The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison

Although we follow him investigating a series of murders, deaths, and intrigue, the book never loses its comfort read feel. He's conscientious and clever and so achingly kind, and unaware of any of these heroic traits in himself. Thara is wonderfully empathetic, and quickly reached cinnamon bun status in my heart: must protect at all costs. The book follows Thara Celahar, the Witness for the Dead that made an appearance in THE GOBLIN EMPEROR, as he attempts to follow his duties and deal with his unwitting fame in the city of Amalo, far from the Emperor's court. Addison doesn't disappoint with her empathetic characters and lush worldbuilding. I absolutely loved THE GOBLIN EMPEROR, so when I got the chance to read an advance copy of THE WITNESS FOR THE DEAD, I jumped on it. Katherine Addison has created a fantastic world for these books â? wide and deep and true.Ī Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books … ( more) No matter his own background with the imperial house, Celehar will stand with the commoners, and possibly find a light in the darkness. It is his duty use that ability to resolve disputes, to ascertain the intent of the dead, to find the killers of the murdered.Ĭelehar's skills now lead him out of the quiet and into a morass of treachery, murder, and injustice. As a Witness for the Dead, he can, sometimes, speak to the recently dead: see the last thing they saw, know the last thought they had, experience the last thing they felt.

He lives modestly, but his decency and fundamental honesty will not permit him to live quietly. He has not escaped from politics, but his position gives him the ability to serve the common people of the city, which is his preference. Now Celehar lives in the city of Amalo, far from the Court though not exactly in exile. The favor of the Emperor is a dangerous coin. He lost his place as a retainer of his cousin the former Empress, and made far too many enemies among the many factions vying for power in the new Court. Thara Celehar found the truth, though it did him no good to discover it. When the young half-goblin emperor Maia sought to learn who had set the bombs that killed his father and half-brothers, he turned to an obscure resident of his father's Court, a Prelate of Ulis and a Witness for the Dead. Katherine Addison returns to the glittering world she created for her beloved novel, The Goblin Emperor, in this stand-alone sequel 'At once intimate and literally operatic, it's everything I love about Katherine Addison's writing, in ways I didn't know to expect.

The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison