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A review by tsunni
The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
I read an omnibus version of this that paired it with The Witness for the Dead before it, which really felt like the way these two books were meant to be.
The Grief of Stones drops you right into the continuing daily life of Thara Celehar as Witness of the Dead, and much like the last book he spends his time in this one unraveling several mysteries over the course of the story. The writing, characters, and world are still superb in all their facets, and Addison maintains that balance of calm, placid, complex writing that pulls me along with it's meditative flow while exploring a very harsh and intricately complex setting.
I'm not a super analytical or complex reader; I can pick up on themes and the like okay if I put my mind to it, but with the previous books in this series I was content to just sink in and go along with the ride. In The Grief of Stones though, I'm finally consciously examining some of the continuing themes from Goblin Emperor all the way to Grief of Stones as Addison addresses them in ways that even I couldn't miss: the class and caste differences, the elves versus the goblins, many other things (the worldbuilding is so good!), but especially the core themes of grief and loss and acceptance and change, and we're swept along with the personal journey that Celehar goes through with those. I found it wonderfully done, and satisfying and meaningful in a way that makes me want to go back and appreciate everything Addison has built up over the course of several books with a new eye for thematic meaning. For that reason I rated Grief of Stones higher than The Witness for the Dead, but really I think they and Goblin Emperor are all equally excellent and I recommend them all highly and together. I'm really looking forward to The Tomb of Dragons.
The Grief of Stones drops you right into the continuing daily life of Thara Celehar as Witness of the Dead, and much like the last book he spends his time in this one unraveling several mysteries over the course of the story. The writing, characters, and world are still superb in all their facets, and Addison maintains that balance of calm, placid, complex writing that pulls me along with it's meditative flow while exploring a very harsh and intricately complex setting.
I'm not a super analytical or complex reader; I can pick up on themes and the like okay if I put my mind to it, but with the previous books in this series I was content to just sink in and go along with the ride. In The Grief of Stones though, I'm finally consciously examining some of the continuing themes from Goblin Emperor all the way to Grief of Stones as Addison addresses them in ways that even I couldn't miss: the class and caste differences, the elves versus the goblins, many other things (the worldbuilding is so good!), but especially the core themes of grief and loss and acceptance and change, and we're swept along with the personal journey that Celehar goes through with those. I found it wonderfully done, and satisfying and meaningful in a way that makes me want to go back and appreciate everything Addison has built up over the course of several books with a new eye for thematic meaning. For that reason I rated Grief of Stones higher than The Witness for the Dead, but really I think they and Goblin Emperor are all equally excellent and I recommend them all highly and together. I'm really looking forward to The Tomb of Dragons.