Katherine Addison’s novel The Tomb of Dragons (Tor, 2025) is the concluding novel in her Cemeteries of Amalo Trilogy.

The novels follow Thara Celehar, a once-obscure prelate in an industrializing empire who once garnered unwanted attention by uncovering the people behind the assassination of the old emperor. Now he lives in the city of Amalo, on the edge of the empire, serving the residents there and doing his best to stay out of politics. An utter impossibility, given the firmness of his convictions and the fact that, as a Witness for the Dead, he often learns things from the Amalo’s corpses that bring him back into the political sphere and even, appallingly, sometimes attract the attention of journalists.

In this interview, Addison describes the influences of Early Modern England on her work and the process of discovering her characters’ religious lives during the writing process. She discusses depicting characters with depression and what it’s like to disagree with your protagonist. We chat about envisioning different legal systems, avoiding the French Revolution, and the depiction of the working class in fantasy.

The Tomb of Dragons is a thoughtful and energetic conclusion to an intricate set of books and it was a joy discussing it with the author.

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DAB July 16 - 2025