fabrisse

I've only read 46 pages but nothing much has happened yet. The protagonist (who I didn't much like in "Witness for the Dead") is exhausted from running one (one!) errand a day. He gets praise from his friends for taking on an impossible task. The task in question: sorting papers. There better be some other plot thread I can follow in the next 20 pages or so because I don't want to read about incompetent people in my free time.

Also Addison has completely given up on explaining her fantasy language to her readers. What is michenmeire? What are ulimeirei? There is no index in this book. I guess I should have retained the knowledge from the last book or maybe it was translated in the one I skipped.

ETA:

I'm at page 125 now and Celehar is driving me crazy. First off, why do I not like the character? He is a doormat in almost every interaction and considering that he has a high position with a lot of power his inaction and unwillingness to confront people makes him unsuited for his work (his calling, as he says). He - and I know that's a pet-peeve of mine - is also a very fussy eater. The amount of times he thinks about drinking tea (oh no, what if there is still theine in it when it's already so late in the evening?) is grating. He also (or maybe that's just Addison's writing style) seems to think that you can't have a conversation when eating. The plot usually pauses completely to describe him eating a bowl of soup or some type of chicken dish. He couldn't possibly eat a spoonful, swallow and then talk. He can only do one thing and has to give his dinner his maximum attention. Like a child.

But the reason why I'm writing right now is this: Celehar is unable to lie when he is doing his duty. Funny how he has such high expecations of his conduct when it costs him nothing and he doesn't have to suffer the consequences. He is told that him retelling what happened to him would upset a good deal of people and his reaction is "well I can't lie so that's no concern of mine". He could just tell people that he can't talk about the thing that happened to him but his interpretation of "I musn't tell lies" is "I have to tell every detail to anyone who asks." Again, that is the worldview of a child.

Now contrast this with the scenes at the start of the book where Celehar notices that work hasn't been done for 50 (!) years. "Hey how about you start looking at the paperwork you have ignored since you started working here?" Somehow his oath of not telling lies doesn't extend to telling his employer what he has found out. I know it doesn't count when it's not work as witness for the dead but that is hair splitting because the work in the first part of the book also includes a lot of dead people who were not buried in the proper rites. But because none of them are able to petition him officially he can use this gentle approach of doing fuck-all. He is even saying that most of the people are poor and can't appeal to the authorities. That's your job, Celehar! You can help them in your official capacities. You can make a stink, you can go to the newspaper. You can go to the emperor. You can tell the truth.

Like I know the tomb of dragons and the cemetery from the first part of the book are mirrored but Celehar's reaction is wildy different. Let's see where this is going.

ETA2: page 200. Celehar can't pack warm gloves or a proper coat for his trip and he is unable to pay his rent in advance (when he has to leave for 2 weeks). He constantly is embarrassed to accept help (warm clothes, the money for a return ticket etc) but his network always picks up the pieces. And this is not framed as being poor or having terrible foresight. He is simply relying on other people to bail him out constantly. I mean the man gets on an air plane without packing clothes.

ETA3: page 274 I'm not done bitching about this book. How long does it take the characters to read a letter? The book started with a trip to a single office where paperwork has piled up over 50 years. Even though there are three, sometimes four people, clearing the papers Celehar thinks it will take weeks !! to clear the desk or the space in front of a closet door. He even mentions that most of the paper can be trashed immediately (tram time tables so it's basically a room full of junk mail). Sorry but is so unrealistic. The are looking for a register and I imagine that many of the letters that have been written 50 years ago can't be answered any more. So what is the hold-up? Do they try to work through it? What you do is make three piles: trash (the biggest one), important but needs additional work, important and can be accomplished immediately. Sorting this fucking room shouldn't take more than a week with three people constantly working.

One other thing that threw me was the conversation with Iäna whose friendship is "intense" and Celehar confronts him about his constant involvement. That came out of nowhere for me because Iäna doesn't behave differently than any of the other characters in Celehar's orbit. They are all bending over backwards for him, accompanying him on his trips to the store or bringing him letters and inviting him to dine with him. They all turn up whenever Celehar needs them and without lives of their own that could get in the way of Celehar's story.

ETA4: page 309 sorry but not even the romance can save this book. We are informed Celehar has feelings for the captain. He spends months with him and we barely see them interact, we are being told they talk but there is barely any dialogue to get to know the captain. This is just bad story telling at this point. I hate to say it but all the books in the series have gotten worse. I LOVE the Goblin Emperor, I've read the book so many times. To see the world turned into copaganda (where people just have to confess to murder to be convicted for the crime, no evidence needed as long as everyone else agrees that the person is guilty) is honestly painful. This will be the last book of the series I read. I will finish it but I doubt I will ever read it again.