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Ratings & Reviews for

Witch King

Martha Wells

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5 stars

4,853 (24%)

4 stars

7,263 (36%)

3 stars

5,402 (27%)

2 stars

1,940 (9%)

1 star

496 (2%)

Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,118 reviews

Rebecca Roanhorse

Author 58 books9,595 followers

May 15, 2023

Martha Wells has a wonderful talent for creating loveable killers. Well, at least I love them, and I was totally enamored with the main character in this book, the titular Witch King, Kai. He's a body-jumping, life sucking demon who joins a small band of unlikely rebels and helps lead a revolution against some genocidal bad dudes. I don't think that's too spoilery, but the story unspools in dual timelines so we first meet Kai in the present where has been betrayed and buried in a watery grave (water limits his powers) and must figure out who did this to him and why. Then there's the revolution part which is told in a second timeline where we follow his life from inception in the human/mortal world to said revolution. We meet his ragtag group of friends, add new found family, and go on a bloody and violent adventure. I loved it!

Fair warning, the worldbuilding is dense, and Wells does not hold your hand. You are thrown in head first and expected to swim.* So my advice, dear reader, is to swim! Tread water if you must, and when the world finally comes together in your head and you can follow all the different cultures and threads and magic, it will be worth it.

My only complaint is that the characters are all so interesting and varied that I'd love to spend more time with each of them. Yes to Kai, as much as Wells wants to give me. Whole freaking books of Kai. But I'd also love more of the supporting characters, some of who we get little to no background on but still pop on the page and hold their own. Alas. Just not enough room. Perhaps a second book would help, although this feels very much like a standalone to me.

*an apt metaphor for this book. You'll see why.

John Mauro

Author 6 books817 followers

September 20, 2024

My complete review of Witch King is published at Grimdark Magazine.

Witch King is the new standalone dark fantasy from acclaimed Murderbot author Martha Wells. Witch King marks her much-anticipated return to fantasy after completing her Books of the Raksura series.

Kai, the eponymous Witch King, is a powerful demon with a necromancy-type magic enabling him to occupy the bodies of deceased mortals. As the novel opens, Kai slowly regains consciousness to find that his mortal body has been murdered and his spirit is imprisoned in some sort of water cage:

“Waking was floating to the surface of a soft world of water, not what Kai had expected. Reaching out in that darkness, he found a cold, black sea ebbing and flowing, dropping away like a tide rolling out. Something was wrong with his body, everything was impossibly distant.”

Witch King alternates between two timelines. In the present day, Kai tries to piece together the puzzle of who betrayed him. The present-day timeline is interspersed with chapters from the past, showing a more powerful Kai imposing his will on the world. Clues from the past timeline help to inform the reader about the present-day narrative.

Kai is a fascinating character who exhibits a wry sense of humor, making Witch King fun to read in places, such as in the following exchange:

“I didn’t know you were a…demon.”
“You idiot. I’m the demon.”

Despite these humorous moments, most of Witch King is a dry read that fails to establish much meaningful connection to the world or characters. Although Kai exhibits sparks of charisma, the other characters mostly fall flat.

Martha Wells’s writing is solid, but Witch King suffers from slow pacing and a dense, disengaging style that makes the book a struggle to read. As a result, I never felt fully invested in the story or characters.

There are hints of great worldbuilding in Witch King, but unfortunately it is never fully developed in a satisfying way. Martha Wells drops the reader into the world at the beginning of the story, but her approach generates more questions than answers. Overall, the worldbuilding feels surprisingly shallow, and Witch King proves to be an unnecessarily challenging read where the payoff is not commensurate with the effort involved.

Despite its intriguing premise and flashes of sardonic humor, Witch King fails to deliver a story with enough depth or emotional connection for me to care as a reader. Grimdark readers may want to skip this one and read some of the author’s back catalog instead.

Nataliya

897 reviews14.8k followers

June 4, 2023

I shouldn’t have doubted Martha Wells, even if it took me a bit of time to fully connect with this book. I should have trusted her all along. No, it wasn’t visceral love at first sight, it took some thinking and perseverance and yes, trust — but in the end it all beautifully came together with cerebral appreciation and certainly paid off. Well, sometimes you’re gotta put in some effort to get the rewards.

The ghoul choked out, “I didn’t know you were a ...”
“Say it.” Kai smiled.
“… a demon.”
“You idiot.” Kai leaned closer to whisper, “I’m *the* demon.”

Wells throws the reader right into this world with no handholding, no exposition and no backstory and trusts you to figure it out as you go along, and adds a parallel earlier timeline where you need to do the same — in a bit of a measured slow burn that requires a bit of patience. The worldbuilding happens as we go along, organically, and there are no infodumps, and I quite appreciate that. I love when the author has confidence in readers and that confidence is deserved. I don’t want spoonfeeding and handholding — and it’s good since there’s none of that here.

“Could you manage not to find any more unique ways to destroy yourself until after we find this Hierarch? I don’t really care to die alone.”
“Well, I’ll try.” It wasn’t like Kai could make any promises right now.

It’s a complex world with much of it not explained (but hinted at enough to get the general idea), and if Wells decides to use this setting for future books there’s plenty to build on (and I will gladly read those). But as a stand-alone it’s very good, too.

Like Murderbot stories that are built around the protagonist rather than the plot, this for me was built around Kai (or, if you prefer, demon Kaiisteron, Fourth Prince of the Underearth, the titular Witch King) and his interactions and relationships with the rest of the cast, set in an adventure quest to find and free a friend, with a bit of politics playing out in the end and glimpses of the wider world around peaking my interest. And we also see younger Kai start his journey in the earlier timeline and see how those friendships were forged. It’s the depth of friendship and trust and respect between the characters - Kai, Ziede, Tahren, Bashasa - that is fascinating to see.

Plus, it’s a damn good adventure.

4 stars. Martha Wells, you are winning my heart even with books that do not have sarcastically misanthropic human/bot constructs.

“Where exactly are we going next?” she asked. “Besides away from here?”
“I don’t know yet,” Kai admitted. He had meant to ask Dahin for ideas. But the vivid memory of sitting here with Bashasa was all he could think of now. He said, “To find something to unburn.”
Tahren flicked a knowing look at him, and Ziede said with decision, “I like that.”
And together they stepped into the air.

——————

Thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

——————

Also posted on my blog.

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carol.

1,681 reviews9,256 followers

February 16, 2024

Martha, Martha, Martha. What a relief this book must have been for you while working on Murderbot. I 100% get why your new 'Bot fans might not enjoy it in the least. I think it does add to your legacy and I would 100% put you up there with one of the few great writers who can do both fantasy and sci-fi in convincing ways.

Martha, Martha, Martha. What a relief this book must have been for you while working on Murderbot. I 100% get why your new 'Bot fans might not enjoy it in the least. I think it does add to your legacy and I would 100% put you up there with one of the few great writers who can do both fantasy and sci-fi in convincing ways.

"The girl said, 'Do you have to do that to people to live?'
'No,' Kai told her. 'I did it because I wanted to. And because bad people taste better than good ones.' He held out his hand."

This is an interesting work, and it just isn't going to work for a lot of people. Narrative goes back and forth between two time periods, although as expected, they dovetail at the end. The world is a very different one, with 'demons' inhabiting the space under the earth. Are these a re-imagining of modern religious demons? Quite possibly. The world is a difficult one with in the midst of various tribal and religious conflicts. If I have any sense of cultural references, it would be nomadic type cultures in warmer climates , or Middle Ages type religious conflicts, but truly, I don't think it is rooted in any direct place or time.

"'But this sounds like something that would have been in the old Summer Halls.'
'I'm not dim, you little snake, I know that place was destroyed.' Grandmother took another cake. She paused while a servant stood to hand them both cups of the ginger milk, Kai accepted his and the scent was like a breath of childhood." (12%)

It is clear very quickly that the main plot is a search-and-rescue, and it will take many turns along the way. Like all of Well's works, I found it to be mostly character focused; Kai, the 'Witch King,' has confidence, melancholy, and loss, although he is more hopeful than some of her other protagonists. As a 'demon,' he is able to both absorb other's souls and body-hop to some degree, which might make him a bit of an anti-hero for some. Her cultures are comfortably representational, and that's such a relief, honestly. As noted by my friend mark, it did not feel like virtue signaling.

I had read the first chapter for free on my kindle, and if you are new to Wells' fantasy, I suggest you do the same. I think mark monday has the most balanced review, noting strengths and shortcomings. This will work best, I think, for fans of Claire North and for people who enjoy a bit of complicated story-telling.

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Holly

1,494 reviews1,441 followers

May 27, 2023

Sometimes fantasy books have so much complexity that it’s almost impossible to ingest them via audiobook format. When the very first “chapter” of the audiobook is literally three and a half minutes of listing characters and their descriptions which just leaves you so confused that it might as well have been in a foreign language, that isn’t a good sign. After suffering through that I was continually lost listening to chapter after chapter where characters, places, and factions were casually dropped into conversations with unfamiliar sounding names that were difficult for me to remember, no less keep track of. I truly think my reading experience would have been greatly improved had I read this via hard copy or ebook instead. But alas, I only received the audiobook ARC from Netgalley and so I couldn’t switch to one of those other formats as this book hasn’t been published yet. But when it does get published, don’t make my mistake and avoid the audiobook for this one. The narrator did a fine job, for me it was just the sheer volume of new unfamiliar names and terms that made it prohibitive to listen to this. And I say that as someone who loves 900+ page high fantasy books.

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Jorie

363 reviews127 followers

June 8, 2023

Have you been playing a lot of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom lately? Is Ganon making your 2023 reading goals suffer? Do you want a break from screentime, but can't seem to find a book as vivid and exciting as Link's latest adventure?

Dive into the world of Martha Wells' Witch King!

Follow Kai, the titular Witch King, through two interweaving adventures - one in his past, the other his present.

Formerly, he joined a revolutionary effort rife with intrigue, heists, and jailbreaks - up until he was betrayed. In the present, he's on a mission to find out Whodunnit, bringing new friends and old with him along the way.

Because, despite being a soul-sucking, body-hopping demon, Kai is a soft boy 👼

His world is seen in two phases: the first, in his past, is ruled over by a class of evil angelic beings known as the Hierarchs who run the mortal world with an oppressive, MLM-like structure. In the present day, it is a world rebuilding, much like Breath of the Wild's Hyrule. Cultures have been displaced and taken root in new places; some languages died, others became dominant. And peace remains uncertain.

Both worlds, past and present, are ones of exploration and puzzle-solving. Whispers in one timeline hint at what's to become or has been in the other. The characters are tasked with navigating such places as forgotten ruins and underwater grottos, all in search of ancient mysteries. The vibes are very reminiscent to me of the heart of The Legend of Zelda, the lantern-guided cave crawls Shigeru Miyamoto did as a kid that inspired his later work.

What makes these investigations and locations most compelling, however, is the company Kai keeps. The small found family he builds is so sweet, and his relationship with each member is unique. He has a wry back-and-forth with master sorceress Ziede, time and patience for neurodivergent Dahin, and charged banter with both Ramad (present) and Bashara (past). And everyone develops their own relationship with each other separate from Kai; I especially loved the bond formed between plucky young street urchin Sanja and rescued witch Tenes 💕

Be warned, though, Witch King is a challenging book. Like being dropped into an open-world game with no clothes, sword, or shield, the action starts immediately with characters, places, powers, and species all being introduced in a whirlwind. This doesn't happen just once, but once in both timelines. And the pace never lets up — never throws any bones — just expects the reader to retain info and keep up. It makes the book a dynamic and brisk read, but one that demands your full attention.

For this reason, I got to page 348 on my first reading attempt — right at the story's climax! — and had to admit to myself I hadn't a clue what was going on. So, I went right back to the beginning to start all over again, and found myself much rewarded for it.

I better have been after completing a total of 182% of this book! 😅

If you are ready to engage fully with this fantasy world, to immerse yourself in it like Link making the leap from the sky above to Hyrule Field down below, I can't recommend enough that you go for it. Have so much fun!

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Emily (Books with Emily Fox on Youtube)

612 reviews67.3k followers

Want to read

September 20, 2021

Idc that there's no info about this... I'm reading it!

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Phrynne

3,694 reviews2,500 followers

January 18, 2023

I was lucky enough to be able to read an advance copy of this book which is a new epic fantasy from Martha Wells.

This author has a real talent for writing charismatic main characters (Murderbot comes to mind immediately) and she has done it again with Kai, a demon from the Underworld. Kai has been part of a scheme whereby demons are brought up above to inhabit the bodies of members of high families. This works for both sides as the demons expand their way of life, and the family members do not die but do acquire super skills.

The book is written with alternate sections of the past and the present. Each past chapter cleverly feeds information to the reader which is needed to really understand the events of the present time. Staying alert is essential. Once or twice I found myself confused as to whether I was reading about now or then.

A lot happens and it is a very difficult book to put down at all. I found myself completely rapt by the main characters particularly Kai and Zaide. Kai is the born killer you still have to love. Even when he tosses his eyeballs on the floor - you have to read it to find out why - he is still the best. Zaide has some wonderful skills too like controlling the wind and peeling people's skins off layer by layer. These are demons after all.

Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy. I am not sure if this is a stand-alone or the first book in a new series. The ending, although not a cliff hanger, leaves the way open for more.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

3500-2022

K.J. Charles

Author 63 books10.7k followers

Read

August 31, 2023

I'm not entirely sure what I make of this. I love Martha Wells' writing: that goes without saying. Her descriptions are outstandingly vivid and she choreographs actions scenes remarkably. The world built here is huge, wide-ranging, and deeply conceived. It takes a while to get your head round, or it did me, in large part because of the back and forth structure of the book, which flicks between past and present throughout, but it is immensely well done. That structure was, I thought, really effective in conveying the great agony of Kai's life: that he lives among people whose lifespans are mayflies compared to his potential existence (he is a demon who can take over dead bodies, a marvellous idea well played out). I really liked how Kai's gender is essential within him, the soul, and not tied to the genitalia of the body he inhabits. Quite.

Lots to love. But I kind of...felt I was missing the part of the story I wanted. The flashback sequence is all about how Kai's people (humans and demons) are brutally attacked and subjugated, and how he forms an alliance with various people including Bashasa, a human political type, to rebel. We get to a point of success and then jump forward several decades, when things have started going wrong, at which point we learn that Bashasa was to become Kai's deep ally and friend and possibly lover, and they did a huge amount together in the way of rule, and now he's dead. And it just feels like there's a huge amount of Kai's story missing. Like, if this was a fantasy trilogy, we're omitting book two.

Martha Wells knows exactly what she's doing in the realm of fantasy, and she told this story this way on purpose. I get that. In a lot of ways this is a book about picking yourself up and going on. Kai's been the hero and saved the world and now he's got to do it all again and he's tired and unwilling to engage with life to the same extent as he used to be. I think perhaps it's a very post-pandemic book.

edit: apparently I lost my final paragraph, thank you GR, ever helpful.

It's a fascinating read and the plot kept me hooked over its sizeable length. I did want more emotional engagement, more emotional highs. But I think I understand why we don't get them, and why this is a book that focuses on aftermath, and carrying on.

epic-fantasy

Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin

3,609 reviews11.1k followers

January 4, 2023

*Thank you Emily/Tor for a NetGalley Arc*

MY REVIEW: 2 Stars

I love Murderbot so much and I thought I would love this just as much, but unfortunately I did not.

I did enjoy the beginning, but it just got confusing and boring to me. I will stick with Murderbot for sure.

DNF

*Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for a digital copy of this book!

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

BLOG: https://melissa413readsalot.blogspot....

2-stars cool-cover dnf-skim-finish

Melanie

1,254 reviews102k followers

April 15, 2023

ARC provided by the publisher - thank you so much

ahhhh this is a hard one to rate, because i really loved these characters, especially our mc, kai. and i loved the start so very much, because we are truly given a character sheet and then dropped right into the story of a demon prince, who is able to inhabit different bodies, who is locked in a tomb underneath the water. and he is trying to remember his lost memories so he can figure out who betrayed and assassinated him, and locked him in this watery grave. like, that sounds perfect, true? but as the story went on, i just cared less and less and i really had to make myself pick up this book more times than not. i finished the very last pages just not feeling much, sadly. i just dont know, this book has a lot of good, and i love martha well's writing and mind, but i just wasn't invested in this book the way i wish i could have been. maybe it was the time i picked this up? i am not sure, but i wish you happier reading than i had, especially because i do believe there is a lot of good in this one.

trigger + content warnings: death, murder, violence, gore, implied child abuse, blood, loss of a loved one, fear of water (+ talk of that fear a lot), captivity, slavery, self harm to prove immortality (i think this was a cut on the palm or wrist but i didn't specify in my notes >.< i am sorry), war, battle, very brief mentions of water snakes and spiders, drowning.

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➽ 1.) All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) ★★★★

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mark monday

1,794 reviews5,819 followers

February 2, 2024

Martha Wells turns everything upside down in this thrill-packed adventure that has its cast of superpowered immortals traveling across an atypical fantasy world as they seek to unravel a conspiracy and find a kidnapped friend, while the occasional flashback chapters detail a revolution against an insidious imperial power. this is the opposite of a European-derived fantasy, as it features various nomadic and Arabic or Persian-inspired societies, matriarchal cultures, heroic witches, and benign demons who include the Witch King himself (complete with a very positive spin on both possession and blood magic). the multiple magic systems on display all worked, as did the book's take on angels, who are basically rigid, haughty jerks riding flying chariots. the novel is a lot of flash and bang, with a strong undercurrent of melancholy and sadness as well, due to the multiple examples of slavery and genocide that once occurred while this world was subjugated by its former colonial masters. despite that darkness, Wells' story is bright and cheeky and very easy going down. at times I was pleasantly reminded of His Dark Materials, which is always appreciated. also: swimming through a drowned city!

the book has all of the most current of progressive ideologies on display, alongside more classic progressive tropes such as the centering of female characters and a strong critique of empire-building and colonialism. in other books, I've found attempts to merge modern progressive ideals with genre templates to be incredibly risible (looking at you, Every Fart a Doorway and The Book of Assholes); those chores were unfinishable for me. the virtue signalling from their supposedly enlightened authors just rang so hollow and felt so forced and so fake, it was nauseating. not so with Witch King! Wells did just what she needed to do to make it all work: she made sure that all of the au courant race and trans/gender ideologies on display were organic to her world and its characters; not shoehorned in by a clumsy author, but made an intrinsic part of the worldbuilding and the characterization. and so the book has multiple trans characters who are referred to by the pronouns of their inner selves, not their bodies; nonbinary characters; a non-jarring use of "they" as a default, until the gender of the character is established (and who include theys); a distinct queerness in the descriptions of clothing and hair choices as well as in the actual gender roles of various ethnic cultures; complete normalization of same-sex love and marriage; communal societies favored over rigidly hierarchical societies (demon royalty and their servants chat and eat together as equals; the villains are literally named "Hierarchs" and are aided by "Patriarchs" LOL); and a cast that is mainly all the shades of brown (with whiteness relegated to the evil imperialists and those obnoxious angels, LOL again). the book is basically a woke wet dream, and even as a person who has many issues with the modern far-left and its often annoying ideological stances, I could only sit back and admire the layered complexity of the author's vision and how she made it all feel so easy, so well-integrated, so wonderfully natural.

why 3 stars and not 4? as is often the case with the many 3-star books I've fully enjoyed, it comes down to the quality of the prose itself. despite my admiration for the seamless inclusion of (presumably) the author's politics, the fascinating cultures, the brisk pacing... the writing itself felt fairly basic, almost Young Adult at times. I wanted Tanith Lee but I got fantasy John Scalzi; the prose did not sing. the same goes for the dialogue, which was often too snarky and too modern in its vernacular, and its characters, who were fun but surprisingly shallow despite the richness of their backstories and cultures. despite being immortal witches and demons and angels, no one felt strange, let alone nonhuman; they felt like the friendly colleagues I see nearly every day. I also question the title, which felt bizarrely chauvinist given the very female-forward nature of this book (plus our hero Kaiisteron is literally not the king of the witches!). ah well, that said, 3 stars is still a positive rating for me and I had a very positive experience reading this entirely enjoyable book.

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myo ⋆｡˚ ❀ *

1,159 reviews8,128 followers

June 17, 2023

well… isn’t it depressing when you’re anticipated read just isn’t that girl? in the beginning it was pretty cool but i just ended up getting bored. this had plot and found family but unfortunately i just didn’t care about the characters. also the audio narrator sucked.

Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany)

2,653 reviews4,351 followers

May 28, 2023

1.5 stars rounded up

*sigh* Listen, I've loved everything else I've read from Martha Wells and I had very high hopes for Witch King. Unfortunately it just didn't hit for me the way I wanted it to, which is disappointing. The premise and the world are interesting, but the story is told in such a convoluted way and never really cared about the characters.

A convoluted plot CAN work for me (see Ruin of Kings) but I have to be attached to at least some of the characters and more invested in the payoff of said plot. Witch King offers an inventive world of demons, body-swapping and big picture political machinations. There were ideas with potential, but we rarely got to see a deeper, more emotional side to Kai and his relationships with other characters aren't all that fleshed out. And because he is this immortal being, you really need that emotional impact to care about his story. The stakes are unclear and the flipping back and forth between past and present feels unnecessarily convoluted. I think it's intended to create suspense and mystery, but I just found it confusing and frustrating.

Unfortunately I just didn't have a good time with this one. I also didn't like the audio narrator very much. He was a bit emotionally flat and not great at giving different characters personality, which only added to the problem. I'll continue to read other things from Martha Wells, but this was a miss for me. I received an audio review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Robin

460 reviews3,386 followers

June 28, 2024

I love my chaotic found family

Following a band of unlikely allies tethered together across the past and present, Wells delivers an intricate examination into the lingering echoes of revolution and the ties that forever bind us. A rare high fantasy that establishes its characters and world stage so strongly from its first moments. Accompanied by characters that are wry, a bit cynical, and lovable above all else, prepare to fall in love with this epic fantasy adventure.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this review copy

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Mogsy

2,171 reviews2,720 followers

June 7, 2023

2 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2023/05/30/...

Taking a break from her sci-fi Murderbot Diaries series, Martha Wells makes a return to the fantasy genre with Witch King, following the titular demon prince Kaiisteron. A powerful being capable of taking on the forms of deceased mortals, Kai begins this tale by awakening from a long imprisonment, disoriented and separated from his body—his murdered body, now resting in its watery grave. Severely weakened and unable to remember much from before, all he can be certain of is that he was betrayed.

Upon freeing himself, Kai sets out to solve the mystery of his own death in a narrative told in two branches. One follows our protagonist in the present as he emerges into a changed world looking for allies and learning the new status quo, while the other sees him trying to retrace the pathways back into the past. Along the way, he receives the aid of several traveling companions, most with motivations and quests of their own. As revelations of a greater conflict come to light, Kai won’t hesitate to use his destructive magic if it means finding out the answers and keeping his friends safe.

As much as I enjoy her Murderbot adventures, I first began reading Martha Wells with her Books of the Raksura so you can imagine my excitement at the idea of reading her fantasy again. Unfortunately though, I ended up being somewhat disappointed with Witch King. On the surface, the novel had everything I wanted: fully fleshed characters with drive, check. An elaborate secondary world, check. A multi-layered plotline with grand conflicts, check. Yet sometimes you can have a book that is extremely well put together but which still fails to provide an enjoyable experience.

The problem here wasn’t the content of the package, but its delivery which was completely devoid of any charm. The author’s prose, which ironically came across so much more alive and vibrant when she was writing about a robot, felt flat and sterile here, presented with all the charisma of a technical manual. The story also suffers from poor pacing and an unnecessarily huge cast list, full of characters for whom I felt little to nothing. Even Kai himself was a snooze to read about, and as a result, I never truly felt engaged in his quest.

And that’s a real shame, because underneath the blah there’s actually a good story, but sadly the distance I felt between myself and what’s happening on the page was something that consistently stayed with me to the very end. This indifference also went on to affect my feelings on pretty much all other aspects of this book, including world-building which felt muted and unrealized. Still, speaking as a reader who prioritizes character development and relationships, I think my lack of emotional connection to Kai was the biggest letdown of all because Wells is usually so much better in this area.

Bottom line, if you’re coming from the Murderbot Diaries hoping for more of the same kind of quirky character-building and dry wit from Witch King, you’ll likely be disappointed. The only dryness you’ll get is in the writing, which made reading this one a struggle as I frequently found myself losing focus or just plain bored. Being a fan of Martha Wells, it hurts not being able to recommend this, but she’s written books that are much better.

arcs-and-galleys fantasy magic

Nick Borrelli

396 reviews440 followers

March 28, 2023

Martha Wells is a legendary author in both the fantasy and science fiction genres. I've been an admirer for a long time and her Books of the Raksura series is among my very favorites. Wells' recent Murderbot Diaries expanded her fanbase exponentially and resulted in an entire new segment of readers being made aware of her phenomenal storytelling prowess. Wells' latest book WITCH KING is her first fantasy release in a decade and I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy from the publisher. Needless to say I was very excited to check this one out and settled in for what I assumed was going to be another cracking story from an author who has wowed me countless times before.

WITCH KING is a book where you are dropped immediately into the story without any context or explanation and you kind of have to piece together the plot as the story progresses. Some people don't enjoy books like this but I actually like this method. It immediately creates a sense of mystery that needs unravelling and as a reader I feel much more engaged as I try along with the characters to work things out. Also the chapters alternate between the present day and an earlier timeline that is suspected will eventually shed more light into what caused things to be where they are in the opening chapter.

This is a slow burn type of fantasy where the action is minimal but when there are moments of conflict they are powerful and leave a lasting impression. There are also many different factions to keep track of whether they be witches, demons who go back and forth from the underworld to the above world, the invading force of Hierarchs, and various leaders of the surrounding kingdoms. So this isn't a light and easy fantasy read by any means. You really have to pay attention the entire time and wade through some stretches where not a lot happens but the dialogue and flashbacks are crucial.

The characters are portrayed in such a way that none of them are really all that likeable and morally gray might even be an understatement in many cases. That being said, the main character Kai is an intriguing one and if you can call a demon charismatic, Kai fits the bill. The whole demon angle is one that I found fascinating as they can only be truly killed in the above world, and if they are they must find another host to occupy if they wish to continue travelling between worlds and maintaining their powers. It really gave this classic epic fantasy an edgy element that made it that much more of a supernatural and mystical read throughout.

In the end I found WITCH KING to be incredibly absorbing and a complex (in a good way) fantasy story. Much like Robin Hobb and Tad Williams' books, Wells takes her time imparting the story but if you have the patience to stick with it the entire way, the reward is well worth it. I don't know if this is a standalone book or will be a continuing series. There is definitely a resolution at the end but it also feels like there may be much more to tell about this world and these characters and I certainly hope that we get to revisit it again. Martha Wells has written a fantasy book that should make not only her devoted fans extremely pleased but also the latecomers to her work as well. Highly recommended for those who enjoy thoughtful epic fantasy with a supernatural twist.

Overhaul

405 reviews1,143 followers

September 22, 2024

Después de ser asesinado, con su conciencia confinada en una elaborada trampa de agua e incapaz de notar el paso del tiempo, Kai se despierta y se encuentra con un mago menor que intenta aprovecharse de su magia. El pobre no sabe con quién está jugando.

Pero ¿Por qué encerraron a Kai? ¿Qué ha cambiado en el mundo desde su asesinato? ¿Y qué hay detrás de esa misteriosa Coalición que parece estar ganando influencia en su mundo?

Kai necesitará reunir a sus aliados y recurrir a toda su magia del dolor si quiere responder incluso a la más sencilla de estas preguntas.

Y no le van a gustar las respuestas..

Abandonado al 60% más que menos. Razones:

Es un denso y complejo libro para no ser muy largo. Demasiado para mi gusto. Ya sabemos que para gustos colores.

Una historia con muchos personajes, títulos y mucha información a calzador entre el pasado y presente. Mucha como para que me acuerde de todo.

Dentro de que el buen puñado de personajes principales y su historia que sigue dos cauces entre el pasado y presente, en este caso no ha sido suficiente para que quiera seguir y conocer el devenir de los personajes. Aunque he leído por ahí que para algunos el final que tiene no fue satisfactorio.

El Worldbuilding es extenso, quizás es demasiado y como resultado mi lectura de este libro se resume en podría tener potencial pero quiere dar y decir tanto a la vez que se queda en tierra de nadie.

El Worldbuilding es extenso pero poco profundo, sin un ancla, llegando a ser un buen reto seguirlo y la introducción de tanto personaje.

Me ha parecido demasiado y absolutamente innecesario.

Se centra tanto en dar y regalar más y más personajes, títulos y Worldbuilding que pierde enfoque en lo demás.

De hecho termina generándo más preguntas que respuestas nos da.

Es una pena con la trama interesante, los personajes y que es independiente no una puñetera saga más que abrir.

La acción y magia es buena con una idea básica y sencilla pero interesante y efectiva. Si bien las escenas de acción que tiene no me han cautivado sí han sido buenas y lo mejor del libro.

A mi parecer creo que se vende o da una idea engañosa en plan como rey demonio malo malisimo que finalmente es liberado, ya tenemos al malo de la película y es el protagonista y en fin no es así.

Aquí se queda...✍️🎩

Mara

1,835 reviews4,203 followers

April 10, 2023

3.5 stars - Is anyone surprised that a new Martha Wells cast is delightful & memorable? No, no they are not, since character work has been a consistent strength in her work. The writing and setting were also great, but plot wise, this was oddly paced for my tastes. I think this would have benefited from being shorter (dare I say even a novella)

arc ebook-owned

✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans)

2,474 reviews7,896 followers

July 10, 2023

💀 DNF at 22%.

This is how I pictured myself upon finishing this book before I started reading it:

I mean, seeing how quite a few Murderbot fans don't seem to be overly excited by this book, I figured that I, not being the biggest Murderbot enthusiast out there (I much prefer Bot 9's adventures, thank you very much), would love this story. Goes to show one can be both viciously nefarious and a total, complete idiot.

Anyhoo and stuff, the premise of the book and the idea of Kai's character are both great, which makes this debacle even more painful. I really tried not to DNF this one but I nearly fell into a coma several times while reading it (slow-paced books should come with a health hazard warning if you ask me) and came to the conclusion that pushing through might be hazardous to my survival. And here we are.

Okay, so I might have tried a little harder not to DNF, had pacing been the only issue here (as recently happened with a certain book I shall not name). But it wasn't, so I didn't.

The characters are flatter than my favorite herd of ironing boards, the writing is ridiculously dense and painfully detailed, and there is little difference in tone or setting between the past and present sections which makes the story pretty confusing at times.

And so I DNFed.

[Pre-review nonsense]

And here I was, thinking I'd enjoy this one more than Murderbot. Hahahahahahaha.

Super Extra Short Review (SESR™) to come and stuff.

2023 boredom-fest cure-for-insomnia

Chloe Frizzle

547 reviews112 followers

May 8, 2023

I ADORE the premise of this book. We open to foolhardy adventurers accidentally awakening the ancient, all-powerful Dark Lord -- the Witch King, from his tomb where he has been imprisoned. Our narrator is that Witch King. We get to follow his grumpy awakening, and his quest for the world that violently threw him out.

The disappointing thing is that none of that really turns out to be true. He is not the king of the witches, as they have no real hierarchy. He has never been the Dark Lord. He's not some Ancient Evil; he's only been imprisoned a year, and all of his friends are still active in politics. He isn't even, it turns out, Evil at all. The only true part of that premise (disappointingly) is all-powerful. He is very over-powered, to the point where he has a magic spell to solve every problem they come across.

I did enjoy our protagonist. He's bitter and fiercely loyal to his friends, and you bet I was cheering every time he vanquished an enemy. Getting his past in flashback chapters was also a delight.

This book is fine. But it fails to have an interesting plot -- most of the storyline is just traveling and side quests. It also fails to have well-realized side characters (mostly because there are so many that they kind of drown each other out). The book tries to get us to care about the politics of the kingdom, but fails to explain those politics enough.

The audiobook is well-performed. Sometimes, I struggled to understand the thick British accent combined with the new fantasy words, but that's more of a Me problem.

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

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

0-repeat-author 1-arc-advanced-reader-copies 2-first-books

Brittany Smith

270 reviews334 followers

March 31, 2023

Was this well-written? Yes.
Did it have great world-building? Yes.
Was it interesting? Sure.
Did I LIKE this book? No.

There was just something about it that completely missed the mark for me. You’re thrown right into the middle of things and left grasping, waiting for things to make sense, and while the two timelines do become clear and distinct, relationships do not. It’s funny reading the synopsis on here and it saying it’s a powerful story of friendship or whatever, because this was a tell not show type of book. The characters had some banter and endearing bickering thrown in for good measure, sure, but this book felt so two-dimensional and entirely devoid of any and all emotion, it’s actually kind of remarkable. I truly did not care about any of the characters at all aside from the main character being like fascinating in concept (not in personality though)

I wanted to finish it just to be done with the book and move onto something else, and honestly the ending was just kind of abrupt and just made me ??? ok that’s it ??? I’m assuming this may be a series based on the ending but I will not be continuing it if it is.

TL;DR: this book was so astonishingly flat I truly cannot believe I read this entire book and feel nothing for it.

Taylor

530 reviews143 followers

Want to read

October 9, 2023

Oh hello, is that one of my favorite authors writing a new fantasy series?? Thanks for giving me the will to live Martha!!

fantasy-to-read

Jovana (NovelOnMyMind)

237 reviews200 followers

Read

April 4, 2023

DNF-ed at 50%.

I don't think I would be this disappointed if it wasn't a Martha Wells's book. But after almost half the read of me not caring at all, I have to give up on this one.

I’ve ran into several books lately that start with a list of all characters, and I don't like this new trend. I guess the concept is supposed to make the narration flow easier because the author don't have to worry about introducing the backgrounds of the new characters. But that doesn't make the story flow better for us the readers.

First, we are met with a long list of names and titles we couldn't care less about because we don't know any of these people. And then, every time a new name is introduced in the story, I’m supposed to scroll back to the beginning to figure out who we are talking about? How exactly does that help my reading go smoothly?

Plus, everything was so slow and just – thrown in together. Not engaging and really hard to get through.

I loved this author’s previous work and I’d be willing to check her future books. But this one wasn’t for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc.

Rachel (TheShadesofOrange)

2,659 reviews4,094 followers

June 1, 2023

3.5 Stars
Like so many readers, I picked up this new release after reading the Murderbot Diaries. I knew this work would be unrelated and tried to separate my expectations accordingly.

Without comparison, I found The Witch King to be a solid, well written start to a new fantasy. The writing and character work is good.

However knowing this author is capable of such innovative storytelling, I couldn't help by being slightly underwhelmed by this good, but safe, epic fantasy.

Personally I don't feel that anyone's enjoyment of Murderbot will predict their enjoyment of this novel. Instead I would specifically recommend this one to readers who are looking for new fantasy series to start.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

2023-books fantasy

charlotte,

3,525 reviews1,093 followers

May 27, 2023

read my review here

Rep: nonbinary worldbuilding, gay mc, sapphic characters

CWs: gore

4-stars achillean adult-lit

destiny ♡ howling libraries

1,901 reviews6,117 followers

August 3, 2023

DNF @ 60%

I typically have two rules for DNFing books: I don't usually give them star ratings, and I almost never put them on my "read" shelf for my reading goal. I'm cutting myself some slack on this one, though, because I read nearly 300 pages of this book and it was a challenge.

Witch King is a book that I hoped to love, and by all reasoning, I should have adored this. Few things make me happier in stories than demons and antiheroes, especially when both are present in the same character, so if you combine that with Kai's dry humor, protective nature, and hopeful-against-all-odds attitude, this demon prince should have gone down in the "Destiny's favorite fictional characters of all time" Hall of Fame. And yet, even everything I loved about Kaiisteron couldn't redeem this book from dreadfully slow, boring writing and a plot I couldn't connect to, no matter how hard I tried.

Like many others, I've at least dipped my toes into Wells' Murderbot series, and I found the writing so witty and engaging in the first novella that I assumed all of her books would be equally well-paced, but this felt like I was reading an entirely different author's work. There were brief moments of the deadpan humor here and there that I loved, but they were few and far between. Mostly, Witch King was endless info-dumping, far too many characters to keep track of, and flashbacks to Kai's past that I wish had been cut out altogether in favor of better story buildup in the story's current day.

This was one of the toughest DNF choices I've made in a long time, because again, Witch King was brimming over with potential for greatness, but it missed the mark for me in so many ways that I can't bring myself to care enough to continue trudging through.

I read a final copy I purchased myself, but for the sake of disclosure, I was also sent an early review copy by the author/publisher. All thoughts are honest and my own.

✨ Representation: queer main character, sapphic side characters, casual queerness in many side characters, multiple BIPOC main and side characters

✨ Content warnings for:

———
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adult fantasy owned-a

Stephanie

Author 78 books1,133 followers

April 11, 2023

This is a very different kind of book to the Murderbot series, just to get that out of the way. There are flashes of a fabulous, dry humor, and there's a wonderful found family at the center of this book, but the story itself is so much bigger than Murderbot, more distanced (to begin with) from its main characters, and far more time-spanningly epic - and I ended up loving it SO very much, in an entirely different way.

This story takes place over two time periods: first, the present, in which Kai (the famous or infamous demon "witch king") wakes from a near-fatal attack to find himself and all of his closest, oldest friends imprisoned and in desperate danger. He works to save his found family (and collect new members) with all the power and wit he's developed over his vast span of lived experience - and in the past, we see exactly how he became that way (and start to guess at which ancient enemy might be behind his new trauma).

It's all vivid and exciting and interesting, full of peril and intrigue, hugely imaginative worldbuilding and fabulous characters, but because so much of the first half is a slow unspooling of exactly who and what Kai actually is, I felt a little distance from all the action. I enjoyed it without being totally compelled by it. However, once I hit the middle, it all came together perfectly and I absolutely devoured the second half of the book, 100% immersed and in love with all of it (so in other words, that technique really worked!).

I don't know if this is planned to be standalone or the first in the series - the ending of this book is lovely as it is - but I would absolutely love to read more books about Kai and his chosen family. I loved every one of the members of it and would love to see what happens next for all of them!

1,236 reviews82 followers

June 4, 2023

Embrace the confusion!

In 1995 I saw the Film Ghost in the Shell. It was a formative experience for me. The film was incredibly confusing -- cyborgs and thermoptic camouflage and international plots and sentient net intelligences and wheels within plots within wheels within plots. When it was over I had only the vaguest idea what had happened. But I was mortally certain of one thing: I LOVED it!

What I didn't know at the time was that This Was How It Was Going To Be From Now On. Since then all major science fiction and most fantasy novels have been like that. I expect when I read a new one not to know what's going on. (Consider recent reads Children of Memory, Myriad, or grand-prize winner, the entirety of Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb Series.) In fact, it is now at the point where, if I understand a new F&SF novel on the first read, I feel cheated.

Martha Wells' Witch King does not disappoint in this regard. Hierarchs and Expositors and Witches and Demons and cantrips and intentions -- what are all these things? And, basic question -- are there Good guys, and Bad guys, and who are they? I sometimes complain when novels contain "infodumps". (See, e.g., my review of The Bone Wars.) But at about 20% of Witch King, I was saying to myself, "An infodump right now would be awfully handy." I didn't get one. But by about 50% it began to make sense, and when I reached the end, I had a not-entirely-incoherent overview of the whole story. It'll need a re-read.

Why is Witch King confusing? Well, there is a complicated and never-explained magic system, and a society with many different types of magical creatures whose powers and political relationships are only retrospectively explained. But that, of course, is all in a day's work for the modern F&SF reader. What makes Witch King really tough is the dual timelines. There are 26 chapters. Sixteen are named Chapter One, ..., Chapter Sixteen. But Chapter Three is not the third chapter -- it is the fourth. The Third chapter is called "The Past: The Beginning". There are ten of these chapters called "The Past: [some title]", and they are scattered throughout the book. The explicitly numbered chapters One through Sixteen are about events in what you can, if you like, call The Present -- a time later than The Past. The Past, of course, provides the background for The Present. When you start reading, you don't know this background. When I reread this I plan to try reading the ten Past chapters first, followed by Chapters One through Sixteen.

The central character of Witch King is the demon Kaiisteron (usually shortened to Kai). Kai is of course a Good Guy, pretty much by definition, since it is from his point of view that we see things. Besides being a total badass, Kai is in the business of helping his friends, for instance, a witch called Ziede. Kai never seems to have a plan -- he just seems to be making things up as he goes along. But Kai is an old and crafty demon -- do not trust that appearance of planless spontaneity.

So, Witch King is a challenging but intriguing story with an appealing hero.

I thank NetGalley and Tor for an advance reader copy of Witch King. This review expresses my honest opinions.

Blog review.

netgalley netgalley-2023 reviewed

Daniel

887 reviews75 followers

February 11, 2024

I don't know what's wrong with the rest of you all, but I loved this.

It wasn't what I expected going in (which often sets a book up to disappoint), and I don't know whether to ascribe that to the marketing, reviews I saw, or my acquired expectations of the genre. A bit of all of those I suspect.

The scenario I had in mind when I started was a much more sprawling epic, full of political intrigue and adventure. And honestly, it took me probably half the book or more to realize that wasn't what I was getting.

Which is not to say those elements are missing. There's an f'ing invasion. Genocide. Aliances, political maneuvering, betrayal, the sort of travel that seems almost mandatory in the fantasy genre. But all that is backgrounded to a remarkable extent by the combination of the dual timeline structure with Wells' decision to stick to a single point of view.

What the book delivers is a much more intimate story, foregrounding friendship and family, and I am so here for it.

I am so done with the testosterone soaked, endless multi-doorstopper-volume, massively multiple pov series by authors who don't seem to know the difference between a story and a D&D supplement or wikipedia entry that dominate the fantasy genre today.

But this?

I am absolutely here for this.

So while I'm glad this is a standalone (we need more standalones in SFF), at the same time I am delighted to see Wells is working on a sequel. The story here is fantastic, and satisfying, but there's plenty of life left in these characters and plot left in their situation. As soon as there's a listing, I'll be putting in my order.

fantasy single-pov

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Ratings & Reviews for

Witch King

Martha Wells

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