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!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.