The Grief of Stones

It feels good to be back in one of my favourite fantasy worlds. There are trams, post-offices, newspapers, and photography (in this world, photography is a very questionable occupation, which was interesting). I have not had much luck with steampunk/fantasy before, so this series is very refreshing.

Compared to The Witness for the Dead, this novel has a tighter plot, with not as much happening in ca 240 pages. This makes it a much better book.The Goblin Emperor is still the golden standard, though.) Also, the relationships between characters are evolving in lovely ways and some new interesting characters are introduced. Once again, I enjoyed the combination of fantasy and mystery, and how meticulously Thara Celehar follows his calling, show more no matter how big or small the mystery. Despite a lot of dark things happening, there is kindness, hope, and glimpses of humour.

Thara Celehar, it was nice to meet you again. I wish you would stop shouldering all your burdens alone and learn to accept that your friends do care about you. I can see some of your barriers coming down. You do need more laughter and dancing in your life.

The ending is promising - I think more books are coming ;)

P.S. I had a dream about seeing a performance at Vermillion Opera, with some great music and scenography. I’d love to have more such book-related dreams… show less

In the second segment of this series, we’re dealing with the somewhat impoverished Witness, young Othala Thara Celehar. Death is a constant in Amalo (hence the series title, The Cemeteries of Amalo) and it is his role to respond to petitions for investigations into untoward or unexpected deaths. Addison is very good at weaving stories of these various investigations into one cohesive whole while at the same time building the reader's awareness of the various plateaus of existence – whether biological or spiritual. Some of the petitioners' concerns seem relatively minor, but then lead you deeper into the world and culture she's created. This installment of the series moved the main character along in ways I had not anticipated. It show more was a quick read initially, but one which will stand up to a second read down the road.

Celehar is living with grief and guilt after the death of his lover, Evru. The strain is visible to all who care about him. By the end of the story, the comment is made about Celehar that he must be living his life constantly on-guard. It takes another crisis to force this realization and Celehar still has some work to do to further his own healing from loss. show less

As usual, an incredibly rich story. It's a murder mystery... or two, or several, but while that's what drives the story it's not what it's about. Celehar and those around him, the interactions and developing relationships of every sort are what make this so rich. The new Witness is fascinating; Celehar's old opponent gets twisty, and messes himself up; we get to see more of the cartographers, the judicial Witnesses, and the opera (though not in-depth like the last book, for that last). We also encounter photographers, foundling girls and a couple schools for them, and university Scholars - the fabric of the city exposing new folds and patterns. I read it in one sitting, and I expect I'll read it again several times, and discover new show more aspects each time. The names continue to be very confusing - particularly as one family name showed up in two very different groups. But the relationship was eventually explained. Wonderful.
Reread - Again, very rich. Thara solves another mystery - this time most of it is connected, if sideways and twisted. Some very nasty people involved, and the results are very hard on him. But there's still hope. The end is quite hopeful - between the archprelate's message, and his beginning to deal with old and new griefs, things might even end up better. And now I get to read the next book, and see. show less

Thara Celehar is called to witness by a man who believes his wife has been murdered. The problem -- she has been dead for months already, so his witnessing abilities are limited unless the body is exhumed. So he uses his other investigative skills, which leads him to a foundling school with something sinister going on. Accompanied by his new apprentice, Celehar digs deeper into the mess -- but will he regret it?

Just as good as the first book in the series. I love this world and Addison's writing and the mysteries, and Celehar is such a good character. I also really enjoyed the new character of Thomasarin, Celehar's apprentice. And now I must get my hands on The Tomb of Dragons! 4.5 stars.

Oh, I liked this one a lot. Addison found her footing with the protagonist and his city in this volume, which is a much smoother, surer, and more entertaining read than its predecessor. She expands on the characters, settings, and situations she introduced in The Witness for the Dead in interesting and engaging ways, and introduces some excellent new characters. There's lots of good character development for the main and secondary characters, good humorous, dramatic, and tense set pieces. I laughed aloud at the snappy dialogue and bit my nails through the action scenes. And thankfully, previous volume's endless descriptions of opera are kept to a minimum here. This Goblin Emperor spinoff series really comes into its own with this show more volume, and I eagerly await the third. show less

i love this exquisite Cemeteries of Amalo series, especially the voice of the narrator, which is so modest but so sharp. they're all basically connected stories about detective work, but backdropped by a Gothic fantasy world of elves and goblins, where magic is real and science is present, but little difference is made between them. it's a novel of manners in which decorum and privilege prevail, but our detective lives in the cracks, and it's acutely reported. best written book i've read in six months, and the trouble is, i'm already greedy for the next one.

I first encountered Katherine Addison in the surrounding hype for the release of *The Witness for the Dead*, with a lot of people I respect recommending the “prequel,” *The Goblin Emperor*. Although I don't often pay attention to other peoples’ recommendations (tastes are so subjective) the few times I have given in, I haven't been disappointed. And *The Golbin Emperor* was no exception. Then Addison continued the delightful experience, first with the *The Witness for the Dead* and now with *The Grief of Stones*.

And on another side note it wasn't until I finished *The Witness for the Dead* that I bothered to look at the copyright page and was delighted to find that Katherine Addison was a pseudonym for Sarah Monette, co-author show more with Elizabeth Bear of the powerful Iskyrne series. Bonus.

*The Grief of Stones* is a direct sequel to *The Witness for the Dead* (and spoiler alert: she sets up a book three!) in what is now called the *The Cemeteries of Amalo* series. It picks up pretty much right after *The Witness for the Dead* and I would recommend reading them in order. The main character, Celehar, a Witness for the Dead who has been in all three books, investigates another death per his calling and it soon becomes bigger than he had foreseen, taking him across the city and intersecting the lives of both the nobility and the destitute and abandoned. And of course along the way we learn even more about makes this most interesting man tick.

A combination of detective fiction, steam punk, fantasy and pure fun, the *The Grief of Stones* is a great read. My favourite kind of read in fact. The characters (especially Celehar) are sympathetic, mostly non-heroic and and just trying their best, and Addison deftly weaves the culture and history of her world around the "humanity" of the characters rather than getting caught up in how her complex world-building affects them. It is one of those books with a culture that hosts a rich and complex structure replete with confusing titles, indecipherable relationships and opaque hierarchies, but is one that you can just safely ignore as much of that as you please and be certain that the story will carry you along—it's the kind of writing I love when it's done well (and this most certainly is) because you know you can go back again and again and discover something new every time.

So go out, read the first two books, and get ready for the release of *The Grief of Stones*—you won't regret any of it. show less