The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard

It’s absolutely huge (969 pages in print!) but also keeps the story very tightly told it’s just long, rather than being complicated, and it never feels boring or slow. In short it’s a book that I have read and re-read, alongside The Goblin Emperor.

And it’s a story about friendship, and love, and how connections make the world. It’s a story about racism and prejudice and navigating cultural differences and change alongside personal and political change. It’s a story about family and friends and assumptions and bias, and what we value, and learning to value others and ourselves. It’s a story about culture and self, and how to carry it with you, and what you give up when you leave or return. It’s a story about political change and how one person, in the right place, can move mountains. This is a story about an Emperor going on holiday, and the friendships that come from that and how those friendships change both the people involved, and change the world.Īnd underneath, there are some absolutely wonderful undercurrents.

The slight issue with this, of course, is they then have to navigate how that all works, when you’ve got a bunch of rituals (and some small issues like if the Emperor touches anyone, it could mean death) and strictures and prohibitions and courtly ceremonies and… he just wants to go snorkelling? Or anything beyond huge works of magic, overseeing court functions and occasionally wrangling committees.) On the surface, this is a story about a Chancellor putting his head on the line to suggest that his Emperor, the Radiant and Illustrious One, might like to take a holiday. This is also highly recommended for anyone who liked The Curse of Chalion or A Memory Called Empire, or wished GRRM’s stories were a bit less sprawling and murderous and just a bit nicer. IF YOU LOVE THE GOBLIN EMPEROR AND NEED MORE POLITICS/ROMANCE/TANGLED INTRICACIES/COURT MANNERS IN YOUR LIFE, GET THIS BOOK. The mere invitation could have seen Cliopher executed for blasphemy. One day Cliopher invites the Sun-on-Earth home to the proverbially remote Vangavaye-ve for a holiday. He has spent more time with the Emperor of Astandalas than any other person.

The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria GoddardĪ simple act of friendship can change the course of history.Ĭliopher Mdang is the personal secretary of the Last Emperor of Astandalas, the Lord of Rising Stars, the Lord Magus of Zunidh, the Sun-on-Earth, the god.