The Grief of Stones

I like this series a lot. This was a strong entry I think! I can’t try and be objective because it really hits a lot of things I enjoy and others may not. I read it in two big gulps, not wanting to put it down at any point; two chapters in onward I was grinning and feeling very delighted as I read. Light spoilers (nothing plot relevant) time:

• A book that spends a couple of pages at least dealing with the mundane process of finding directions in a city where maps are maintained by two organisations with different priorities is a book that has probably already won my heart. Lots of little things like that in here, never at a Les Miserables level or anything - the protagonist is actually, e.g., changing lines twice on the tram in order to get to the other side of the city, or talking to an established quiltmaker who might well share names of her patterns to make him feel welcome, so rather than being a random worldbuilding aside it does feel smoothly integrated to me. We have a continued interest in clothing and textiles from the previous books, which is always nice.
• I’m a sucker for a messed up duty obsessed protagonist tortured by their code of ethics. This is a lighter one of those, where he has friends and not Too much ongoing trauma.
• I am not a mysteries connoisseur. This one seemed fine! Believably took the main character between interesting places and people.
• I don’t think I’ve seen ‘stridden’ in a book for a long time. Tickles me
• Maybe it’s because the phrase gets my attention every time, but I feel like ‘wonder-tale’ was overused in this book. Much as I enjoy the narrative referencing other fictional narratives & broadening our understanding of the culture that way.
• I’m interested in that ‘justice is a role of the government & it must be done’ conversation near the end. It ended unsatisfyingly but maybe truthfully for the characters. I’d be interested to see more of Thara’s philosophy in that respect. He’s written as separate from the police, who are sometimes violent and discriminatory in-universe, and he lacks the power to compel people to talk to him or let him search places, or to arrest people; however with detective stories like this the ideas about justice, mercy, the law, etc that they communicate are always worth looking out for. I hope we see some development on this theme and how Thara’s experiences inform his opinion there in the next book. (I think we see it a little with the reflection on the title later in the book.)

That was not very coherent! I am very sleepy. Book good. Excited to read the next.

This is a direct sequel to Witness for the Dead (book two of a trilogy) and is another fantasy mystery set in the world of the Goblin Emperor.

Witness for the Dead feels more like a traditional mystery novel, in that the climax of the story is also the reveal of the mystery. On the other hand, this book's "stereo investigation" (in Disco Elysium terms) is roughly sorted out mid-book, and instead jumps into action and many repercussions from there. I think this works really well, but it gives it a different feel overall.

One thing I really liked about this book is how many story threads from the first book were picked up and were an integral part of this story. On its own, I felt like there were parts of the first book that went a bit far afield (even if they were interesting worldbuilding and character development!), but in the context of how they tie back into book two makes the two books together feel much more tightly crafted as a whole. It makes me excited to see where the third book goes.

Mostly, I continue to enjoy these books focused on Celehar as a main character; he has been through a lot and continues to go through a lot, and is carrying a lot of trauma and grief that he is coping with. It feels like he doesn't believe that he deserves nice things even while he constantly goes out of his way to serve others beyond the call of duty; it's just comforting to see so many characters caring for him in ways that he won't do for himself.

I read this quickly while somewhat sleep deprived, so I don't have as coherent an impression as I might have hoped.

Like the previous "Witness for the Dead" this is essentially a noir detective novel with fantasy elements. The characters are engaging, although the villains turn out not to have much redeeming qualities.

It's hard not to see the Goblin / Elf dynamic as some kind of comment on race and racism, although it wasn't really clear to me if the book was commenting on contemporary society or just reflecting it.

The book relies on the reader having some recall of the previous two, but especially Witness for the Dead. The reader needs the previous book not only for background on the world, but also on the relationships.

Like in Witness for the Dead, the use of an imagined dialect of English is crucial to both the atmosphere and the characterizations. Speakers (or students) of French or German will recognize the notion of formal and informal pronouns and their collision with plural. Other words seem to be borrowed from older variations of English, helping to paint the picture of a kind of steampunk early-modern world.