I really enjoyed The Grief of Stones, but at the same time, I’m not sure whether there’s any point in posting a review! This book is not a starting point. If you haven’t read The Goblin Emperor and The Witness for the Dead, then there’s absolutely no way to follow what goes on in this book.

Also, side note: If you haven’t read The Goblin Emperor… well, what are you waiting for?? Rush right out and grab a copy! It’s THAT good.

Anyway…

In The Grief of Stones, we continue onward with main character Thara Celehar. Thara is a Witness for the Dead — he can interact with the deceased after death by making contact with the body, gaining access to their final thoughts and experiences. Through his calling, he’s able to ask questions on behalf of family members, and even the police. He offers grace, compassion, and closure, and is very good at what he does. He’s also an essentially lonely man, haunted by events from his past, and is often seen as a person deserving of awe but also fear by ordinary people.

The story opens soon after the events of The Witness for the Dead, in which he solved a murder case involving a talented but greedy opera singer. In this new book, Thara is petitioned by a grieving marquess three months after his wife’s death of an apparent heart attack. The widower believes, without proof, that his wife was actually murdered, and asks Thara to discover the truth.

Thara’s investigation leads him to a shady underground world of pornographers and to the discovery of abuse at a school for foundling girls. The more he learns, the more he realizes that someone needs to give voice to those who are powerless. But his investigations also put him in personal danger.

This is a fascinating story, and Thara remains a wonderfully complex character. In this book, he gains an apprentice, and also develops his growing friendship (and perhaps more?) with the director of one of the city’s opera houses.

Although a bit slow at the start, the story quickly picks up steam, and by the time Thara ends up in a situation of grave peril, it’s particularly breathtaking. I actually found myself very upset and scared on his behalf, and having finished the book, I just wish I had a sequel in my hands already to see how Thara’s situation develops.

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t see this working — at all! — for anyone who hasn’t read the previous books. The language and society would likely be utterly impenetrable.

The passage to the ulimeire was only partly invested with revethmerai…

That’s just one random sample — but if that doesn’t make sense to you, that’s a pretty good sign that you won’t enjoy reading The Grief of Stones.

The naming conventions and language in the world of The Goblin Emperor are complex, and even as someone who’s read the previous two books twice each, I struggled a lot to keep all the various character names straight in The Grief of Stones — for whatever reason, even more than with the other books, which is why I ended up giving this one a 4-star rating.

Goodreads lists a next book, The Tomb of Dragons, but without a release date. I hope it’s not too long a wait! (And I’d love to see one of these books at least visiting Maia (The Goblin Emperor), but I’m guessing that’s unlikely).

Overall, I’m glad to have read The Grief of Stones and to have spent more time with Thara Celehar… but the end result is that I’m now dying for another re-read of The Goblin Emperor!

Thara Celehar is the Witness for the Dead of this book’s title. He’s gifted with the ability to find out the truth of a death by making contact with the deceased’s body. He says a prayer of compassion, then asks the dead to answer questions. Sometimes, it’s too late, and there’s no one left in the body to answer the query. But sometimes, he’s able to get answers or at least an impression of the person’s last moments. He then bears witness for the dead person, testifying to what he’s learned in order to solve a mystery or resolve a dispute. His basic goodness allows him to carry out his duties with dignity.

However, despite being located in a smaller city far from the capitol, Thara is not completely shielded from the backbiting and political striving that characterizes the prelacy of Amalo. There are some who are jealous of Thara’s connection to the emperor; others fear that he might gain power and seek to tear him down. No matter how he tries to stay outside the fray, he’s drawn in repeatedly.

As the book opens, Thara becomes involved in several unsolved cases. In one, a family needs him to discover who their patriarch’s intended heir is, as the will is in dispute. In another, sadder case, a brother seeks his sister’s body, believing that the man she eloped with may have done her harm. And in the story that becomes the overarching plotline of the book, a beautiful young woman’s body is pulled from the canal — was her death an accident, or was she killed? And if it was murder, who did it?

As he investigates, he becomes drawn into the worlds of the opera, the rich patrons, the seedier bars and teahouses, the gambling establishments, and the law enforcement of Amalo. He persists in pursuing the truth, even when his own life and reputation are at stake. Despite his fears and doubts, Thara is always true to his calling, and his intelligence and bravery enable him to see his inquiries through until he can find the truth on behalf of the dead.

The world of The Witness for the Dead is the world of The Goblin Emperor… and I can’t even begin to describe or explain how much I love this world. Author Katherine Addison has meticulously crafted a world with a finely developed culture, religious underpinnings, class stratifications, nobility and commoners, courtiers and princes. There’s a strange beauty to the descriptions of the people and the society, and I am particularly head over heels in love with the language of The Goblin Emperor‘s world.

In her books, the author creates a vocabulary and grammar that is dizzyingly strange and difficult, making the books seem almost impenetrable at first — but if we stick with it (as I encourage everyone to do), the names of the people and places and institutions, as well as the forms of address and the contrasting formal and informal speech patterns, all create a sort of linguistic magic. As I re-read The Goblin Emperor via audiobook, I was enthralled all over again, not just by the story, but by the very sound of it all. Truly an incredible experience.

Back to The Witness for the Dead: I loved this story. It was fascinating seeing Thara Celehar about his work. We see him in action in The Goblin Emperor through his interactions with the Emperor, but here, we’re privy to more of his inner life and learn more about what sort of person he is and what drives him. It’s an engrossing character study, enhanced by clever mysteries for Thara to solve.

I suppose my only complaint about The Witness for the Dead isn’t really about this book at all: I just missed Maia (Emperor Edrehasivar VII) so, so much. I would gladly read a multiple-volume history covering the reign of the emperor… but I’d also happily settle for just one more novel!

I can’t imagine reading The Witness for the Dead without having read The Goblin Emperor. I do know at least one person who’s planning to do just that, and I’ll be interested to hear her thoughts. I don’t think this book would work as a stand-alone, since I can’t see how someone could truly make sense of the world (not to mention all those names!!) without having read the previous novel. But, I’d be happy to be proven wrong!

I highly recommend The Witness for the Dead, but please do yourself a favor and read The Goblin Emperor first. I hope you’ll love it as much as I do!

Note: As part of a preorder sales promotion, I also received a digital copy of a new short story called Lora Selezh. It’s a compact story about Thara witnessing on behalf of a petitioner, and I really liked it. I don’t know if it’s available elsewhere, but if so, don’t miss it.

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