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kareila_booksIn my mind, this book had several strikes against it at the outset: the impossible-to-remember names and social titles, the pointless petty politics, and worst of all, no chapter breaks! The Goblin Emperor had some of the same difficulties, but at least it had properly numbered chapters...
Eventually the primary characters won me over, though, especially once the action takes the protagonist into an opera house. The director of the opera is a fun and flamboyant character who is the perfect foil to the drab and self-effacing Celehar, the titular Witness. Celehar spends most of his time investigating deaths and trying to bring peace to those who remain. His inquiry into the accident that killed the previous Emperor was a minor plotline of The Goblin Emperor, but this book is all investigations all the time, so for that reason, I expect some readers may enjoy it more, and others may be disappointed that it isn't more of a direct sequel. That said, the author does plan to make this the first of a series about Celehar's adventures.
Eventually the primary characters won me over, though, especially once the action takes the protagonist into an opera house. The director of the opera is a fun and flamboyant character who is the perfect foil to the drab and self-effacing Celehar, the titular Witness. Celehar spends most of his time investigating deaths and trying to bring peace to those who remain. His inquiry into the accident that killed the previous Emperor was a minor plotline of The Goblin Emperor, but this book is all investigations all the time, so for that reason, I expect some readers may enjoy it more, and others may be disappointed that it isn't more of a direct sequel. That said, the author does plan to make this the first of a series about Celehar's adventures.
