These books are sad, contemplative, and lovely. I had a bit of a hard time getting in to the first one because the tone and pacing are pretty unique, but once I sank into it I really enjoyed myself. Right away with The Grief of Stones I was able to get back into the right mindset and I enjoyed it even more. I know there will be at least one more book following Celahar, but I find myself hoping there will be more than that. We need, like, Murderbot levels of novellas here. (They are probably more like short novels because they’re over 200 pages, but that is a technicality.)
Also, I just want more people to read these! Specifically if you have read and enjoyed Becky Chambers’ Monk & Robot books, I think the Cemeteries of Amalo will be right up your alley, though they are more melancholy in tone. (Note: These are technically sequels to The Goblin Emperor, but you don’t have to read that book to enjoy these, though I do recommend it!)
It’s just so satisfying to see Celehar come back from his grief and loneliness and build a new community in Amalo. I am very invested in his story, and just want him to be happy and professionally fulfilled. The magic and world gets a lot of building out in these books, too, in a way that it didn’t in The Goblin Emperor, because the focus of that book was political in nature and the main character was an Emperor, but here the focus is on daily life (and death).
I waited a baffling amount of time between release date and actually reading this, but now I find myself itching to get at book three, which isn’t being published until late 2023 at the earliest.