The Witness for the Dead
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- Create Date：2021-09-01 06:51:58
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Katherine Addison
- ISBN：0765387425
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Summary
Katherine Addison returns at last to the world of The Goblin Emperor with 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。
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。
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。
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。
Reviews
LdyGray
，
The Goblin Emperor is one of my all-time favorite books， and I was so excited to revisit the world。 Although Celehar was not my favorite character in the first book， he really shines in this murder mystery。 I love the way Addison builds her world， including the language， and her focus on kindness， compassion， and integrity in her characters。 The Goblin Emperor is one of my all-time favorite books， and I was so excited to revisit the world。 Although Celehar was not my favorite character in the first book， he really shines in this murder mystery。 I love the way Addison builds her world， including the language， and her focus on kindness， compassion， and integrity in her characters。 。。。more
Evan Dragic
，
fantasy mystery， with a rushed endI enjoyed reading this， especially getting to know the protagonist a bit more over the course of the story， but I did find the end both overly convenient and rushed， which deflated the work a bit for me。
Ana
，
I absolutely adored this， but it was a bit flawed。 First of all， it was great to return to the world of the Goblin Emperor。 It was fun to see how the society functions outside of the court， and I enjoyed that the plot revolved around a murder mystery。 The worldbuilding was very nice， and it was neat to have more insight into how the witness for the dead thing works。That being said， I did have a few issues。 The plot felt a little unfinished at times， with some things like the airship disaster and I absolutely adored this， but it was a bit flawed。 First of all， it was great to return to the world of the Goblin Emperor。 It was fun to see how the society functions outside of the court， and I enjoyed that the plot revolved around a murder mystery。 The worldbuilding was very nice， and it was neat to have more insight into how the witness for the dead thing works。That being said， I did have a few issues。 The plot felt a little unfinished at times， with some things like the airship disaster and the temple hierarchy disagreements just sort of briefly brought up， not fully explored， and then randomly dropped。 The end also seemed a little rushed， with the book ending just pages after the big reveal。 And finally， the protagonist seemed a bit underdeveloped。 He didn't really go through much growth， learn anything about himself， or begin to recover from his trauma。 By the end of the book， he was exactly the same， but with one new friend。 That was a little disappointing。 。。。more
Melinda
，
Goblin emperor is the entree to this world of elves， goblins and everything else。 However this book is a stand-alone novel around a central character of GE who is sent off to hinterlands。 If you read GE do not think it’s similar。 This book is like a smooth stream that hypnotically takes the reader on the protagonist journey as a witness for the dead。 Part detective， holy man， full on mystery that explores him & the dead。 Somehow reading this I felt like Ender in “Speaker for the Dead” as he jour Goblin emperor is the entree to this world of elves， goblins and everything else。 However this book is a stand-alone novel around a central character of GE who is sent off to hinterlands。 If you read GE do not think it’s similar。 This book is like a smooth stream that hypnotically takes the reader on the protagonist journey as a witness for the dead。 Part detective， holy man， full on mystery that explores him & the dead。 Somehow reading this I felt like Ender in “Speaker for the Dead” as he journeyed to ensure the dead are not forgotten nor ignored。 While reading I wanted to stop but then KA writing held me to see the full journey。 Can’t wait to see #3 direction。 。。。more
Irene Fajardo
，
4。5tan maravilloso como su predecesor
Sandra
，
A wonderful story that follows a "Witness for the Dead" as he tries to solve the deaths/murders of different people living in the city， using a mix of detective work， speaking to the dead， and speaking to the living。 If you enjoyed The Goblin Emperor， you'll most likely enjoy this as well。 A wonderful story that follows a "Witness for the Dead" as he tries to solve the deaths/murders of different people living in the city， using a mix of detective work， speaking to the dead， and speaking to the living。 If you enjoyed The Goblin Emperor， you'll most likely enjoy this as well。 。。。more
Tamme Burns
，
Not what expected but truly satisfying。I expected the book to continue on from the Goblin Emperor but the story evolves to be it's own time and testimony。A fantastically vibrant world that draws it's own pictures to pull you right onto the page。 Not what expected but truly satisfying。I expected the book to continue on from the Goblin Emperor but the story evolves to be it's own time and testimony。A fantastically vibrant world that draws it's own pictures to pull you right onto the page。 。。。more
Benehime
，
Was fine。 But the book is missing two or three chapters at the end。The characters were great and I wanted more of the love interest。 Key questions weren't answered in the end and all the questions were only asked in the last chapter？What happened after the riot at the opera？ If you don't want to write repercussions then just。。。 Don't write the riot？ Was quite unnecessary。The eventual murderer came quite out of the blue。 It was fine， but it didn't like it much。 Who was the secret lover？ Why write Was fine。 But the book is missing two or three chapters at the end。The characters were great and I wanted more of the love interest。 Key questions weren't answered in the end and all the questions were only asked in the last chapter？What happened after the riot at the opera？ If you don't want to write repercussions then just。。。 Don't write the riot？ Was quite unnecessary。The eventual murderer came quite out of the blue。 It was fine， but it didn't like it much。 Who was the secret lover？ Why write a mystery novel if you can't unveil the mystery at the end？ Also: the author teases a gay love story and then。。。 Doesn't deliver。 Not even a start of one。 Like I said， about two or three chapters just missing at the end。 。。。more
Preeti
，
This was a mystery， a genre that doesn't appeal to me。 I coasted along， reading in small chunks because I wasn't deeply engaged。 As a result， I also read the book not knowing who any of the characters were from scene to scene or remember any place names because Addison was punishing in immersing you into this world of goblins and elves with no guide （dozens of unfamiliar names and titles）。 Best thing was the melancholy， lonely， conscientious main character who got some emotional relief right at This was a mystery， a genre that doesn't appeal to me。 I coasted along， reading in small chunks because I wasn't deeply engaged。 As a result， I also read the book not knowing who any of the characters were from scene to scene or remember any place names because Addison was punishing in immersing you into this world of goblins and elves with no guide （dozens of unfamiliar names and titles）。 Best thing was the melancholy， lonely， conscientious main character who got some emotional relief right at the end there alongside solving his current work caseload。 Not sure I'll read more in this series if they are along these lines。 。。。more
Kerrigan Saunders
，
It was unexpected， but wonderful。 Loved it！！
Anna
，
Nice， short slice of life about the investigator from Goblin Emperor。 Probably not necessary to read Goblin Emperor first， but of course now I want to re-read it。
MB （What she read）
，
Loved it。 So complicated， so satisfying。 Such interesting world building。
Clare
，
I got Katherine Addison’s The Witness for the Dead out of the library in hard copy and was a bit surprised at how short it was， having expected it to be about the same size as The Goblin Emperor， for some reason。 But it is much shorter， around 200 pages。 This is not a complaint， even though I liked this book a lot and would have happily kept following Thara Celehar around for another 200 pages， watching him solve crimes and quiet ghouls and go to teahouses and flirt with the outrageous opera I got Katherine Addison’s The Witness for the Dead out of the library in hard copy and was a bit surprised at how short it was， having expected it to be about the same size as The Goblin Emperor， for some reason。 But it is much shorter， around 200 pages。 This is not a complaint， even though I liked this book a lot and would have happily kept following Thara Celehar around for another 200 pages， watching him solve crimes and quiet ghouls and go to teahouses and flirt with the outrageous opera composer who clearly has an enormous crush on him。 But it’s just the right length for what it is， which is a tightly plotted， multi-strand little murder mystery that’s certainly action-packed enough but also feels very quiet and leisurely， largely due to Celehar’s methodical and humbly introspective narration。 It’s been several years since I read The Goblin Emperor so it took me a little while to get back into how that universe works， all the complex formal titles and cultural signifiers that Addison uses， but I didn’t mind because it’s so rich and dense and well done; it packs in a huge amount of worldbuilding without infodumping on us too much （that said， I can see how some people who have less patience for that sort of thing might be driven completely batty by all the long nonsense words）。 The society Celehar has to navigate is complex， strictly classed， and home to a variety of religious sects that all seem to coexist more or less peacefully。 Celehar mostly hangs out by himself， does his job， feeds the local semi-stray cats， and feels bad about himself， resolutely not noticing how much everyone actually likes him （except the bitchy bureaucrats who can’t figure out how to rank him properly in their hierarchy） in favor of being hyper-aware that his job is off-putting and weird。 The main murder for Celehar to solve here is the case of an opera singer who turns up dead in a canal; secondary cases include a very wealthy woman who turned up dead shortly after getting married， a recently deceased bourgeois with two wills and a large family arguing over which one is real; an exploding factory that is probably an accident no matter how much one of the aforementioned bitchy bureaucrats who hates him wants it to be something nefarious so she can be a big damn hero and solve it， and a very nasty ghoul out in the countryside。 While the subject matter is often grim it is hard to overstate how absolutely delightful this book is （especially if you’re me and like grim things to start with）。 It’s just extremely charming in every way， from Celehar’s self-deprecating internal monologue to the opera composer’s scandalous project to invent musicals about working people （I was thinking Les Mis through most of the book but the end recalls one of the gloriously embarrassing traditions of Irish theater）。 I really do hope there are more books set in this world in the future！ Originally posted at Murder， tea， and。。。 elves？ 。。。more
The Man from DelMonte
，
Fantastic。 Wonderful language， wonderful scene setting。 I almost don’t resent the tidy romantic conclusion of Thara Celehar and Pel-Thenhior。
Simon Wigzell
，
"The Goblin Emperor" was a very good book; excellent world building， interesting characters， and an interesting fish out of the water-plot， including multiple betrayals， assassination attempts， and family reunions。 Most of all though， it was a comfy read， so before reading this new novel I reread the first one since I liked it so much。And after that， I cannot escape the feeling that this new book was a bit of a letdown。 The world building continues to impress （I like fantasy where simple things "The Goblin Emperor" was a very good book; excellent world building， interesting characters， and an interesting fish out of the water-plot， including multiple betrayals， assassination attempts， and family reunions。 Most of all though， it was a comfy read， so before reading this new novel I reread the first one since I liked it so much。And after that， I cannot escape the feeling that this new book was a bit of a letdown。 The world building continues to impress （I like fantasy where simple things such as newspapers exist， instead of the standard completely medieval societies but with magic）， but the main character， Thara Celehar， whom we first saw as the somewhat disgraced prelate who found out who had murdered the previous emperor in "The Goblin Emperor"， is IMHO simply not that interesting。 He does have a complicated backstory， but I cannot really connect with him。 His standoffish character （which a lot of the other characters points out to him） is hard to empathize with， no matter how obvious it is to everyone （characters and readers） that he has deep & strong feelings， but his previous experiences make him try to suppress those。Also， those newspapers？ From what we read it is quite obvious that Celehar must be painted as some kind of almost superhero in the newspapers， what with all the journalists always trying to interview him and considering his adventures （revealing the old emperor's murderer， fighting extraordinary smart ghouls， talking with the dead， being accused of false witnessing but disproving this by spending a night at the heavily ghost-infected Hill of Werewolves， and more）。 But this doesn't change Celehar at all， and the same goes for him refusing to accept that yes， there are kind people in the world （in his mind he is actually quite cynical， but most of the people he meet in the novel honestly appreciates him and obviously enjoys his company）。In other words， considering I found Celehar a bit flat as a character I would have liked to see him change with his experiences， but he does not。 What we're left with is a crime procedural set in a fascinating fantasy world， and perhaps a future novel might bring with it some changes to Celehar。 But as for me， I'd rather see a return to Maia， the goblin emperor， as the focus :-） 。。。more
Thomas
，
Come， sit with me， have a cup of tea。I have been anticipating this book since it was announced last year。 I love The Goblin Emperor with a fierce love that， while shared with many other beloved books， means that I love it no matter its faults or flaws。 It came along and soothed my heart at the right time in my life， and I love it， in part， for that。 Needless to say， a follow up in that universe has high expectations from me。We follow the titular Witness for the Dead， a character from the first b Come， sit with me， have a cup of tea。I have been anticipating this book since it was announced last year。 I love The Goblin Emperor with a fierce love that， while shared with many other beloved books， means that I love it no matter its faults or flaws。 It came along and soothed my heart at the right time in my life， and I love it， in part， for that。 Needless to say， a follow up in that universe has high expectations from me。We follow the titular Witness for the Dead， a character from the first book， who has since moved on from the capitol and is trying to lead a quiet existence， avoiding politics and intrigue。 I don't blame them。 The "plot" follows them through many strange and mundane events， loosely connected but feeling like a slice of life。 Once I realized that was what we were doing， I settled in for living alongside our Witness for a while。 The end came suddenly and abruptly， and I feel that it was a bit rushed。 That lost this book a star from me， because up until that point I was enjoying the journey and the mysteries for what they were。 Still worth the journey if you have read The Goblin Emperor and want more， but if you have not read that book， go read that one instead。 You'll thank yourself for doing so。 。。。more
Sammi
，
This book was adorable。 I read the Goblin Emperor wayyyyy back when and， since I have the memory of a goldfish， remembered only that I liked it and absolutely nothing else。 It didn't matter。 This book was filled to the brim with titles of people and intricate racial tensions and a thousand names of different tea shops and streets and businesses but it never felt cloying or cumbersome， it only ever felt like really interesting world building。 There was just something really intriguing about the w This book was adorable。 I read the Goblin Emperor wayyyyy back when and， since I have the memory of a goldfish， remembered only that I liked it and absolutely nothing else。 It didn't matter。 This book was filled to the brim with titles of people and intricate racial tensions and a thousand names of different tea shops and streets and businesses but it never felt cloying or cumbersome， it only ever felt like really interesting world building。 There was just something really intriguing about the whole thing， and it compelled me instantly。 （side note， I feel like RJ Barker is another author that is really good at this， at really complicated world building that doesn't feel like a chore to read and is really interesting）。 I just really like quiet books like this--like， this book is about probably the most exciting few months in the main character's life， but there's no world ending catastrophe， no small hero thrust up into impossible circumstances， no extinction of humanity on the docket。 It's quiet and it's small and it's great。 Also a great murder mystery！ 。。。more
Oliver
，
Really 4。5， no savior prophecies， end-of-the-world events， or scrappy band of mis-matched heros- rather an interesting character dealing with serious （somewhat heroic） problems and some bureaucracy。
Gin
，
Who knew Thara Celehar was so whumpable
Deirdre
，
I don’t know why but this book， and it’s companion， just resonate with me。 Far from court politics， this follows Thara as he works as a Witness for the dead， and what that actually means。 I fervently hope for more books set in the elf lands
Steve
，
Interesting but not quite as good as book one
Megan
，
Thara Celehar shines here as a very well rounded detective-cleric character that had previously appeared only minimally in The Goblin Emperor。 This book also gives us a window into city life in Amalo， with its tea houses， airship works， and opera companies。 I was not expecting the horror elements but it worked well and was not too frightening for me。 The maza appeared once again to do just one very specific spell， leaving me to wonder what their purpose actually is in society。 Perfectly lovely b Thara Celehar shines here as a very well rounded detective-cleric character that had previously appeared only minimally in The Goblin Emperor。 This book also gives us a window into city life in Amalo， with its tea houses， airship works， and opera companies。 I was not expecting the horror elements but it worked well and was not too frightening for me。 The maza appeared once again to do just one very specific spell， leaving me to wonder what their purpose actually is in society。 Perfectly lovely book， as expected。 Katherine Addison’s world of Ethuveraz/Barizhan never fails to deliver。 。。。more
Adele
，
This book is set in the world of The Goblin Emperor， but it actually reminded me more of Addison's previous book， The Angel of the Crows with the main character trying to solve several mysteries simultaneously。 Enjoyable and interesting， but I preferred The Angel of the Crows as I felt the characters had more depth and the interaction between the pair working together to solve the mysteries was more appealing。 This book is set in the world of The Goblin Emperor， but it actually reminded me more of Addison's previous book， The Angel of the Crows with the main character trying to solve several mysteries simultaneously。 Enjoyable and interesting， but I preferred The Angel of the Crows as I felt the characters had more depth and the interaction between the pair working together to solve the mysteries was more appealing。 。。。more
Nicole
，
Not quite as good as the Goblin Emperor， but great characters and an entertaining story。
Steven Bragg
，
This is a spin-off of the author's quite magnificent Goblin Emperor book， focusing on the efforts of a speaker for the dead - sort of a priest/lawyer/investigator。 The world building is quite detailed， so the fun part is watching the Speaker seamlessly move through this alternate universe。 My only concern is that the author's naming conventions result in excessively long and unmemorable names。 As a result， I tended to skim through the names and just focus on the story。 This is a spin-off of the author's quite magnificent Goblin Emperor book， focusing on the efforts of a speaker for the dead - sort of a priest/lawyer/investigator。 The world building is quite detailed， so the fun part is watching the Speaker seamlessly move through this alternate universe。 My only concern is that the author's naming conventions result in excessively long and unmemorable names。 As a result， I tended to skim through the names and just focus on the story。 。。。more
Kaitlin
，
I read this when I was in pain and quite needed an escape， and honestly it was perfect。 I really enjoy somewhat quiet narratives of people just going about their lives in a setting that's really different from mine， and that's basically what this is。 Like 80% of the book probably is just Celehar talking to various people to try and solve mysteries， and that worked really well。 An excellent book， and I would happily read more in this setting。 I read this when I was in pain and quite needed an escape， and honestly it was perfect。 I really enjoy somewhat quiet narratives of people just going about their lives in a setting that's really different from mine， and that's basically what this is。 Like 80% of the book probably is just Celehar talking to various people to try and solve mysteries， and that worked really well。 An excellent book， and I would happily read more in this setting。 。。。more
Eliza
，
4。5！ Continue to surprise myself by loving this world and writing style， as meticulous and potentially boring as it may be。 One of the things I love about Addison’s writing is how casually and occasionally her characters reveal their true feelings - in a gesture， in a passing thought。 These rare， calculated glimpses become all the more precious and essential to characterization， and are an ingenious device for revealing the effects of trauma， shame， and self-doubt。 The reader grows greedy for th 4。5！ Continue to surprise myself by loving this world and writing style， as meticulous and potentially boring as it may be。 One of the things I love about Addison’s writing is how casually and occasionally her characters reveal their true feelings - in a gesture， in a passing thought。 These rare， calculated glimpses become all the more precious and essential to characterization， and are an ingenious device for revealing the effects of trauma， shame， and self-doubt。 The reader grows greedy for them… as with the Goblin Emporer， I wanted more， but also know that would dilute their potency。 I just read Rowell’s Any Way the Wind Blows， which was wonderful in its own right but engorged with relationship sentimentality and overt character growth （after all， it’s fan fic for fan fic。）Addison’s books are more about planting the seeds to overcome insecurity and pain， then letting our imagination decide where the characters go from there。 。。。more
Pat
，
Was a bit reluctant to read this because the main character was such a sad-sack in Goblin Emperor。 But on his own he's simply low-key and careful。 The plot was interesting， with mysteries that didn't involve the downfall of empires or some sort of apocalypse--just the horrors people manage to visit on each other。 And a hunt for ghouls。After all the foodaddle about Maia being half-goblin-half-elf， it was interesting to see how many characters outside the emperor's palace were the same and that go Was a bit reluctant to read this because the main character was such a sad-sack in Goblin Emperor。 But on his own he's simply low-key and careful。 The plot was interesting， with mysteries that didn't involve the downfall of empires or some sort of apocalypse--just the horrors people manage to visit on each other。 And a hunt for ghouls。After all the foodaddle about Maia being half-goblin-half-elf， it was interesting to see how many characters outside the emperor's palace were the same and that goblin/elf couples weren't that unusual。 That really reinforced the insularity and racism of the court。An interesting world that I'd like to read more about--though I wish it were possible to load a supplementary dictionary into the book， because I can't keep the honorifics straight。 。。。more
Meg
，
I ate this up just as voraciously as I ate up The Goblin Emperor， and already know I will be revisiting this book again and again。 While the beginning took a little while to start up， it was worth it as the mysteries that the main character is solving unfolded all while he dealt with politics， ghouls， and his own self worth。The world that the author has created in these books I am certain I won't be tiring of anytime soon， and what I appreciated about this book was that as a reader you are given I ate this up just as voraciously as I ate up The Goblin Emperor， and already know I will be revisiting this book again and again。 While the beginning took a little while to start up， it was worth it as the mysteries that the main character is solving unfolded all while he dealt with politics， ghouls， and his own self worth。The world that the author has created in these books I am certain I won't be tiring of anytime soon， and what I appreciated about this book was that as a reader you are given more depth into the world at large than you were in the first book。 That's not a bad thing， though， as the first book is told from the perspective of the young new emperor who has spent his all 18 years sequestered away in a rural family estate with only a few servants and his bitter cousin to even remotely educate him about the world （which is to say， not at all）。 This book however is in first person perspective of Thara Celehar， our Witness for the Dead from the first book。 Here we get more glimpses in the varying religions of the world， some history and understanding of how the government works， and more。 I hope that we will see more of Celehar in any potential other works that the author may create， as he quickly found a spot in my heart as I continued to read the book。 。。。more
Erika
，
So glad Katherine Addison decided to return to this world， hope she does so over and over again。 I love Thara and I liked being able to see more of what being a Witness for the Dead entails， even though I missed the characters from THE GOBLIN EMPEROR。 The mystery didn't have the most satisfying resolution， but the journey was a delight。 So glad Katherine Addison decided to return to this world， hope she does so over and over again。 I love Thara and I liked being able to see more of what being a Witness for the Dead entails， even though I missed the characters from THE GOBLIN EMPEROR。 The mystery didn't have the most satisfying resolution， but the journey was a delight。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Witness for the Dead
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Witness for the Dead&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft