【 THE WITNESS FOR THE DEAD 】

book #2 in the Chronicles of Osreth series
book #1 in the Cemeteries of Amalo series

Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Adult
Author: Katherine Addison
Published: June 2021
Publisher: Solaris
Pages: 320 (paperback)

There is something that has been so quietly enjoyable about this series. Book one, The Goblin Emperor, had really stuck with me – it was a narrative that I kept returning to again and again in my head. So I inevitably found myself reaching out for The Witness for the Dead to dive back into this world and soak up the atmosphere some more.

I’ve read both via audiobook and can highly recommend them. For me, the narration actually elevates this story by injecting it with this uncanny level of good storytelling (to an already well-written book). And it must be said that this stands entirely on its own to book one (seeing as this also counts as book one in a separate series – one of those confusing, doubled-up series). I think it’s worth reading The Goblin Emperor, however.

I quite liked how this isn’t a direct continuation of the book one, too. Instead of picking up with the same character etc., we’re now following one of the other characters who was in book one, but not playing the most major of roles. It offered a whole new perspective on the world and it was actually really fun being able to go out and about through the city and surrounding towns to expand the worldbuilding.

This was a fantastic world to do this. Seeing as in book one we are very much so confined to the emperor’s POV and living/working area, to swap this time to someone who works among the people was something very different. The world is very real and there is class politics and good and bad areas to go to (or avoid), and so on. You end up being able to picture it so well.

And I loved that this was, at the end of the day, a mystery book. Thara Celehar is a fantastic main character because he’s such a subdued and mysterious character – so to get inside his head offered a very different look at what he was like to what you might have expected. Being a Witness for the Dead, he is bound by duty to serve those who petition him for help, and I loved the intricate politics and prejudices that Addison wove into the story.

Because his job involves speaking with the dead, he walks a fine and interesting line of being respected and being reviled. And so when the mystery comes along and he gets lumped with an enthusiastic helper from the opera (who is a hilarious balance to Thara), it’s offers a really unique combination of personalities, as this other person doesn’t seem to mind what Thara does for a living. An experience altogether new to Thara.

The character development of Thara is also done well. He’s a broody, quiet man at the start (and he will remain so, really), but the extreme subtleties of his character that you get to know are where some serious growth and self-discovery goes on. This whole book is written with such a gentle touch that brings you in so close to the characters to allow for such fine and satisfying details to be explored thoroughly. Even a budding romantic interest is handled so carefully that you’ll question yourself occassionally to ask if it’s actually there. You might think that could be annoying, but it works so well for this book.

I do really recommend doing these via audiobooks if for nothing else but to help with pronunciation. At times, it can be hard to remember a character’s name (they are so not pronounced as you think there would, for example, Celehar is a “ch” at the start) and some of the names really start to blend into each other. But I also think this adds to the richness of the world that takes on its own identity and culture. And once you’re into the rhythm, it’s much easier to let the narrator tackle the complex bridges of pronunciation.

I can’t wait to read more in this series because as I said at the start, this story has become one of those smooth pebbles in my mind that I keep lazily turning over because I can’t resist touching it. I find myself very much so drawn to the almost cosy storytelling of Addison and look forward to reading more of her books. This book is, in short, atmospheric, rich and compelling.

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Title: The Witness for the Dead
Series: The Cemeteries of Amalo #1 / The Chronicles of Osreth #2
Author: Katherine Addison
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Katherine Addison returns to the glittering world she created for her beloved novel, ‘The Goblin Emperor’, in this stand-alone sequel.

When the young half-goblin emperor Maia sought to learn who had killed his father and half-brothers, he turned to an obscure resident of his 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 to 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.