct sequel to the Witness for the Dead which I described at the time as “perfection itself” - a description I still stand by.

In anticipation of the long awaited, third book in the Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy, I recently re-listened to audiobooks of the other books in this universe, so I have been soaking in it for weeks now. Which is why I was so surprised when Subterranean Press announced a standalone novella in the same universe! I was ecstatic when Subterranean Press and NetGalley gave me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.


This book was absolutely fantastic. It introduced a whole new set of characters in a whole new place in another tale set into motion by the destruction of the emperor’s airship - the same explosion that began the story in the Goblin Emperor. The protagonist was a scholar accused of stealing an artifact believed to be the key to an even greater treasure, but he knows he is innocent. The story eventually solves the mystery of who is the real thief and, in the process, tells us about scholarship, love, duty, and betrayal. It is hard to describe without spoiling the story. I heartily recommend this to anyone who likes Katherine Addison and to anyone who hasn’t read anything by her yet. This book is wonderful.

Katherine Addison does a good job with her prose and the world building itself, however, where The Emperor Goblin shined was in its rare touching moments of finding trust in the sea of piranhas, The Orb of Cairado, I feel, wasn't able to accomplish the same thing as deftly, largely because this novella is too short. It's a short and sweet mystery novella, about a missing historical relic, The Orb of Cairado, and, while it was nice to recover the artifact in this Emperor Goblin-adjacent world, it just came about too quickly--to linearly. Follow one clue, which successfully leads to the next, which leads to a puzzle, which we can solve right then and there, then go to the next...it was just all too tidy, therefore the suspense never had a chance build up.
I think if you're into Addison's writing, however, you're likely in the mood for a mellower fantasy setting rather than something more high-octane, action-packed. If you're in the mood to explore the world of The Emperor Goblin a bit further, then perhaps you'll like this story too.

Thank you NetGalley and SubPress for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I get a new book in this series I just want to lie in bed and marinate in it.

This is such a short book, but as always, is so engrossing. They usually feature a mystery of some sort, which is not solved through fast paced action, but through introspection and reasoning. The characters are surprising in their depth and the reader comes away with empathy for their inner struggles.

This novella (or is it a short story?) is the same as the full length books in the series. I don’t want to go into too much detail because with a short story you run the very real risk of spoiling something and that would be truly egregious. If you couldn’t tell yet, I absolutely adore all of the books by this author and she is coming out with a new full length novel early next year. This will just keep me going until then. Maybe.

Addison's prose and worldbuilding are top-notch as usual, but the plot wends its way to the solution of several mysteries a little too linearly, with one coincidence too many. Add to that, one particular revelation about the murderer not only ties up plot threads a little too neatly, but walks <i>right</i> on the tightrope of 'I honestly can't tell if this is in good taste.' Use your own best judgment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions within are my own.

2025

Fantasy

Review: This was very well written within a short temporal existence. The characters have great depth and there is constant movement to satisfy the questing heart.

Too bad this is not a full-length novel. As it is, I can only give it a max of three stars. Rules are rules....

3.0/5