3.5 stars

I'm really torn on this one. I wanted to like it, and there's a lot in here that I like in a fantasy book. But something just didn't click with me, and I felt disconnected with the story and the characters.

The worldbuilding is really well done. However, the reader is thrust into this world and has to struggle to figure out exactly what is going on and how the world works and how the various magics work and how demons work and so on.

There are also two timelines. I didn't find it challenging to distinguish between the timelines, but it meant twice as much information to figure out for the setup of the world (who is allied with whom, who is conquering whom, etc.).

The characters are great. I enjoyed the various aspects of them. And I would consider Kai and his friends to be a found family. Yet, there was something flat about them and I just didn't connect with the characters.

All this said, I do think there's a lot of potential here, and I would consider reading the next book in the series to see if that connection gets made.

I absolutely adored this, but I couldn't help but have mixed feelings about it as soon as I finished.
Let me explain.

I read this because I'm a huge fan of The Murderbot Diaries, and also enjoyed of of the author's other fantasy novels. Writing wise I knew what I was in for, and the writing style is in line with her other works. Similarly, the characters are wonderful. I grew to adore the mismatched cast of unlikely allies, and Kai, the protagonist, in particular - who happens to have quite a few similarities to murderbot. Powerful? Loyal and protective of someone they'd never thought they would be? More behind the scenes acting and leaving the talking to someone else? Feared by many? Sounds familiar, and I'm certainly not complaining because it's done so well.

What however wasn't as well done was the worldbuilding. It's rich and interesting, but direly lacks exposition. I can appreciate that it's incredibly hard to convey the story and political situation and all its power players in an organic way, while also introducing a bunch of characters and plot. But I as the reader shouldn't still be confused who is who and what faction is what and what these names even mean well past 50% of the book.

By the time I fully began to understand the depth and richness of the world of Witch King, I had one chapter left to read.
And this is one of my biggest gripes with the book. It felt like a long introduction, and by the time things get rolling and I felt comfortable and immersed, it was already over. It felt like there was no pay-off.

The plot is divided into two time-lines: the present, where Kai and his friends try to figure out who imprisoned them, and go on a journey to find another missing friend; and the past, detailling Kai's early days and how he met the group that are later his friends, in front of a backdrop of fighting the overwhelming forces of the hierarchs, who brutally took over the world and destroyed it as it was.

I personally enjoyed the past-plotline more, as I enjoy seeing character dynamics develop from the very start rather than being thrown into an existing dynamic. That plotline also felt a bit more linear and easier to follow, at least after the first couple chapters.

Generally I'd say that the plot was... not the strongest point of the book. I liked it, I was engaged, but for a long time I couldn't really see its bigger picture. It felt sort of aimless, especially in front of the big backdrop of worldbuilding that was very intransparent.

Ultimately, for me the book lacked payoff. It was building and building, just to go nowhere. I was disappointed when the book ended because it felt like I had just gotten to know these characters, there was so much more to explore, the dynamics had only just started, but now its already over. It truly felt frustrating!

Right now the book is listed as standalone in the sources I could find, but I for one really hope there will be more books coming. I want to see more of Kai and Ziede and Tahren and Dahin, I want to see Bashasa lead the war against the Hierarchs, I want to see all the little side plotlines that were picked up and then not used at all. In the very beginning Kai and Ziede save an orphan girl, Sanja, and free an witch, Tenes, but the two are just kind of there for the rest of the book without any bigger roles or attentiont paid to them.

Overall I really want to rate this 5 stars based on how much I began to adore the characters. But based on the plot, pacing and (lack of proper) introduction of the worldbuilding, I feel like I have to reduct a star.

I'd heard a lot of good things about this book, and was excited to receive a copy from the publisher. It started off well, pulling us straight into an intriguing scene.

I enjoyed the first 20% or so, with the chapters about the past adding more depth to the story. But, although it was well written and the world building was solid, it slowed down and, for me, never really picked up again.

Many thanks to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for the ARC.

As a fan of Martha Wells' Murderbot series, I was extremely eager to read her upcoming novel Witch King and was excited to receive an advanced e-copy of the book before it's release! I was definitely not disappointed and found myself hooked from the very beginning! We're introduced to Kai who has been murdered and placed in enclosure that keeps his consciousness trapped inside. His counterpart Ziede, has also been entombed close by. Once they escape they set out to find why they were placed there as well as what happened to the world while their consciousness' laid dormant. If you're a fan of found family and impressive character/world building this book is for you! I will be honest and say that this book was a bit long and some parts stretched on longer than I would've liked. But overall, I really enjoyed this book and loved the characters!

Thanks to Tor and NetGalley for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.


You‘d have thought I’d love this book given the author, genre, queer norm world with a character driven story, but I didn’t. I technically DNFd this book with only 40 pages to go.


The positives
Most of this book happens around some body of water. There's ocean crossings, river travel, flooded buildings, and even diving for treasure. YAY! I love water. That was great, awesome.

The world is queer norm, The MCs bestie is in a sapphic marriage. No one bats an eye when the MC is possessing a female body and uses he/him pronouns (he also uses male bodies throughout the book).

The bad
I feel like I was dropped into the middle of a sequel. I struggled to follow along and had no idea where they were half the time. It’s told via two timelines, so some relationships are new in one timeline and established in others. Sometimes I’d forget which time line we were in and wonder why characters were acting certain ways. I dissociated so much while reading this book that once I got towards the end I had to stop reading with 40 pages to go. I didn’t care how it ended and doubt I ever will.

I tried, I really tried to like this book, but its just not for me.

Witch King has two timelines: in the present, the infamous demon Witch King Kai wakes from an aspiration attempt to find himself and his closest friends trapped and in mortal danger. In the past, we begin to see what brought them to this point.

I usually love dual timeline books, but this one just didn't work for me. I never felt connected enough to either timeline to care a lot about what was happening, and I found myself struggling to differentiate between the two.

This is one of those fantasy books that drops you into the world with no explanation. It begins with a long cast of characters and then throws you right into the world and expects you to either figure it out or be happy being confused. I did neither.

From what I read, the characters were well-rounded and each had their own motivations. There was some entertaining banter and it's clear that these characters have a long history together.

While this book wasn't for me, if you love to be confused while reading or you like complicated worlds that don't get explained quickly (think Gideon the Ninth & The Fifth Season) you might really enjoy this book.

I loved this book. It’s the type of story that really does dump you in the deep end from the get go but it leaves a wonderful trail of breadcrumbs and tidbits for you to build the world in your mind as you go, alongside some really fun characters.

Kai was a wonderful protagonist. He’s dark and ruthless but I couldn’t help but love him. I love the way that the relationships are written and I could really feel the connection between him, Ziede, Tahren and the rest of the crew. The found family feeling was strong and the camaraderie was wonderful.

The magic system and world building are slowly unravelled as you go and I found it all really fascinating. The world building can be a bit complicated but I never found it too hard to follow. The history is given a lot of time, which makes sense given the age of Kai and co. The concept of demons inhabiting the bodies of humans and the heart pearls (I think that’s what they are called…) were a lot of fun to read about.

The story is told both in the present and with flashbacks throughout telling you more about who these characters are and where they came from. I loved the two intertwining narratives. The author did a great job of keeping you invested in both and I found myself itching to get back to the other story when it switched as I really wanted to see what would happen.

Very different to Murderbot but you can see the same skill and care with the writing. There are moments where the humour is similar and those really made me smile. Other than that this story is very, very different to Murderbot, and it would be a shame for readers to compare the two too closely as it’s like comparing apples and eggs. This book is a great example of everything I love in fantasy and I really enjoyed it.

My only negatives would be wanting a bit more time given to certain specific relationships and characters but it’s nothing that took away from my overall enjoyment.

4.5 stars.

Witch King
By Martha Wells

Wells is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. And this hasn’t changed my mind. She has an amazing way of really pulling you into her world. And even if you only glimpse a bit of it through the characters, you can tell it’s part of a rich universe.

Our main characters were really interesting to follow. And I loved learning about the magic system(s) involved as we went along. I will admit to being confused a few times but I think that may have been since I started it, got distracted, and then picked it back up again.

This doesn’t pull me in quite so thoroughly as Raksura does, but I’m very much invested in this new world already!

Thanks to @netgalley and @tordotcompub for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book read like a sequel, where you already know what the world and its inhabitants look like. The first 20% I kept turning back, because I thought I had missed something. Then I just went with it, still thinking I needed more information. It took way past the middle of the book until the magic system was "explained".And although the dual timeline gives some background it was not enough to make up for the missing world-building.

I missed the connection to the characters that the Murderbot Diaries gave me.

Martha Wells has the uncanny knack of developing worlds that are so different from our own, but yet seem similar enough that we can fall in love with this new world and the characters that inhabit them in just a few pages. With Witch King you hit the ground running and don’t stop until the end. There was so much to love about this book, but I did have one tiny little issue.

I loved the characters, all of them. This is nice little band that comes together to help Kai solve the mystery of why he was killed and who was behind it. Kai especially won over my heart quite quickly from the start of the story. He just has a manner about him, that makes you trust and like him immediately. I also really liked Ziede, his witch friend, who always has his back, just like he always has hers. Even though the story is told from Kai’s point of view, I really felt that we got to know the other characters quite well.

The magical system was fascinating and well thought out. The best thing about Well’s writing style is that she shows you how it works rather than tells you. There is no info dumping here. It might make things confusing at first, but it doesn’t take long to get the hang of it.

The world building was marvelous. This world does sound very similar to ours with all of the political shenanigans and constant fighting between nations. But there are a lot of differences as well. You learn about this world’s different cultures through the people who belong to them which is wonderful. The writing is also superbly done with the pacing being mostly fast paced, there was a slow section in the middle, and does a great job of exploring the themes of betrayal, loyalty, friendship and grief.

My one small issue, and I think this is entirely on me, was the dual timeline. I usually don’t mind them, but this time it felt a bit cumbersome and at times confusing. But I think I might be in the minority here, like I said it was just a me thing this time.

This is a standalone, but there is certainly room for this world to be expanded upon. There were a few unanswered questions at the end of the book that makes me hopeful that the story will continue at some point.

Witch King is a classically structured fantasy with an interesting and well developed set of characters. As with most of Well’s work, the characters are the reason to show up and enjoy. Well’s not only provides us with characters that are LGBTQ+, but she writes them as the complex, powerful and flawed characters that aren’t always experienced in fantasy. These characters range in age and ideologies, and are allowed to grow or fail like real people.

The story revolves around a journey to discover a missing past, and reveals itself as is. Its a perfectly solid fantasy story, but does not really carve new territory or build exciting new worlds. The main character is even named Kai… I’m not sure where I missed the memo, but this is at least the 3rd or 4th fantasy I’ve read lately with a Kai in it…

I am a huge fan of Well’s Murderbot Diaries, but I’m new to her fantasy work. Maybe it is because this is written in the 3rd person while Murderbot is in the first person, but this novel just wasn’t quite as engaging as her Sci-Fi. Don’t get me wrong, this is a solid fantasy offering, but if you are hoping for the campy, funny and engaging inner dialog of Murderbot, that isn’t here. So Murderbot-heads need to temper their expectations to a more traditionally structured fantasy.

I had really high hopes for Witch King because I have enjoyed Martha Wells's other books. This was extremely well written and has a really cool magic system and excellent world-building. My problem with it was that it felt like this was book two in a series and I was missing some key information the entire time I was reading. I wish that it had been a bit more linear.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Tordotcom for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

After Kai is murdered, he wakes up and must figure out why he was murdered in the first place and who is after him and his friends.

One thing I did love was the banter and I wished I could have made it through just for that alone.

When I heard Martha Wells was releasing a fantasy I was very excited, however this fell flat to me. I really could not get into the book at all and was confused the entire time I was reading it. It can only be described as dense and confusing. I think I am simply too dumb for this level of worldbuilding and complicated storylines.

Overall, this is a good read for more advanced readers of fantasy and fans of Martha Wells. I will definitely try her other books.

Storygraph review to be posted on 3/5/2023.

Ahh where do I start...first off thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc.
Wells can write a character. She makes Kai almost seem real.
The magic in this book was great and I enjoyed learning about it. The world building was good.
At times I was confused. But after reading a bit more I wasn't as much. I do think that more clarity would have been nice. But I had a good time reading this.

The witch king was confusing at first. But that's usually the case with all fantasy books for me. I'm a bit delirious and trying to find solid ground. But when you spend enough time with the characters, you understand them more. It was a well written book, a great fantasy.

Reading the witch king brought back my feelings of when I read a really good fantasy. The mystic and the magic. I got the feeling of walking with the characters and being in the story. I was a bit confused at times but after a bit you usually get caught up with the story. The world building was well done. I enjoyed my time reading this.

Genre: Fantasy

Kai, Witch King and Fourth Prince of the demons, wakes up in someone else’s body. This isn’t exactly uncommon - demons can transfer to another body when the old one they inhabit dies. He’s been trapped in this new body, a body far too young for death, by a mage trying to seize his power. But Kai hasn’t lived for generations without knowing how to master his own power, drawn from reserves of his own pain. The Witch King seesaws between present and past, as Kai unravels political threats and fights against the injustice imposed by the Rising World Coalition.

Witch King is my very favorite kind of worldbuilding, where you find yourself in the middle of the story, and the middle of a character’s psyche, and yet nothing feels underdeveloped because as the storyline progresses, the relevant parts of the fantasy world are revealed. You don’t find out everything you need to know about demons all at once, but Wells reveals the information we need when we need it. This style of worldbuilding isn’t for everyone, but for those of us who grew up with the winding epics of the 90s and 00s, Wells’s writing feels like a homecoming. Just in a 400-page package with gender inclusive themes, rather than an 800-page meandering story from a colonial or male perspective.

For those who came to Martha Wells via Murderbot, this will have an entirely different flavor, which clearly demonstrates Wells’s versatility as a writer. Kai and his companion Ziede are a vibrant pair on page, bickering and adventuring… but in a very different manner from Murderbot and ART. While the past versus present timelines in Witch King can be difficult to follow, it allows us to see aspects from Kai’s past that contribute directly to his current situation. Some books have a past timeline that feels stagnant compared to the present action, but these blend smoothly, with character and plot progression happening simultaneously in both.

If you are looking for a quick hit of snark (like Murderbot), this isn’t it. It’s a meaty and compelling fantasy world that we are only getting a narrow glimpse of, and it leaves us wanting more.

Thank you to Tordotcom and MacMillan Audio for an eARC and ALC for review - it was a perfect multiformat experience for me. Witch King is out 5/30/23.

I absolutely could not put this book down. Frankly this may be my favorite book I have read so far this year.

This book jumps back and forth between two timelines - the past and present. As the story unfolds they sync up in strange and miraculous ways. The present often echos the past and vice versa. The story really comes together at these crossroads. Well's writing style truly shines with this type of story telling. The plot comes through and information seeps in through all these small junctures that truly make sense in the world she has created.

There isn't much info dumping in this book. The reader discovers things more organically through the actions of the characters past and present and their relationships with one another. The characters themselves are all wonderful in their own right. Nobody is perfect, everyone makes mistakes - but they stick together as a found family of outsiders and support each other no matter what.

I also haven't seen it brought up much in other reviews or people talking about this book but it is VERY queer! Gender is an abstract concept and is often bent and skewed. Almost everyone is gay. Two of the main characters are a sapphic couple. This isn't a romance book but queerness is woven through it in wonderful ways.

This book is a departure from the tone and almost sardonic attitude of the Muderbot series but I implore anyone who is even considering giving it a shot to pick it up. I do not think you will be disappointed.

I can’t tell you how excited and grateful I was to receive this book. I have never not absolutely loved a book from Tor, as fantasy and science fiction are very much my thing.

That being said, I had a difficult time easing into this book and never quite felt “at home” while reading it. The novel starts en medias res which I’m fine with and have enjoyed in the past. The problem was I was never quite able to get my bearing; I felt like I was thrown into the deep end of the pool with no way out.

I put the book down several times and earnestly did my best to come back to it; I took notes and drew rough maps in order to try to understand what was going on. I was fully convinced this was book 3 in an epic series, and that the internet was lying to me about this being book not being a sequel.

I did find some merit in the characters and the premise of the novel. I loved the idea behind the book, but I couldn’t quite fully get into it.

As I was not a super fan of Muder Bot this book gave me a different look at the Authors writing style and I really enjoyed this fantasy world. I would call this more high fantasy and would only recommend this to others who are interested in a more complex read. I thought the world building was sufficient and the story was interesting.