The Witness for the Dead

Book One of the Cemeteries of Amalo Trilogy

De: Katherine Addison

Narrado por: Liam Gerrard

"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, in this stand-alone sequel

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books

3 Cheers for Thara Celehar!

I could not put this story down! The Goblin Emperor was wonderful, and this was even better. This fantasy world is fresh as well as familiar, the characters are so real. I loved this narrator as he brought great depth & voicing to the different players, but mostly made Celehar sound perfectly… himself. I think his voicing was excellent for this character and was a wise change from the excellent narrator who voiced Maia in The Goblin Emperor— two very different people, very different characters, so the different voices were fitting, in my opinion. I hope the author explores this world more, it’s been a fun ride to see it from a different point of view. Celehar could have his own murder mystery series.

Compelling series of mysteries

This is a very compelling story following a man who does not think much of himself and does not stand up for himself, as he slowly solves mysteries, proves himself better than his superiors, makes friends despite himself, and slowly comes to believe in himself at least a little. The names are hard to keep straight but roll off the tongue nicely. It is an excellent follow up to the Goblin Emperor.

An incredible addition to the series!

Taking place in the same wonderful, magical and highly traditional world of "The Goblin Emperor" (TGE), "Witness for the Dead" (WFTD) show us the daily life of Thara Celehar, one of its most honourable and lawful characters, on his routine as a Witness for The Dead, a kind of state cleric/detective wich performs religious rituals and investigates murders using traditional techniques as well as... speaking with the dead (even if just briefly).

For fans of the Witcher 3, wich one can argue is the greatest detective game ever made, the book reads a lot like a Main Quest with a major murder-mystery and several sidequests wich get on the way of its progress but are nevertheless really interesting and flesh out the world established on the first book.*

A lot of the same themes touched upon on TGE appear again on this romance and we get a look on even more traditions and fantasy politics wich mirror real world problems of the 21st century. ai think my world view aligns a lot with the author and I really liked the way she masterfully handles topics such as homosexuality, feminism and other relevant topics.

Katherine Addison has a way of constructing characters that makes you really care about them (be it their personalities or actions) and it's simply joyful to spend time with them and see them achieving their goals.

Being totally honest, I liked the sidequests even more than the main story and since I love Celehar, I'd gladly follow his routine as a witness forever, wich makes me hopeful that we get another title on the future - especially one where he gets a much deserved happily ever after**.

The narrator is great, but sometimes there's a huge dissonance between his reading and Celehar actually speaking with his rough and at the same time kind voice, wich made the experience strike out in a good manner (it feels like you got out of Celehar's mind and into the world).

Reading TGE is obligatory to enjoy and understand everything about this one, but even though it's a different kind of story, I highly recommend it for fans.

*Seriously, there's even a sidequest with ghouls! If there was a lady with a missing pan I would have died laughing!
**He's an absolute treasure of a person that deserves to be happy.

A fantasy murder mystery

Love the continuing adventures of Thara Celehar, whose kindness and courage make him a powerful moral center for this action-packed and spooky sequel. I reread this often.

So good!!

This book is my comfort re-read. The voice acting and story are both fantastic! The world building is really rich and Thora is so relatable and kind. It reads a lot like a collection of short stories about Thora Celehar (who is kind of a detective for the dead), but everything gets tied together in the end!