"He didn't trust easily, something he felt was validated every time some supposed ally murdered him and stuck him in an underwater vault."

Witch King is not the sort of fantasy book to wait for you to catch your breath at the beginning. Kai's consciousness revives in a tomb with his dead body. His best friend, Ziede, is near enough for them to communicate telepathically, but she doesn't know where they are or remember how they got there, either. When adventurers show up with the intent of binding an all-powerful demon, they are in for a disappointment. Kai kills all but the girl they had intended for sacrifice, claims a new body, and strolls on out of his waterbound prison.

What follows is a quest with multiple aims. The primary objective is to locate Ziede's wife. She wasn't buried with them, and no one else seems to know where she is. The second thing to sort out is who the hell trapped them in an underwater vault. As long-lived beings of political consequence, their enemies are many, but those with the ability to bring them down are much fewer. Kai and his friends were there for the fall of an empire generations ago. They're people who, through a mixture of luck and courage, helped throw out the invaders who oppressed a continent. Now, the world is at peace, and the work of our heroes has faded into legend and the vaguest of memories.

As our intrepid friends, demon and witch, set out to uncover what's happened, they're hounded by enemies with unknown purposes, but they also pick up strays who need a home and maybe a purpose. A misfit found family is literally the best thing that could happen to me, and this one is no exception. The friendship, banter, and lifelong bonds are top tier. The platonic loyalty between Kai and Ziede is a fantastic cornerstone for the book, and that was the main force inspiring me onward.

The fantasy elements and the mysteries they obscure are a close second. While we get a dramatis personae upfront, the world-building and magic system are unraveled only in relevant moments and without much fuss. It's the ideal setup for me because I prefer to jump in the deep end to suffering so much explanation that I wind up bored. Down with the infodump! There are multiple magic systems at work, covering demons, witches, expositors (an evil bunch who garner their power through the pain and suffering of others), and the Immortal Blessed (a group with uptight, self-important angelic vibes). It's a lot to keep track of, but not in a way I found detrimental to my enjoyment. In fact, I think the more layers that were uncovered, the happier I was.

The same can be said for Kai's history. Through well-placed flashbacks, we learn how a demon prince found himself among humans, grew to love them, became their prisoner, and then one of their saviors. Each vignette is as emotional and engaging as the present plot, explaining his relationships, loyalties, and worldview. It keeps the story alive by revealing secrets on a careful timer. As Kai and Ziede press forward, it becomes clear that their current dilemma can't be resolved without considering their shared, legendary past.

I love Murderbot, but this is my first foray into Wells' fantasy works. It more than lived up to my high expectations, and I'm excited to read more. As you may expect, this story is delightfully and casually queer. It's multilayered. It's witty. It's built on relationships of all kinds, and I can see that there's so much more to know about this world and these characters. Thanks to Tordotcom for my copy to read and review!

***Thanks to the publisher for the e-ARC and audiobook!***

So. Here’s the thing. This is a first book in at least a trilogy and it FEELS like a first book. This took me quite awhile to read but I did like it once I got the hang of the characters and the story. But that didn’t happen for me until at the 70% mark. This is from one character’s POV, but told in present day and the past. It is the one book where I find myself loving the story of the past way more than the present.

Present day is a straight path of the characters waking up after being imprisoned for a year and now they have to find their friends. They meet trouble along the way and this is relatively action-packed. But I just thought it was SO boring. Us diving into Kai’s past and what happened there is so much more interesting to me because we’re seeing him as a young demon in a young girl’s body and accidentally finding himself caught working to overthrow the Hierarchs.

This isn’t Murderbot if you come to this series from only having read the author from that one series. It’s more standard fantasy fare than that but Kai is confused a lot (past and present) so I guess that’s one quality he shares with Murderbot. The book explores gender in interesting ways, not just in the bodies the demons possess but by dress and culture among all the characters.

The audiobook narration by Eric Mok is very good and now I can’t imagine anyone else as Kai.

I think this is one of those books where I know I’ll enjoy it more on re-reads once I have the full picture of the entire series once it’s done. But for now, it’s 3 stars for a solid intro book to the world, even though it took awhile for me to warm up to it.

Unfortunately, this was not it for me. I really enjoyed Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries back when I first read them and thought I'd enjoy her writing in this genre, but with this one we just didn't work out.

I tried to read this 3 times as I received an ARC for it and wanted to give feedback on the full novel, but after getting to the 40% mark, putting it down to read another book, and having to come back to this with absolutely no inspiration or care to find out what happens next, I've decided it's time to give up. This is by no means a bad book. I think it will work well for many readers - just not for me.

My issues with this novel had to do with the character- and world-building, which I struggled to connect to. I felt like I was being told everything rather than shown, which made it hard for me to hold onto information and form a connection with the main characters. Nearly halfway through, I wasn't sure why I should care that we were going on a rescue mission for a character we've barely seen on page, despite being told repeatedly that their going missing would have massive repercussions on the future.

There were some beats where I got engaged, but the pacing was also a problem and every time we finished off a chapter on a high, the following one would swap timelines and the momentum would be lost. This made me lose interest as time went on, and to be honest I feel like I know the ending of this story without having read it.

Now, the writing style is pretty good, but it wasn't enough to keep me going. Like I said, I enjoyed the Murderbot series, and felt like Wells had a strong handle on character-building there, but ultimately I think the world-building is lacking a little too much for my fantasy taste. I love figuring out what is going on as we go and picking up clues here and there, but for that to be effective I need to be engaged with the storyline, and this one kept me at arm's length the entire time.

I would recommend this novel to people who enjoy reading characters with original backgrounds and a wild fantasy setting with only slight cues here and there as to what is going on. Probably for those hardcore fans of Martha Wells as well.

With thanks to Netgalley and Tordotcom for the advance copy in exchange for an honest (if 2 years late...) review.

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.

I'd been meaning to read something by Martha Wells for ages and just hadn't gotten to it, so this is my first foray into her work and I'm into it.

Normally, I don't love books that jump back and forth in time frequently, but it totally works here. There were certain points where the past and present start to match up in ways that added something extra to the story.
This was absolutely a book that was hard to put down. I don't know how to properly explain this, but it almost felt simultaneously high stakes and low stakes and it WORKED.
The main characters definitely have their faults, but I love them anyway.

I'm really excited to see where this goes next!

I really like the premise for this and I found the beginning really interesting but I started getting really confused with the flashback chapters and what was happening in the present. I think that issue is due more to myself having not read a high epic fantasy book in a long time so maybe this was just too much to jump back in with. Unfortunately I did stop reading this around the 30% mark.

I would still recommend this book to people though because of how unique the concept is. I may one day come back try this one again too.

While it took me a little while to get acclimated to the world of the book, I soon found myself really interested in what was going to happen and how the two timelines would intertwine. I really felt for Kai as he dealt over and over with betrayal and the world he was stuck in forever. I'm very interested in seeing where the author takes the story in the future.

A fantastic book I read some time ago. Martha Wells is a powerhouse in her field and that reflects in Witch King, as it reflects in all her work.

A wonderfully fresh remix of several folk tales and legends, the narrator experience is completely unique.

Martha Wells has become one of my favorite authors. I loved her “Raksura” series and was bowled over by her “Murderbot” novellas. I thought I would follow her across genres. Witch King soars in terms of world-building imagination, but falls short in dramatic shaping and plot structure.

Witch King opens with a mystery as demon Kai (not “a” demon, THE demon) wakes up in captivity with a mage attempting to seize control of his magic. His immediate goal is to free himself and locate his companions. This proves to be both easier and far more challenging than it appears on the surface. For one thing, Kai’s last (dead) host body has been murdered and he’s in another, quite unfamiliar (and much less fit) body; for another, he has no idea how much time has elapsed since he’s been unconscious (a lot), what political changes are afoot in the world, and where the wife of his closest ally has disappeared to.

So far, so good, and Wells does a superb job in introducing complex characters, an unusual system of magic, and millennia of history and world-building without dumping expository lumps on the reader.

Wells then shifts to the distant past when Kai inhabited a volunteer body and lived in a rich, joyful, and emotionally warm culture. From here, the two timelines alternate chapters. A few characters, such as Kai who is almost immortal, appear throughout, but many others (many, many others) are specific only to one. Still more are alive and active in the past but distant memories in the present. Because the focus is on Kai and a few others who are present in both times, I had to search for other clues as to where and when I was.

Both storylines are filled with action and wonderful characters, situations, and relationships. Each one would be more than enough for a novel in itself. Some readers will love the weaving back and forth and all the myriad ways the past informs and shapes the present. I was one of them, but only at first. As the book went on, however, I found it increasingly frustrating trying to orient myself—which time is this? what’s been going on? who’s still alive? and, most importantly, what is the present goal or threat for the protagonist? There didn’t seem to be a single plot arc, a building dramatic tension that carried through in both past and present. It didn’t help that my favorite character from the past is long since dead in the present. Within each timeline, unrelated problems arise and are resolved. I could never figure out what the overall “Big Bad” was, especially after one candidate villain after another is eliminated. The “Big Bad” at the end seemed to come out of nowhere. Mark Twain famously said that life is “one damned thing after another.” Fiction must play by a different set of rules.

Witch King is hugely ambitious, filled with imaginative elements, compelling personal drama, and a huge landscape across time as well as space. Wells handles these elements with the effortless skill of a seasoned professional, but fails to shape them into a single dramatic story.

I’m giving a 3 star just b/c I see its potential and while I did enjoy the unique magic system, I really wasn’t invested in the story or the characters. I DNFed at 30%.

As someone who tremendously enjoyed The Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells’ fantasy departure was something I was greatly looking forward to. The Witch King brought such refreshing, engaging points of view, and built a world that I fell in love with just as much as the other she built in Murderbot!

⭐️⭐️ | Disappointing and Dragged-Out Adventure

I’ve loved Martha Wells’ books in the past, but Witch King just didn’t deliver for me. While the main character had a lot of charm—a soft golden retriever of a hero disguised as a tough, formidable king—the story itself fell flat.

The character dynamics were enjoyable, but the stakes felt nonexistent. The protagonist seemed to breeze through challenges without any real consequences, which made it hard to stay invested. On top of that, the pacing dragged terribly in the middle. What started as a promising adventure quickly lost steam, and by the end, I was struggling to care about the outcome.

Wells has written some fantastic stories, but Witch King felt lackluster in comparison. If you’re a die-hard fan, it might be worth checking out, but otherwise, this one missed the mark.

⭐️⭐️ | Disappointing and Dragged-Out Adventure

I’ve loved Martha Wells’ books in the past, but Witch King just didn’t deliver for me. While the main character had a lot of charm—a soft golden retriever of a hero disguised as a tough, formidable king—the story itself fell flat.

The character dynamics were enjoyable, but the stakes felt nonexistent. The protagonist seemed to breeze through challenges without any real consequences, which made it hard to stay invested. On top of that, the pacing dragged terribly in the middle. What started as a promising adventure quickly lost steam, and by the end, I was struggling to care about the outcome.

Wells has written some fantastic stories, but Witch King felt lackluster in comparison. If you’re a die-hard fan, it might be worth checking out, but otherwise, this one missed the mark.

I was so excited to pick up a book by Martha Wells and the muderbot series on my repeat list, but this book was not it. I picked up this book 5 separate times but could not finish it. It just didn't work for me.

I want to thank the publisher for the ebook.

This has a very slow start, but the pay off was worth it. The writing is seamless and the world is very unique.

Thank you for my copy!

This book is a captivating and immersive read that hooks you from the first page. The writing is beautifully crafted, with vivid descriptions and strong character development that makes the story come alive. The plot is well-paced, balancing moments of tension with quieter, reflective scenes that allow the characters to grow. The themes explored are deep and thought-provoking, resonating long after the final page. Whether it's the emotional depth, the twists and turns of the plot, or the unforgettable characters, this book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys rich, engaging stories. Highly recommended.

I have tried to finish this book for months. I have realized that it is not going to happen. I will be DNFing at 46%. I have loved everything from Martha Wells but never connected with any character in this story. I am a very character-driven reader, so it is nearly impossible to enjoy a story if I do not care about the characters.

I will note that I also did not care for the narrator and tried the print alone, thinking that would help, but it didn't.

Thank you to Tor Publishing and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book caught me by surprise...in a fantastic way!! Loved the characters and the setting. So unique.

I really enjoyed this one, even though it took me forever to get through it on audio. Part of that was being sick and constantly nodding off while listening and then having to rewind, but even when I wasn't falling asleep I had to rewind a lot to figure out what was going on. The "past" tags at the beginning of those sections helped, but it would have also helped to have a "present day" tag for when the storyline switched back.

The dual storylines were intriguing and kept me hooked throughout as the tension slowly ratcheted up in both as the story progressed. It was interesting how involved I was in a story that didn't have a clear beginning-middle-end progression. Even the final end felt more like a pausing point.

I really enjoyed the characters (despite having trouble telling a few of the less-important ones apart) and the obvious affection between them. Even though they were rebels and killers it was clear that they cared a lot about the people around them and they were easy to sympathize with.

The audiobook narrator did a great job bringing the characters to life and giving them easily distinguishable voices that were very expressive.

*Thanks to Tor Books for providing an early copy for review.