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pvbobrien's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Murder, Suicide, Body horror, Blood, and Death
Minor: Outing, Classism, Vomit, and Pregnancy
griffinthief's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Suicide, and Death
Minor: Homophobia, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Vomit, Violence, Rape, and Pregnancy
aardwyrm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I loved the Goblin Emperor, but it had the limitation of any court fantasy of really being only about very rich people, no matter what twists it took. This book takes us deeper into the world, which feels real enough to walk into, and the characters that inhabit it are deft and subtle and ultimately oddly sweet, even if they're occasionally jerks. The pacing is a bit halting and odd, with less of an intricate tapestry of a mystery emerging and more of a tangled web, but that suits the mood.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Vomit, Violence, Pregnancy, Medical content, Gaslighting, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Domestic abuse, and Blood
Minor: Rape
reebeee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The worldbuilding is excellent, and Addison really shows her skill in constructing a geography--you could probably make a map of Amalo based on the various descriptions and directions given throughout the book. Celehar is also vividly characterized. The driving force of the book his is character, after all, and most of my investment in finishing the book stemmed from my hope to see things work out for him. The themes of the book are similar to those of The Goblin Emperor: introspection, belief in a Good despite a lot of bad around you, sadness and hope mingled.
Unfortunately, none of the other characters in the book were quite as vivid as Celeher--even his (potential?) love interest seemed somewhat hollow to me. The plot was also disjointed, focusing on one mystery for an extended period, then seeming to forget about it for another extended period. There wasn't really a through-line anchoring the various plotlines and demonstrating why THIS time in Celehar's life and THESE particular cases were worth writing a book about. The mysteries themselves were also so-so--my pet peeve of mystery stories is when the reader has no chance of figuring out the solution for themselves.
TL;DR: The Witness for the Dead is more of a character study of Celehar than a plot-driven book; it seemed somewhat like a handful of different short stories stitched together. If you loved the characters and themes of The Goblin Emperor and don't mind reading a novel that's more like a modified short story collection, you'll like The Witness for the Dead. Despite my genre-based quibbles, I definitely enjoyed it and will definitely be reading the next book!
Unfortunately, none of the other characters in the book were quite as vivid as Celeher--even his (potential?) love interest seemed somewhat hollow to me. The plot was also disjointed, focusing on one mystery for an extended period, then seeming to forget about it for another extended period. There wasn't really a through-line anchoring the various plotlines and demonstrating why THIS time in Celehar's life and THESE particular cases were worth writing a book about. The mysteries themselves were also so-so--my pet peeve of mystery stories is when the reader has no chance of figuring out the solution for themselves.
TL;DR: The Witness for the Dead is more of a character study of Celehar than a plot-driven book; it seemed somewhat like a handful of different short stories stitched together. If you loved the characters and themes of The Goblin Emperor and don't mind reading a novel that's more like a modified short story collection, you'll like The Witness for the Dead. Despite my genre-based quibbles, I definitely enjoyed it and will definitely be reading the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder, and Medical content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Outing, Pregnancy, and Grief
Minor: Vomit, Racism, and Gore
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