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A review by queerlyread
The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison
4.25
Accidentally read this before The Witness for the Dead because my library had it mislabeled as book one, but hey, it was still good! A little confusing at first because you are thrust right into the life Celehar has built for himself but it's like... when you meet someone who has built a slow, steady life somewhere and you're granted access into it. I was learning Celehar during the beginning of this book (due to my own folly hah!) and it was a really interesting reading experience.
The first half of the book deals with a pretty uncomfortable plot line when it comes to the slowly unfolding mystery (and it is slow), but it's never gratuitous. Celehar is the same stalwart, gruff elf we knew in The Goblin Emperor and it was nice to see his character so well defined and how he (big spoiler)responds to losing such a major tenet of his identity part way through the book . The second half of the book gave big MWT's The Queen's Thief series vibes and I was SO here for it.
Like The Goblin Emperor, for me, Celehar's story really shines in his interactions with others. It shows such a wide range of dynamics and interpersonal relationships, and not all of them good. KA does an excellent job of not overly villainizing her antagonists, but also not over-idealizing her heroes.
The first half of the book deals with a pretty uncomfortable plot line when it comes to the slowly unfolding mystery (and it is slow), but it's never gratuitous. Celehar is the same stalwart, gruff elf we knew in The Goblin Emperor and it was nice to see his character so well defined and how he (big spoiler)
Like The Goblin Emperor, for me, Celehar's story really shines in his interactions with others. It shows such a wide range of dynamics and interpersonal relationships, and not all of them good. KA does an excellent job of not overly villainizing her antagonists, but also not over-idealizing her heroes.