2025/042: The Tomb of Dragons — Katherine Addison

A Witness for the Dead, said the dragon. How ... appropriate. Will you witness for us? We need a witness, and we assure you we are dead. [loc. 1307]

At the end of The Grief of Stones, Thara Celehar lost his Calling, but was promised 'an assignment that is uniquely suited to your abilities'. Unfortunately, that seems to involve a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy. His days are not without incident, though. Though his apprentice, the excellent and determined Velhiro Tomasaran, is answering the few witnessing requests that come in, there are other matters that demand his attention; a murder at the Vermillion Opera, demesne of Celehar's friend Iäna Pel-Thenhior; an escaped political prisoner; and a group of miners are keen to have someone talk to the unseen horror that lurks in the depths of a mountain.

This is as much a novel about friendship and support as it's about paperwork, mines or murders. Celehar has always battled feelings of inadequacy and self-worth (he doesn't even think he deserves a decent coat, let alone a better stipend from the city treasury) and he doesn't seem to recognise friendship when it's offered. But it is offered, and reciprocated, and sometimes Celehar even manages to trust those friends: Tomasaran, Pel-Thenhior (who has, to be fair, shown signs that could be interpreted as something more than friendship), Azhanharad the subpraeceptor, and even some individuals in the distant capital.

Given the publisher's blurb ('deftly wrapping up The Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy') I'd expected more of a conclusion here. The finale of this novel feels more like the beginning of a new phase than an ending to Celehar's story -- or the stories of his friends. Yes, he's grown and changed across the course of these three books, and his personal relationships are in considerably better shape than they were at the start of The Witness for the Dead; yes, he's overcome the lingering grief of events that happened well before even The Goblin Emperor. But there is so much more possibility in his life now -- perhaps even romantically -- and I'd love to see what happens next.

In preparation for this long-awaited novel, I reread The Witness for the Dead and The Grief of Stones, the first two books in the trilogy... I found I liked Stones rather better this time around, as more happens to Celehar in it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my advance review copy! UK publication date, at least for Kindle, is 13th March 2025.