The Witness for the Dead

I was greatly looking forward to this book when I found out it existed because I loved The Goblin Emperor. It took me a while to get into this book because, to me, it felt very tonally different from The Goblin Emperor. There is a strong mystery/investigation thread that reminded me more of Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett's Astreiant series. This isn't a detraction from the book--that series is one of my favorites--but it was an unexpected shift. Additionally, none of the main characters from The Goblin Emperor appear in The Witness for the Dead, which also made for a difficult start.

Once I got into it though, I loved it and desperately want more of Thara Celehar. I listened to the last five and half hours of the audiobook all in one show more sitting, which I think shows pretty well how much I ended up enjoying it. Ultimately, if you go into this book wanting more of The Goblin Emperor, you'll end up disappointed. If, however, fantasy mysteries are your jam then I highly recommend The Witness for the Dead. show less

We meet Thara Celehar when he is in Amalo, having left the Emperor’s court to return to his duties as a prelate of the moon god, Ulis. His situation appears to be uncomfortably one in limbo. He owes his living, his benefice, to the Archprelate, which puts him outside of the control of the local hierarchy. His status in the local but highly regulated hierarchy is unclear. He has a very small benefice which means that he has little financial support – barely enough to maintain himself and virtually none for any luxury items. He can’t afford to go to the theatre. He can’t buy a new coat of office. He can barely afford to buy himself a pot of tea in the local cafes.

What we see Thara Celehar do is be a caring individual while still show more shielding himself from emotional ties, even ties to the local cats to whom he feeds sardines. He is recovering from the loss of a loved one himself. He is not kept nearly as busy as he might like, but the services for which his presence is required are still important to those whose relatives have departed this earth. Those services might have to do with identifying chosen heirs within a family on up to quieting a ghoul in one of the cemeteries of Amalo. (Hence, the series name.) He is an emotional wreck but he is still obligated to get up every day and fulfill his role as Witness, all while navigating the political niceties of Church and State.

Definitely an engaging read in a field where well-imagined worlds are not overly common. The characters are likeable, their circumstances and challenges relatively complicated. One likes Celehar as a person of integrity and wants to encourage him to connect more deeply with those who want to befriend him. show less

this was great. the Witness for the Dead is basically an ecclesiastical private detective in a magical world of elves and goblins, experiencing as many physical dangers from ferociously competing bureaucracies as from the killers he unmasks along the way. it's set in the larger world of the Goblin Emperor series, but this first entry in the Cemeteries of Amalo spinoff is quite different, a book of small interlocking detective fantasies centered on the character of the self-effacing Witness. so far there's ghoulies and ghosties; can long-leggedy beasties be far behind? i'm greedy for the next book already.

While this is a murder mystery it's such a gentle story of a person who can see the dead and sometimes channel them who feels that he has to investigate a murder while surviving the city he lives in. There is a lot of tea and forming friendships and finding family along the way and I really did enjoy the story; enough that I bought a hardback copy to add to my collection and I enthuse about it to people.

I swear, I’d read Katherine Addison’s grocery lists. This book isn’t really much like the Goblin Emperor, save in its mesmerizing storytelling, and its flawed and endearing narrator, but those things are more than enough to be going on with. It’s a murder mystery of sorts, and an almost love story, and an enthralling other world. The only thing I quibble with is that the main character seems very female to me, and the later parts of the book which insist on a male gender came as a shock. I guess I forgot from the first book, or else I felt the same then. As a reader, I just rejected it out of hand and carried on. It matters a bit for reasons of plot, but there you go.

Advanced readers copy provided by Edelweiss

Thara Celehar is the Witness for the Dead that the goblin emperor Maia, in The Goblin Emperor, consulted concerning the deaths of his father and three half-brothers. A minor character in that story, he's the protagonist in this one.

Celehar is no longer at court; he's now in the distant city of Amalo, Witness for the Dead for the people of the city. It's a humbler but for him far more satisfying position. In this role, he can often really help ordinary people. He can identify the dead, and often identify the cause of death. In one case brought to him, he's able to identify a deceased man's true heir, when at least one of the two competing wills is clearly forged.

The story revolves around several cases brought to him, which may or may not show more be related. An opera singer who wasn't liked by her colleagues is found murdered in what seems an unlikely part of town for her--and for all they dislike her, no one seems to have a motive strong enough to end in murder. The case of the forged will, mentioned above, seems simple at first, but has unexpected ramifications. The prince sends him off to deal with a ghoul that's tormenting one of the more remote towns. And the unexplained death of a young woman expecting her first child becomes the first hint that there's a serial killer at work.

Celehar sits in his tiny office every morning, awaiting petitioners asking him for help. Sometimes, he can help by pursuing his calling. Sometimes, he can help by telling the petitioners which office or prelate they should really be consulting. Sometimes, he can't help at all, but he always does his best.

Celehar is socially awkward, bad at picking up social cues, and not that great about abiding by social expectations of dress and adornment, in what is a rather rigid and regulated society. He doesn't make friends easily--except when he does, with people who are misfits in their own ways, or similarly unconcerned with the social judgments of others. Another review suggested that Celehar is a very good depiction of an autistic person in this rule-bound society, and I agree with that.

Like The Goblin Emperor, this is both an interesting blend of high fantasy and steampunk, and a deeply humane story in a genre where that's not necessarily what's expected.

I truly loved this. Highly recommended.

I bought this audiobook. show less

Sometimes the dead have unfinished business. As Witness for the Dead in the city of Amalo, Thara Celehar's job is to listen to them, and find ways to bring them the peace, justice, and rest that they seek. A murdered opera singer, a disputed will, a ravenous ghoul, and a serial killer are some of the cases that Celehar faces in the course of his usual (or perhaps we should say unusual) duties.

I loved falling into this world again, though it is only tangentially related to The Goblin Emperor. Celehar is a more withdrawn personality than Maia, and harder to get to know, but I found the slow unfolding of his character rewarding. I had a bit of trouble with the many characters and their long and difficult names, plus the various forms of show more address, and the equally confusing place names. I would have liked both a map and a character list, but this book contains no back-matter whatsoever. I had also forgotten certain key points about Celehar's backstory that were revealed in the previous book, so I think someone starting with this volume might be confused or find themselves lacking context. However, when I managed to immerse myself in the story, I found the rich details and lovely writing enough to carry me through. Recommended to fans of the first book. I'm looking forward to another book featuring Celehar coming out later this year. show less