The Witness for the Dead - (Chronicles of Osreth) by Katherine Addison (Paperback)

About the Book

"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."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

"This trilogy is as close to perfect as books can get. . . . Magnificent."--T. Kingfisher, author of What Moves the Dead

Katherine Addison returns to the glittering world she created for her beloved novel, The Goblin Emperor, with book one of the Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy

Locus Award Finalist and Mythopoeic Award Finalist!

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.

Within THE CHRONICLES OF OSRETH

The Goblin Emperor

The Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy
The Witness for the Dead
The Grief of Stones
The Tomb of Dragons

Review Quotes

"This trilogy is as close to perfect as books can get. . . . Magnificent. . . . I come back to these books over and over again and visit the cemeteries of Amalo like an old friend. These books have been a bright thread in dark times. I could not love them more."--T. Kingfisher, author of What Moves the Dead

"I've been wanting to return to the world of The Goblin Emperor from the moment I finished that book, and The Witness For the Dead does not disappoint. 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

"I enjoyed the book so very much. It was really exactly the sort of thing I needed to read." -- Ann Leckie

"The follow-up to the acclaimed The Goblin Emperor brings back a favorite character and expands the elaborate world Addison has created. Fans of the first book--and new readers--will find this novel delightful and immersive" -- Library Journal

"Kazuo Ishiguro-an style."--New York Times

"Left me with feelings of warmth and hope for humanity." -- Margaret Rogerson, New York Times bestselling author of Sorcery of Thorns

"Is there anything greater than discovering a genius in our midst?... I adored The Goblin Emperor, and Witness for the Dead--also set amongst the elves, airmen, goblins, and ghouls of that world--packs another lightning-fisted literary wallop...It rocks all my hot spots. Addison lavishes her ardent readers with adventure, new friendships, invisible enemies, and rewards us with her uncommon depths, subtleties, and kindnesses." -- C.S.E. Cooney

"It is impossible for me to overstate how much I enjoy the novels of Katherine Addison set in the world of The Goblin Emperor.... The sense of being in the hands of a master, the breadth and depth of world, the unflinching eye for hu-man nature paired with a deep well of compassion and a lingering sense of the numinous."--Locus

Praise for The Goblin Emperor
"The only thing wrong with The Goblin Emperor was that it was, for a long time, a stand-alone. But now there's a sequel, The Witness for the Dead -- so if you love the world Katherine Addison has created, you've got a way back to it."--NPR, Best SFF of the Past Decade feature

"Striking."--The New York Times

"A remarkably hopeful story of a single decent person doing his best in a difficult situation." -io9

"Ambitious and meticulously executed worldbuilding brings an animated dazzle to this exceptional assemblage of character studies and complex encounter."- Publishers Weekly

"A spellbinding and genuinely affecting drama. Unreservedly recommended." -Kirkus

About the Author

KATHERINE ADDISON's short fiction has been selected by The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and The Year's Best Science Fiction. Her novel, The Goblin Emperor, won a Locus Award. As Sarah Monette, she is the author of the Doctrine of Labyrinths series and co-author, with Elizabeth Bear, of the Iskryne series. She lives near Madison, Wisconsin.