The Witness for the Dead
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- Create Date：2021-09-22 09:51:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Katherine Addison
- ISBN：1781089515
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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
Jamie Collins
，
An elegantly written short fantasy novel。 It opens with a daunting array of proper names， but I read without making any particular effort to memorize all of the people and places， and only rarely did I wish for a dramatis personae。While I remember liking the first book well enough， I didn’t find it especially memorable， and I didn’t recall this book’s protagonist at all， so I have no idea why he’s in disgrace， other than the hints given here。There is not much plot to this one， or rather there ar An elegantly written short fantasy novel。 It opens with a daunting array of proper names， but I read without making any particular effort to memorize all of the people and places， and only rarely did I wish for a dramatis personae。While I remember liking the first book well enough， I didn’t find it especially memorable， and I didn’t recall this book’s protagonist at all， so I have no idea why he’s in disgrace， other than the hints given here。There is not much plot to this one， or rather there are a few small plot threads woven together which don’t really coalesce。 I liked the ghoul-hunting episode， and I enjoyed the scenes at the opera。 I think the setting is more satisfying than the characterizations。 I wanted more when this was finished。 。。。more
Agnieszka
，
While not as good as the previous position， still an exquisite novel worth the read。 I am very curious how the story arch will lead us in the future books of the series。
Janna
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Complicated， this one。 World building is amazing。 It is basically a murder musketry with heart and some spirituality and magic There is a complex tea culture and strong opinions about opera。 The characters were interesting and likable overall， with varying degrees of depth。 I read another review about how many of the characters in this and the previous book in the series are kind （at least to others） and I agree。 I had trouble keeping characters organized in my head， but I think that is likely c Complicated， this one。 World building is amazing。 It is basically a murder musketry with heart and some spirituality and magic There is a complex tea culture and strong opinions about opera。 The characters were interesting and likable overall， with varying degrees of depth。 I read another review about how many of the characters in this and the previous book in the series are kind （at least to others） and I agree。 I had trouble keeping characters organized in my head， but I think that is likely combination of COVID brain and listening to it instead of reading it。 But， in 2021， why is there new fantasy being written with lot of shame and secrecy around same-sex attraction？ Do societal roles still have to be so gendered in the worlds we create for fun？ Maybe the murders being investigated wouldn’t all have to be of women？ I read the first of the series right after one of Becky Chamber’s in the Wayfarers series， so I think the contrast between the worlds was especially stark and that might be carrying over to my reading of this book。 。。。more
Ellen Davis
，
Not as good as The Goblin Emperor but I again thoroughly enjoyed visiting this world Katherine Addison has created。
Anne
，
I can't believe I actually liked that。 I usually can't stand a whole lot of running around trying to solve who-done-it type mysteries - even if they happen to be set in fantastical settings which I thoroughly enjoy。 And I promise you， there was a lot of running around， and even one wildlly extravagant ghoul-hunting trip that was probably completely extraneous。But once I let my mind glaze over the horribly confounding names， I could not stop buring through the pages to find out what happened nex I can't believe I actually liked that。 I usually can't stand a whole lot of running around trying to solve who-done-it type mysteries - even if they happen to be set in fantastical settings which I thoroughly enjoy。 And I promise you， there was a lot of running around， and even one wildlly extravagant ghoul-hunting trip that was probably completely extraneous。But once I let my mind glaze over the horribly confounding names， I could not stop buring through the pages to find out what happened next！ I think， much like the first book， it has a bit to do with a seriously "good" main character。 In this case， the main character was a bit tormented by the past but didn't really let anything get in the way of doing his duty。 Guess I'm a sucker for that！So， four surprising stars from me。 I'm once again tempted to go back and re-read the first book AND I'd like to see more set in this world。 。。。more
Becca
，
This was like reading 3-4 murder mysteries at once， intertwined with each other through the main character but mostly distinct。 I enjoyed this a lot， after the first few pages that had too much information。 But this feels like a part of a series rather than a standalone follow up to the Goblin Emperor。 It felt so unclosed。 Is there going to be more？
Laurie
，
Definitely recommend the audio book。
Kell Andrews
，
With its overlapping and episodic mysteries and glum main character， this short book had much more in common with Angel of the Crows than the Goblin Emperor。 But alas， it still has the names， the twisting。 Intricate， indistinguishable names。But I liked this。 I liked Celehar。
Joe Kessler
，
I've enjoyed this spinoff sequel to 2014's The Goblin Emperor， but I don't love it nearly as much as the original novel。 Leaving the imperial palace and its lonely ruler behind， we're instead presented with a low-stakes， street-level plot of the titular detective-cleric investigating various murders and other death-related mysteries （questions over which version of a contested will is legitimate， outbreaks of cannibalistic ghouls， etc。） around his steampunk fantasy city。 This works best as a cha I've enjoyed this spinoff sequel to 2014's The Goblin Emperor， but I don't love it nearly as much as the original novel。 Leaving the imperial palace and its lonely ruler behind， we're instead presented with a low-stakes， street-level plot of the titular detective-cleric investigating various murders and other death-related mysteries （questions over which version of a contested will is legitimate， outbreaks of cannibalistic ghouls， etc。） around his steampunk fantasy city。 This works best as a character and worldbuilding study -- although the latter of course leans heavily on the foundation of its predecessor -- yet somewhat less as a compelling story to house them。 I might have liked it all better had my expectations not been quite so high， but this is far from the follow-up I wanted to such a charming debut。Find me on Patreon | Goodreads | Blog | Twitter 。。。more
Miriam Williams
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Finished it in two evenings。 Unexpected at times and a great read。
Lily Evangeline
，
“I drank my tea and finished my scone and acknowledged that I did not know how to solve any of my problems。” There is not enough fantasy written about good and kind people who persist in thanklessly doing the right thing。 Thera is， essentially， an overworked civil servant， ostracized for his uncanny job （listening to the dead） and still recovering from the end of his last relationship （a culturally taboo affair with a married man）。 The plot follows Thera's Witnessing for a murdered woman， but “I drank my tea and finished my scone and acknowledged that I did not know how to solve any of my problems。” There is not enough fantasy written about good and kind people who persist in thanklessly doing the right thing。 Thera is， essentially， an overworked civil servant， ostracized for his uncanny job （listening to the dead） and still recovering from the end of his last relationship （a culturally taboo affair with a married man）。 The plot follows Thera's Witnessing for a murdered woman， but the emotional import of the story rests in Thera's loneliness and grief （to say more would be spoiling， but it all ties together in the end， and on a hopeful note）。Thera is quiet and good and kind。 He is calm and self-possessed and always tries to go the extra mile when he sees an opportunity to do so。 Despite the corruption and politics surrounding him， he is committed to doing what is right， without any fanfare， although it often brings him trouble。 He has learned not to expect much love or warmth from those around him， but throughout the book he encounters a number of good people who see him for who he is and acknowledge his service and work。 His service towards them and their kindness towards him begins to bring about a sort of healing。 The majority of the book， however， he seemed to be me still very lost within his past， within himself， within that sort of "just get up and do it" mindset we get when life begins to get rather painful。 It felt poignant and true without melodrama。 Honestly。 I didn't care that much about the plot。 And the first third of the book was difficult to get into， while the ending seemed a bit abrupt。 But I ended up giving the book four stars because of the atmosphere， I suppose， and because I found myself full of respect for our main character。 Addison writes what feels， to me anyway， a clear picture of the darkness of humankind without presenting a world that is hopeless。 Neither her narration nor her character succumb to cynicism， nihilism， or bitterness。 In fact， the book felt positively hopeful， despite having an MC who was mildly depressed for most of it。 I finished the book feeling as though I'd been given something precious。 Which， I think， might not be far from the truth， as hope is hard to come by these days。 。。。more
Rachel Stahl
，
This is not precisely a sequel to The Goblin Emperor， but it is set in the same world and features a protagonist who was a minor character in TGE。 Storywise， this is a detective novel set in a world of elves， goblins， magic， and steampunk industrialization。 It's also got a lot of noirish elements， but the hero is about as far from the classic hard-boiled detective as you can get。 This book has the same general feel as the previous book - some terrible things happen， some people are awful， but ki This is not precisely a sequel to The Goblin Emperor， but it is set in the same world and features a protagonist who was a minor character in TGE。 Storywise， this is a detective novel set in a world of elves， goblins， magic， and steampunk industrialization。 It's also got a lot of noirish elements， but the hero is about as far from the classic hard-boiled detective as you can get。 This book has the same general feel as the previous book - some terrible things happen， some people are awful， but kindness and caring matter。 Ultimately I found it very comforting。 。。。more
Sandy
，
I dithered about whether this was a 3½- or 4-star novel ~ partially influenced by my disappointment that this was technically not a genuine sequel， other than it featured the same world （and one character） from The Goblin Emperor。 I had wanted more of Maia， the half-goblin emperor。 However， this story is a well-written murder mystery along with several side episodes requiring the 'Witness' （Thara Celehar， whom we first met in the Imperial court of Edrehasivar VII）。 I found the central murder mys I dithered about whether this was a 3½- or 4-star novel ~ partially influenced by my disappointment that this was technically not a genuine sequel， other than it featured the same world （and one character） from The Goblin Emperor。 I had wanted more of Maia， the half-goblin emperor。 However， this story is a well-written murder mystery along with several side episodes requiring the 'Witness' （Thara Celehar， whom we first met in the Imperial court of Edrehasivar VII）。 I found the central murder mystery the most interesting， that being the strange death of an opera singer。 The other sagas that developed were a missing sister （likely murdered by a serial killer）， a forged will， and an eruption of ghouls in the distant town of Tanvero。 For my tastes， other than the surprising twist in one of these other cases， this side-action of rather diverse situations detracted from moving the story forward。 I enjoy Addison's writing （except for her penchant in creating complex names and titles）。 This novel showed potential storylines that were strongly promising， perhaps could have been enlarged as the plot in other books， rather than used here。 I do recommend the Witness book， but for myself， I would also like to read more about how Maia fares and see his evolution as the ultimate ruler， how this develops and then， perhaps might achieve a strong dynasty in this kingdom。 。。。more
Vicky Gilbert
，
Lovely to revisit the world of the goblin emperor and see Thala Celehar again as he solves a number of mysteries with compassion and thoughtfulness。
Rebecca
，
This book is SO GOOD。 Sadly lacking in the amazing Maia， but I knew that going in。 I'm so excited for the sequel！ This book is SO GOOD。 Sadly lacking in the amazing Maia， but I knew that going in。 I'm so excited for the sequel！ 。。。more
Lori Forrester
，
I think this is even better than The Goblin Emperor！ The depth of the characters and the amount of detail in the descriptions of the world just make it come alive for me。
Raymond
，
Enjoyed this one though not as much as the first book。 However， I am not as big a fan of murder mysteries， so maybe keep that in mind。 It was a nice trip back into the same work without feeling too much like a sequel。
Nat
，
A delightful return to the world of The Goblin Emperor。 This book has the same large-hearted empathy and moral-driven characters， lovely prose， and wonderful worldbuilding。 I have to admit to liking The Goblin Emperor more but this was still a great read， I wanted it to be a lot longer than it is。 Here we veer more into the standard mystery procedural than the political fantasy of the first book， but the story still remains very character-centric and allows us a good glimpse at the world。 I love A delightful return to the world of The Goblin Emperor。 This book has the same large-hearted empathy and moral-driven characters， lovely prose， and wonderful worldbuilding。 I have to admit to liking The Goblin Emperor more but this was still a great read， I wanted it to be a lot longer than it is。 Here we veer more into the standard mystery procedural than the political fantasy of the first book， but the story still remains very character-centric and allows us a good glimpse at the world。 I loved the main character and Addison does a fantastic job of overlaying multiple little plots， so you feel like you're really getting a feel for what life is like for Thara Celehar。 100% would recommend to fans of the original book。 。。。more
Shannon （That's So Poe）
，
This is such a cozy mystery fantasy novel that scratched pretty much every itch I have when I need a comfort read。 I not only love the world that Addison has created， but I find her characters to be such good-hearted people who are just trying their best。 It just made my heart happy to read this， and I thought the mystery was really well paced！ Content Warnings:minor graphic violence， murder， injury， death， explosion/fire
Julia
，
Like Maia from The Goblin Emperor， Thara Celehar is an inherently kind and thoughtful protagonist。 He's aware of his own faults and shortcomings， and thus has a measure of humility about himself （and a sense of humor）。 He also has the courage to lean on his abilities and intelligence and to resist outside pressure in pursuit of justice。 （The world could use more Celehars！） I enjoyed the world-building and myths of this universe， as well as the complex plotting。 I am hoping that there'll be more Like Maia from The Goblin Emperor， Thara Celehar is an inherently kind and thoughtful protagonist。 He's aware of his own faults and shortcomings， and thus has a measure of humility about himself （and a sense of humor）。 He also has the courage to lean on his abilities and intelligence and to resist outside pressure in pursuit of justice。 （The world could use more Celehars！） I enjoyed the world-building and myths of this universe， as well as the complex plotting。 I am hoping that there'll be more books in this rich series。 。。。more
Kaia
，
I enjoyed this multi-mystery story set in the world of the Goblin Emperor， with Thara Celehar as the main character， solving crimes and dispatching ghouls with courtesy， fortified by tea。
Kim
，
This is a fun read set in the same world as The Goblin Emperor but otherwise fairly unrelated。 You definitely do not need to have read that to read this。 The Witness for the Dead is a lowly government employee who has the ability to hear the last faint echoes of the recently deceased。 Sometimes he can ask them simple questions and find the answer--so he spends most of his time answering things like， "Where is your will？" As this book opens he is asked to figure out the identity of a body pulled This is a fun read set in the same world as The Goblin Emperor but otherwise fairly unrelated。 You definitely do not need to have read that to read this。 The Witness for the Dead is a lowly government employee who has the ability to hear the last faint echoes of the recently deceased。 Sometimes he can ask them simple questions and find the answer--so he spends most of his time answering things like， "Where is your will？" As this book opens he is asked to figure out the identity of a body pulled from the river。 When he discovers it was a murder， he is pulled into the murder investigation， which is the main plot of the book。 He is also pulled into a few side quests that have nothing to do with the murder--which I found a bit odd。 Over all， though， a very entertaining read。 。。。more
Justine B。
，
Katherine Addison did it again。 I loved it。 I may even have liked it better than The Goblin Emperor， which I already liked a lot。 Once more it was quite unique。 The main character， Othala Celehar is adorable。 I loved how the plot was constructed。 The mystery plot was not straightforward。 It felt quite realistic and natural as we followed several small investigations in parallel of the main murder mystery。 The world building was still amazing。 And I must say， the opera and teahouses only added to Katherine Addison did it again。 I loved it。 I may even have liked it better than The Goblin Emperor， which I already liked a lot。 Once more it was quite unique。 The main character， Othala Celehar is adorable。 I loved how the plot was constructed。 The mystery plot was not straightforward。 It felt quite realistic and natural as we followed several small investigations in parallel of the main murder mystery。 The world building was still amazing。 And I must say， the opera and teahouses only added to my enjoyment。 I will definitely read more from this world if Katherine Addison writes more！ 。。。more
Bri。
，
Eh， it was ok。 It started out reeeeeeeally slow and got up to about 35mph， max。 If I could describe this book， I would say it is Abhorsen CSI。 But not nearly as compelling or exciting as you would think based on that combination。The first book was paced frenetically like one of those west wing neverending hallway scenes where one aid after another is bombarding the emperor with decisions， ethical complexities， and actionable information for every moment of the book。 This book is plodding and， ho Eh， it was ok。 It started out reeeeeeeally slow and got up to about 35mph， max。 If I could describe this book， I would say it is Abhorsen CSI。 But not nearly as compelling or exciting as you would think based on that combination。The first book was paced frenetically like one of those west wing neverending hallway scenes where one aid after another is bombarding the emperor with decisions， ethical complexities， and actionable information for every moment of the book。 This book is plodding and， honestly not complex in the ways you want。I still like the world and want to read the next book but this one just didn't land the same way its predecessor did。 Part of it was that Maya was a visible minority punching up， and pointing out skin tone all the time so you could see where allies， accomplices， and bigots were。 The white POV character is constantly pointing out that someone is mixed race or elven white etc but it honestly comes out like some old timey gumshoe playing "spot the octaroon"。 I appreciate not shying away from the topic of racial discrimination in speculative fiction， but if the POV character isn't a minority， it might be better if the author gave more agency to POC non POV characters and let them self-define in dialog instead of having everything twice filtered through the white male lens。I think the other big reason that it was hard to get into is that none of the characters grow， develop， or change。 The protagonist has a fascinating back story that is explored even less than its brief mention in the first book。 This book is very hard to find characters that I'm not ambivalent to， partially because cases are so open and shut that any antagonist has no chance for more crimes or redemption or ambiguity or intrigue and the most sympathetic victims aren't really characters because by the time you meet them， they're already dead and gone。 。。。more
Naomi
，
Really enjoy this world and it was nice to learn more about Celehar。 Possibly wraps up a little abruptly， but no real complaints， except that I want more！
Liz
，
Ahhhh， Celehar needs a hug！ Anyway， this book is beautiful and understated and I need like 10 more hours of it stat。Also， out of all the things that Addison does here that stand out in the genre， her compassionate portrayal of how clergy help and matter to people in need was just gorgeous and really spoke to my experiences in rabbinical school。 She gets it—gets the awkwardness， the difficulty， the job of the clergy person to just hear and bear witness。 The magical aspect adds to it， but changes Ahhhh， Celehar needs a hug！ Anyway， this book is beautiful and understated and I need like 10 more hours of it stat。Also， out of all the things that Addison does here that stand out in the genre， her compassionate portrayal of how clergy help and matter to people in need was just gorgeous and really spoke to my experiences in rabbinical school。 She gets it—gets the awkwardness， the difficulty， the job of the clergy person to just hear and bear witness。 The magical aspect adds to it， but changes the job very little and she SEES how much of course what Celehar does is what Judaism calls true lovingkindness—kindness that cannot be repaid and so can only be done of the goodness of one's heart。 Anyway， so much love for this story。 。。。more
Beth
，
I wanted to love this as much as Goblin Emperor， but I felt as if I was missing some pieces as the story progressed。 However， it was still a good book and I love the LGBT representation of the main character。 There are too many books out there that are all the same。
Boom Baumgartner
，
I really hope we get another Celehar story。
Tessa
，
4。75* This is such a great book， I love it。 My only gripe with it is that after a fairly meandering story the ending was a little too abrupt for my taste。 （Plus I really just wanted 250 more pages of this wonderful character and world。） Sequel please？？ There are definitely certain developments I would read another book about >>
Jess
，
The Goblin Emperor is one of my favourite books of all time， and I'm not disappointed with the sequel。 I enjoyed the mysteries being played out with a Poirot-like "talking to everyone" method and meeting a ghoul。 And like the first book I loved following a kind and dutiful protagonist as he has meetings and drinks tea。 So excited for the third one！ The Goblin Emperor is one of my favourite books of all time， and I'm not disappointed with the sequel。 I enjoyed the mysteries being played out with a Poirot-like "talking to everyone" method and meeting a ghoul。 And like the first book I loved following a kind and dutiful protagonist as he has meetings and drinks tea。 So excited for the third one！ 。。。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