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I really enjoyed the The Goblyn Emporer. I was a little unsure about going to another disconnected story (well the story perspective is somebody from the first book, but no real going back to the original storyline), but I pretty quickly fell into listening as much as time would permit.

The whole feel of this book is different than the first installment. I have not read a lot of murder mysteries, at least since I was young and long car rides and the alphabet murder mystery with my mom), but it was enjoyable to get into it. This story feels like an old private investigator taking place in a fantasy world with elves and goblins. There is a serial killer, ghoules, and political intrigue.

This book is a short read. I will say, in general, I appreciated the story and the analogy... but not really. It is likely worth a read or a listen (as that is what I did). I was recommended to read it when I was working on my BASW or my MSW (back in 2008 or 2009), but it wasn't something I ever got around to. It was brought back to mind when I was recently at a training and a quote was taken from it and shared. Years ago, I added it to my list of books I want to read (ordered by the date that I added them) and surrounded by:

Andreas, S., & Faulkner, C. (1996) The NLP Comprehensive Training Team: The New Technology of Achievement.

and

Carlo, Philip (2007) The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer

I'm not sure if either of those are books I have any intention of coming back and and reading, but I did pick this one up using Libby. One benefit of the audiobook is the version I listened to included a talk that Spencer gave that I think I appreciated more than the book.

I think the thing that I disliked about the book was some of the setup storytelling around the analogy that was told. There was a lot of discussion about how good the book was, how much it helped people, and that the allegory was really good. So much self-congratulatory talk is hard for me to really listen to. Also, the telling and re-telling of the parts and making sure that the ideas were clear was a little bit too much, but it is a short book, so it gets through it quickly.

I think the summary that is provided of what the little man in the maze writes when he finds his new cheese is the basic ideas given by the book:

Change Happens They Keep Moving The Cheese Anticipate Change Get Ready For The Cheese To Move Monitor Change Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old Adapt To Change Quickly The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese Change Move With The Cheese Enjoy Change! Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese! Be Ready To Change Quickly And Enjoy It Again They Keep Moving The Cheese.

When I was listening, I found myself thinking about systems. Maybe, instead of just looking to learn how to follow the cheese, it is about dismantling the maze and finding a way out of the rat race we find ourselves in.