After the events of the previous book in Katherine Addison's Cemeteries of Amalo series, The Grief of Stones, Thara Celehar finds himself starting over yet again. But while Celehar's life has changed, the city of Amalo carries on as ever, with greed, corrupt officials, and the possibility of political instability plaguing the populace. And so Celehar starts moving forward, because what else can he do? He is still a servant to the Archprelate, the Archprelate has a job for him to do, and Celehar is nothing if not bound to duty. He can’t escape his reputation, however, and thanks to a group of unscrupulous miners, Celehar finds himself in a dangerous situation– the origins of which could shake the foundations of the empire.


Addison’s Chronicles of Osreth series has proven to be a very particular subgenre of fantasy– cozy on one hand with its slice-of-life narratives (Celehar feeds the neighborhood stray cats, goes out for tea, and is often preoccupied with finding just the right coat) that are bound up profound shifts at a nearly global level (Celehar’s investigations in The Goblin Emperor affected the leadership at the very top levels of the empire). Combine all that with certain steampunk elements, magic that is almost exclusively in the background, and a pantheon of gods that are taken for granted by everyday people, and it’s difficult to define these books as any one thing. They are all led by one particular thing, though: the main character is a good person who strives to do the right thing, no matter what. Does that make The Tomb of Dragons Hopepunk? I don’t know. I don’t know what to call these books aside from “some of my favorite books ever”.

I freely admit that Thara Celehar was not among my favorite characters in The Goblin Emperor, but he has grown on me as his books have progressed so that by the time I reached the end of The Tomb of Dragons, he had become one of my favorite characters. Celehar is a well-developed character who is confident in his calling while being afraid of making personal connections. He has an unyielding set of personal ethics but is perfectly capable of accepting the foibles and flaws of the world around him. And, perhaps most endearingly, he is confused by the friendship and care offered by the people in his life. Celehar is a man who will go to the ends of the earth for others but can’t imagine why anyone would cross the street for him. It’s a little heartbreaking, but it also makes a reader want to bundle the poor thing up in a soft blanket and feed him tea and soup so he’ll be ready to face evil in the morning.

Part of what makes The Goblin Emperor so compelling as a fantasy novel is the intricate but natural-seeming world-building Addison wove into the narrative. Readers are treated to an extensive history, multiple cultures, complex social customs, and an intricately constructed language that feels very strange until you see how the prefixes and suffixes fit together to form the words. By about the halfway point of The Goblin Emperor, the conlang starts to feel like a natural part of things. The Tomb of Dragons expands upon all of this- partly by necessity since it takes place in a different part of the empire and partly because it’s about ordinary people just living their lives and talking about the world as they see it.

If there is a flaw in The Tomb of Dragons, it is in the pacing, as some events are a bit rushed and the scenes with a fan-favorite character from and earlier book in the series are altogether too short (I say that, knowing I would read an entire series of books about that fan-favorite). On the whole, however, The Tomb of Dragons is an excellent entry in The Chronicles of Osreth. Addison’s straightforward-yet-elegant prose, excellent character development, and expert world-building have come together to give us another fantastic book in a series that will, hopefully, have many more stories to come.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book.

This was an incredible end to the trilogy and an immersive reading and listening experience. It has been wonderful to watch Thara Celehar grow into himself throughout the trilogy and come to appreciate his own worth and that others might value his friendship.

This book flowed seamlessly from the previous two, with Celehar facing ever-more complicated duties and proving again and again what a fundamentally kind and good person he is. I was lost in the story and found that I couldn't even work on other tasks while listening - the book demanded my full attention.

I hope that we get further adventures of Celehar. This book did a great job tying up all the loose ends in Amalo while still leaving the door open for more adventures in a new place, with new people. I would read a never-ending series of his adventures. They flow so seamlessly into one another, building and combining into experiences that, when recounted, sound absurd.

I adore this world and these characters and I dearly hope Katherine Addison continues telling us tales from it.

The audiobook was excellent. The narrator did a phenomenal job with the complicated character names and places, the varying levels of formality of speech, and managed to both be pleasant to listen to and create distinct and easily-recognizable voices for all of the characters. I felt like I was living the book, not listening to it.

*Thanks to Tor Books and Macmillan Audio for providing an early copy for review.

According to the publisher’s website, Katherine Addison’s The Tomb of Dragons is either the third and final book in her CEMETERIES OF AMALO trilogy or “Volume 3” in her CHRONICLES OF OSRETH series (no mention if it is the end) or the fourth book “within” her CHRONICLES OF OSRETH series with The Goblin Emperor added as the first. Honestly, it’s all a bit muddy. But what is not muddy is the world Addison has so masterfully created in this series, crafting a detailed, immersive world filled with engaging characters, most especially the character at its center, Thera Celehar. Though I had more of an issue with pace in this novel than the prior ones, Celehar remains a fantastic creation, a gentle, humble, lonely soul one cannot help but root for, and despite the publisher calling it the “wrap up” to the trilogy, I for one hope we haven’t seen the last of this character. A few inevitable spoilers for previous books follow

Celehar is a Witness for the Dead, someone with the ability to speak with the recently deceased and bring them a measure of justice and closure. In the past, Celehar has used this ability to solve several murders as well as “quiet” dangerous undead such as ghouls and revenants. In the last book, The Grief of Stones, Celehar lost his ability to communicate with the dead, something that causes them great pain at the start of Tomb of Dragons and also has them questioning his purpose in life if he cannot continue in his calling. Currently Celehar is keeping busy by assisting his apprentice Witness Tomasaran and fulfilling more mundane duties for the Archprelate, specifically, returning an abysmally run city cemetery to working order, as it hasn’t functioned at all for fifty years, with paperwork and bones literally piling up.

Celehar though has never been destined for mundanity, and eventually becomes entangled in helping solve a murder at the opera house run by their good friend Ilan, political intrigue centering around an escaped traitor hoping to overthrow the current regime, trying to right a century-old atrocity involving the murder of nearly 200 dragons, avoiding violent retribution from the powerful corporation responsible for said atrocity, uncovering a possible decades-old murder at that urban cemetery he’s trying to fix, and trying to heal his loss of Witness ability. And perhaps more frightening than all of that —learning how to allow those who care for them, and they are many, more fully into their life.

The strength of the novel, as with the others, is Celehar’s character. Beyond being gentle and humble, they are bound by principle, a deep sense of ethics, a sincere belief in their god and their own calling/purpose, and an implacable persistence to see justice done without little regard for their own safety or convenience, but without the less-laudable self-righteousness that often goes hand in hand with such traits. There is also a deep vulnerability to Celehar, an abiding loneliness, and a persistent inability to see their own worth. Taken together, as I’ve noted in prior reviews, it’s impossible not to root for this character or for the efforts of their friends to assist him any way they can, whether it’s offering a place to stay, a better coat (but not a new one and certainly not a bright one!), or simply making sure they remember to eat. Celehar’s friend Ilan, who is in many ways an exact opposite, is a wonderful figure and the most developed, and the two have a touching moment together late in the novel when Celehar expresses confusion over Ilan’s solicitousness:

“What does thou want from me?”
“I beg thy pardon?”
“This! . ... Thou com’st and worriest about whether I eat, thou givest me a place to hide, thou brokest into Osmin Temin’s school with me! And I do not know what thou wantst.”
“I thought it was obvious,” Ilana said warily.
“Art thou Marnis?” I had not meant to ask so directly — Indeed, I had not meant to ask at all.
“No,” he said. “Can I not simply be thy friend?”
“Thou art very … intense about it?”
“I promise I have no desire to have sexual relations … I love thee, and it grieves me greatly to see thee hurt. And, to tell the truth, it worries me more than a little that thou findst this so unfathomable. Do thy other friends not love thee?”
“I have very few close friends,” I said. “I suppose I don’t know how the thing is done … Thy friendship warms something in me that had been cold for a very long time.”


Other characters are less developed more due to lack of page time than poor characterization. I do wish we had seen more of several of them, particularly Celehar’s apprentice.

The plot is variable in its impact. As with the earlier books, the murder mystery isn’t all that compelling and isn’t really a driving force in the story. The same can be said about the political intrigue. Honestly, I’m not sure the book would have suffered at all by their absence. The urban cemetery issue does show Celehar’s diligence and sense of duty, something heightened by the contrast between Celehar and the person in charge of the cemetery (the same for their different attitudes toward the idea of a religious calling), and also some ongoing humor to the story, though I’d say we probably spend a little too much time on it. The issue with his loss of Witness ability, meanwhile, I thought begged for further exploration. By far, the most compelling plot element for me was the dragon storyline. The dragon revenant herself is a wonderful character, the storyline both infuriating and deeply moving, and there is, sadly enough, a topicality to the issue that resonates in our modern day and age. And on a strict narrative level, it creates a number of opportunities for suspense and action.

That said, this series has always been what I’d label a low-plot-stakes kind of writing, with a focus much more on character and particularly an inner focus. The stories take a meandering, mediative, introspective path toward their end point and though the balance felt a little bit more off than in earlier books, I still couldn’t help but be pulled along in the wake of Celehar’s endearing personality. While the publisher does say this “wraps up” the trilogy, and the book does come to a solid resolution, Addison certainly leaves the door wide open for a return, and if this does end one series, there’s nothing preventing a return to this world and this character. A trip I’d be happy to take.

I think the best way I can describe this book is like this: though this book does have a plot about investigating dead dragons, it's not an adventuring book. It's the kind of book that has a handful of scenes about coats. The protagonist needs his coat repaired. He loses his coat. He gets a new coat. He doesn't like the new coat, and trades it for a different one. He needs to buy another coat, because it's cold outside. With every step, the book is exploring how he needs to learn to rely on his friends to help him with his coats. The stakes are low, and the tone is bittersweet.

A video review including this book will be on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, @ChloeFrizzle.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Books for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

If you know nothing of this series, then let me give you a little recap. The world of Osreth there are two races of people: elves and goblins. Get your D&D ideas of these two races out of your mind. They’re basically people with pointy ears. The only differences between the two are that elves are white and goblins are black. There are a few other cultural differences, but those are rather understated in the series.

The world was introduced to us in The Goblin Emperor when Maia, the unloved son of the current emperor, is forced to take the throne after a dreadful accident killed everyone above him in the line of succession. Amongst the cast of a dozen side characters is Thara Celahar, a Witness for the Dead. Basically, a detective that can talk to dead people.

The Cemeteries of Amalo series is the continuing adventures of Celahar as he tries to solve murders and fix cemeteries (funerary rites are incredibly important in this world). Along the way he gathers his own cast of side characters that dip in and out of the narrative.

While the setup may make it sound like a mystery novel, they’re really not. The crimes and mysteries he solves are not the center of the narrative. Instead, it’s his relationships and the social navigation he must do that book focuses on.

In that way, these novels are best described as cozy. Yes, there’s murders to be solved, but also it just feels so… warm and fuzzy? It’s the book equivalent of a nice cup of tea on a rainy day.

The plot of this novel involves Thara Cellahar having to figure out how to serve as a witness to a dragon. It turns out decades ago a mining company committed a genocide against the dragons (who are sapient beings) in order to have access to the mines the dragons lived in. Through a series of misadventures and a kidnapping, Cellahar meets an angry ghost dragon who makes him promise to bring those who profit from the genocide to justice.

That kicks off a series of meetings and discussions over the rights of dragons and how does one give justice to a victim if the guilty party is long dead? Cellahar must face the fact that some very powerful elves and goblins don’t like him questioning capitalism. Plus in the background there is a possible coup in the works, but that barely matters, because Cellahar has to figure out what it means to have friends.

This series is lovely and the prose is beautiful. It is also one of the most meandering, confusing series out there. Addison has created a vibrant world. Yet she rarely stops the narrative to info dump on what the heck anything is.

I’ve read all of her books, and jumping back in again after a year or so break I found myself lost. What’s the difference between an othasmeire and an ulimeire? Is Untheileian a place or a concept? Should I know what’s going on or is this all new?

I have a policy when reading books: I’m not going to Google questions. I shouldn’t have to go to an outside source to understand what’s happening. So… I didn’t. I didn’t search for what was what or who was who.

Instead, I just vibed it. It was a little bit like learning a new language. After a while, you pick up enough clues from context to figure it out. Why stress about being one hundred percent sure what a word means, when it doesn’t really matter? Just go with the flow and enjoy the coziness of it all.

That’s probably the best advice I can give if you decide to dip your toes into the world of Osreth. Just vibe it. Don’t worry if you don’t understand all the lore or culture. Instead, latch onto what you do understand: the characters. Because Addison nails the characters.

Thara Cellahar, Witness for the Dead, is a man that believes he doesn’t deserve to have friends. His backstory is tragic and he’s obviously in need of a therapist. Too bad this is a fantasy world filled with magic and dragons, so therapy is just too unrealistic.

His entire story arc is his recognition that not only does he have people that love him, but that he is worthy of love. The book leaves the world open for future adventures of Thala Cellahar, but they will be with a Celahar in a better place mentally and emotionally. He’ll not be alone when he faces the future.

If you’re in the mood for a series that focuses on politics, manners, and the power of friendship, then give the world of Oserth a shot. This book is a great addition to the series. The vibes are immaculate. Pick up a copy of The Tomb of Dragons when it releases March 11, 2025!

These books following Thara Celehar are quite meandering and I love them for it. It’s slice of life mystery & Celehar leads a very interesting life (even if he would try to disagree with that.)

Whenever the next installment comes I’ll definitely be rereading the first 3, I think that will help me keep track of characters and I tend to enjoy these books more when the language still feels familiar.

Overall I liked this book and I will continue to pick up anything Addison publishes within this world!

A profoundly satisfying and surprising conclusion to a series that never rested in place, Tomb of Dragons feels like both a beginning and an end of Thara Celahar. For the first time in the series, the worldbuilding expands beyond the city of Amalo, and while the book feels less intimate, less personal than the previous entries, it also gives the book a sense of potential thats refreshing and exciting.

The relationships at the heart of the series, between Thara and the people who love him despite his incessant self loathing, all continue to grow in fascinating ways. There will unquestionably be disappointment and probably frustration with some of those resolutions, but the addition of several new ones, and the evolution of his role in the city, provides such exciting possibilities its hard to remain unhappy with Thara's fate.

I can't possibly recommend this series enough, and i can only hope that this is not the last book we see in this world, and not the last we see of Thara Celehar.

The most compelling installment in the series to date! Thara Celehar is traumatized by the events at the end of The Grief of Stones, and as he becomes embroiled in his most dangerous outing to date, he quickly finds himself over his head and relying on the acquaintances and bonds he's forged to date, addressing his isolationist tendencies and defining what each connection means to him. It's a great bit of storytelling deftly handled, and with the level of danger integrated into all this the book makes for surprisingly gripping reading from start to finish. I'm super curious to see what comes next!

NB: Youtube video review goes live on Feb 5th 2025 @ 3 PM EST

Slow paced and dense in the best of ways. This is a lovely story that left me wanting more. I was a little miffed that it took SO long for the two plot points of the book to twine together, but that wasn't enough to hinder my enjoyment. It does 100% set us up for more books and I'm VERY excited for that prospect.

I love the Cemeteries of Amalo series and this third and final book is no exception. I'm not much for cozy fiction normally but Addison's characters ring true as people just trying to do their best despite their own insecurities or circumstances. It is true that the resolution of the main legal conflict is very neat, and that there is little in the way of interpersonal strife among our main cast of characters, but I don't mind; the threads of the story are interesting and I like to see a justified happy resolution sometimes. It's been a while since I've returned to this series so I will admit that many names and concepts had escaped me, and I had some trouble orienting myself, but I enjoyed this very much.

Title: The Tomb of Dragons
By: Katherine Addison
Format: eARC

Summary
Tomb of Dragons is the next installment in Addison’s “Goblin Emperor” series. We pick up where Thara Celehar has lost his ability to speak with the dead. Having been stripped of his title, this book follows Celehar as he has to rediscover who he is and what his purpose is.

Review
If you were a fan of The Grief of Stones, you are going to love this one! This books was fantastic and I loved it just as much as the first few. Addison is so great at character development and I really feel like if I jumped into the world they would all be my friends. The setting is so special and its just a fantasy wonderland. I thought Addison did a great job tying things up, and there were so many twists in the plot that I did not see coming. I hope this isn’t the end of the series.

Recommend
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Addison’s first books in this universe. Definitely go and read them first before jumping into this one. Anyone who is a fantasy of science fiction and fantasy should enjoy them immensely.

The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison

This book was fantastic! So worth waiting for!!!!

Like many people, I first encountered Katherine Addison when I found the Goblin Emperor on a bunch of awards ballots and was immediately enchanted. Within six months of reading it, I doubled back and listened to the audiobook - that novel was charming and delightful and wonderful. (I also adored her unrelated book, the Angel of the Crows, and I think more people need to read that.) I was thrilled beyond belief when Tor and NetGalley gave me an eARC for The Witness For the Dead, a related book in the same universe as The Goblin Emperor. That book was a book of my heart - It was the most enjoyable reading experience I had in months when I read it the first time. I was even more exited two years ago when Tor and NetGalley gave me an eARC for The Grief of Stones, the direct sequel to the Witness for the Dead which I described at the time as “perfection itself” - a description I still stand by.

In anticipation of the Tomb of Dregons, the long awaited, third book in the Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy, I recently re-listened to audiobooks of the other books in this universe, so I have been soaking in it for weeks now. I was ecstatic when Tor and NetGalley gave me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.


This book was a joy from beginning to end. It picked up right where The Grief of Stones ended, with Thara Celehar still suffering from the loss of his ability to speak to the dead after his encounter under the hill of werewolves in the last volume. The treatment of his pain and loss feels true without being maudlin or overwhelming. Without spoiling things, the resolution to that plot point is quite satisfying. This story takes unexpected twists and turns that keep you invested in the characters and their problems. The return of some characters and plot points from prior books is perfectly done without swamping Celehar’s story. I loved this book madly and am so so so sorry it is over. I take from the marketing that this is wrapping up the Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy, but I hope this is not the last we see of these characters.

I have adored all of Katherine Addison's dense fantasies, and The Tomb of Dragons was no exception. We rejoin Thera, Witness for the Dead in Amalo, as he goes about his everyday business. This sounds like it could be boring, except that Thera's "everyday" business includes investigating murders, speaking truth to power, getting kidnapped, and more. At the end of The Grief of Stones, Thera lost his powers to speak to the dead, which means he is actually no longer the Witness for the Dead of the city. Accordingly, this book is partially about the grief of losing the ability to follow your calling. Thera has to create meaning in his life somewhere else.

Above I called Addison's fantasies "dense," and that is accurate: the text is full of created words, a different grammar, and different customs. You definitely can't read it as a standalone - even a devoted fan like me was a little confused by callbacks to previous books and some of the vocabulary. But I love being tossed in the deep end and figuring everything out, and doing it with Thera, who remains a vastly appealing character, is a joy. He's a complex mix of stubborn integrity, confident competence in his career, and chronic humility everywhere else.

Longtime fans will be thrilled to know that the emperor shows up on page! And while I never go into Addison's books for the romance, Thera gets a crush and maybe even the chance to hold hands with his love interest. (Imagine my heart eyes!!!)

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Unfortunately, this was not for me. I think I just don't get on with Addison's writing style, which is such a shame

Another win in #NoHypeNovember. - I’d would love to see Addison talked about more in Bookstagram.

My thanks to #netgalley & Tor/Forge for this ARC of book 3.

Okay- here’s the skinny:


3 Reasons to Read*

- Quick Pitch: Murder Mystery/Speaker of the Dead/justice + emperor/ red tape politics + found family/tender fantasy. TBH, after the election year, you may need this in your TBR.

- If you want something bitter sweet but also oddly satisfying.

- When you are looking for a solid audiobook or like to use a mix of media when consuming books. Confession: I’ve only listened to Addison’s work via audiobook. And even though I was so happy to be back in this world, I terribly missed the dramatics infused from the audio. (It is very much a theatrical performance that even Iäna would approve of.)

3 Reasons to Pass

- If you aren’t looking for a harder read. The dialogue is unique. I had to look up a few words. The cast of characters is pretty sizable. This series works your brain (but also comforts your heart).

- If you like your fantasy “lean”- I’d argue that all Addison’s books are like marbled steaks- there’s a little fat in them and it’s a plot to be savored.

- You aren’t ready for an incomplete marathon series. But I’d argue, I’m familiar enough with the main cast that I’ll happily wait for the next installment without losing any hype for it.


*Start with The Goblin Emperor first!

I realize this is a nerdy niche series & it’s not for everyone, but I adore it. It’s one of those worlds that I hope is like 12 + books deep.

4/5

The Tomb of Dragons! I have been excitedly waiting for this, as it wraps up The Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy. Thara Celehar is a Witness for the Dead, but what does that mean now that he’s lost the ability to actually hear the dead?

Celehar is his own biggest critic. He’s so restrained, so hard on himself, and struggles to believe that he is worthy of anything positive. Even so, he is a truly good and wholesome person, dedicated to doing what is right at any cost. Over the course of three books we’ve watched as his friends, both old and new, stand staunchly by his side through everything, consistently and patiently convincing him that YES, he IS worthy of love and friendship and goodness. This personal struggle is the backdrop for the mystery and political machinations of the plot, as he also tries to regain his powers or come to terms with who he is without them. Despite the damage to his abilities, he is caught up in the thick of a murder investigation that blows open a greater conspiracy. Also, dragons. Who doesn’t love dragons?!

Wonderful world building, a really great mystery – I love fantasy detective stories – and characters full of heart and empathy. It’s a cozy way to wrap up Celehar’s trilogy, although hopefully we’ll see him again. While The Goblin Emperor will always be my favorite character and favorite book in this world, I’ve really loved The Cemeteries of Amalo. 4 enthusiastic stars!

The Tomb of Dragons will be published March 11, and thank you Netgalley and Tor Books for kindly giving me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! This is one I’m thrilled to add to my shelves.

Honestly I will reading anything Addison writes about the goblin/elf world. Here, we follow Celehar through a couple of mysteries and watch him witness for a dragon -- while falling in love with his body guard. As with Goblin Emperor, this is a book full of quotidian moments that never fail to entrance.

The third and final instalment of The Cemeteries of Amalo provides proper closure for this quirky story of our Witness for the Dead. At the end of The Grief of Stones, Thara Celehar has lost his ability to hear the dead and thus a part of himself but he had also gained a circle of people, friends, whom he has come to care for and they care for him. The story continues in this final installment as he quests to restore his power but also there are new deaths to investigate and perhaps witness for one that is most unusual. The Tomb of Dragons does, in fact, add dragons to this world of elves and goblins, but like everything else in this idiosyncratic world, it does so in an unconventional way. The case of the dragons provides another curious aspect to this enjoyable read and I found it interesting to see how Celehar adapted to being thrown even further out of his comfort zone. The last book of the trilogy takes our protagonist's story personal and professional growth to a nice conclusion though I shall miss visiting this unusual world inhabited by peculiar characters. I would recommend reading the series in order to anyone who has not yet read The Witness for the Dead and would highly recommend these stories to anyone who enjoys cozy fantasy and mysteries.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Tor Publishing Group) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

Thank you to TOR Books and Netgalley for sending me an ebook of this novel.

I am a ride-or-die fan of Katherine Addison's world of The Goblin Emperor and The Cemeteries of Amalo series (detective fantasy) in particular.

The Tomb of Dragons did not disappoint me in the slightest, except that it ended.

I appreciate Addison's acknowledgement that writing this book was a challenge with great empathy. Long-running series require even more mental investment from the people who create them. None of the effort shows on the page -- she knocks this one right out of the park.

Thara Celehar, a witness for the dead and mystery solver, is also a being of great wounded goodness, which isn't the easiest anchor for a fantasy story. His decorum and self-control are so fixed, matched in the early books by his self-loathing, that his narratives could easily become repetitive. I can imagine that figuring out where to go next with his story, much like one of his investigations, requires a lot of false starts.

Dragons follows the pattern of Celehar mysteries, as I noted in my review for A Grief of Stones--an initial murder that unearths a more complex web of intrigue, with a set piece in the middle in which Celehar faces off against some undead danger.

That all happens here, but as the character has evolved, Addison wisely lets the story's structure evolve, too. Dragons is a more externally-driven story than the other two books in this trilogy, and marks a turn in Celehar's story.

It's also my favourite.

I won't say more about the specifics to avoid spoilers. I will say that Addison is definitely aware of her readers' fondness for Celehar and his quirks, but manages to deliver a satisfying journey without descending into fan service. It's not an easy line to walk.

I hope Addison will continue to write in the Goblin Emperor's universe. I will hungrily consume any bauble we are offered.

The Goblin Emperor books are not cozy exactly but they feature a cast of such genuinely good and kind people trying their hardest to do the right thing in difficult circumstances and I find them very cozy to read, if that makes sense — they remind me of Murderbot and the Penric books. I really enjoy the feeling that the world is bigger than what I know about it! I can follow Celehar’s adventures while still knowing that there’s so much more out there that I just haven’t seen (or don’t remember), just like in real life. It’s difficult to pull off but Katherine Addison does it really well.