The Witness for the Dead
Book One of the Cemeteries of Amalo Trilogy
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4.5 • 109 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
"At once intimate and literally operatic, it's everything I love about Katherine Addison's writing, in ways I didn't know to expect. I loved it." —John Scalzi
Katherine Addison returns to the glittering world she created for her beloved novel, The Goblin Emperor, with book one of the Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy
Locus Award Finalist and Mythopoeic Award Finalist!
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. Thara Celehar found the truth, though it did him no good to discover it. 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. The favor of the Emperor is a dangerous coin.
Now Celehar lives in the city of Amalo, far from the Court though not exactly in exile. 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. He lives modestly, but his decency and fundamental honesty will not permit him to live quietly. 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. It is his duty use that ability to resolve disputes, to ascertain the intent of the dead, to find the killers of the murdered.
Celehar’s skills now lead him out of the quiet and into a morass of treachery, murder, and injustice. No matter his own background with the imperial house, Celehar will stand with the commoners, and possibly find a light in the darkness.
Katherine Addison has created a fantastic world for these books – wide and deep and true.
Within THE CHRONICLES OF OSRETH
The Goblin Emperor
The Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy
The Witness for the Dead
The Grief of Stones
The Tomb of Dragons
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Addison returns to the land of Ethuveraz in this vivid stand-alone sequel to The Goblin Emperor. Thara Celehar, a Witness for the Dead who is capable of speaking to the deceased, leaves the Royal Court behind when he is appointed to serve the provincial city of Amalo. Though unable to escape politics entirely, Celehar enjoys that his position allows him to help the Amaleise people. But his quiet life is disrupted when he is summoned to witness for an elven opera singer, Arveneӓn Shelsin, after she is found dead in a canal in a dodgy part of the city. Thrust into a murder investigation, Celehar's search for answers leads him from the glamorous halls of the Vermilion Opera to the bustling streets of Cemchelarna, all while he tries to balance the increasing requests of other townspeople who seek his aid. Addison's steampunk-infused scene-setting and assemblage of characters from all walks of life combine to create a vibrant fantasy world. The story is driven more by character than plot, with Celehar's personal and professional relationships, and unwavering duty to his calling as a Witness, taking center stage. This is more spin-off than sequel, and returning fans and new readers alike will find it easy to be swept up in Celehar's story.
Customer Reviews
Thara Celehar’s world
A day in the life of Thara Celehar, told from the viewpoint of a petitioner. The shorter the story, the more I want it to go on.
Stunning.
This stand alone sequel to The Goblin Emperor, told from the perspective of Thara Kellahar, gives you a beautiful view of Amalo and Kellahar’s work.
I highly recommend this book for fantasy lovers and the people that have read The Goblin Emperor.
Murder mystery
Our narrator can get the last impressions of the recently dead, ask them simple questions, and lay ghouls to rest. He's investigating two murders, solving issues of wills, and dealing with a ghoul in his "copious spare time." Of the threads in his life, a couple are connected, but it would be spoilers to say which ones.
It's a lovely re-visiting of the world, despite the necessarily grim aspects of following a Witness (something like a lawyer and an investigator and a priest) for the Dead around.
I direly want more tea; the tea shop descriptions make me jealous.