Thank you so much to TOR for my early review copy!

This book has a lot of elements going for it: the wonderful ideas in its premise, an intriguing main character, competent writing, and a very cool magic system.

That all sounded so wonderful typed out like that, so this is a somewhat lower rating than you might expect, and that's because ultimately I think the story could have been a bit more cohesive. Martha Wells is best known for the Murderbot Diaries, a series of (mainly) novellas (and a few longer books I believe) set in a sci fi universe with humor and unique characters. I've only read the first book in the series, but I loved it, primarily because it had such strong voice and such a tight, coherent story.

This book attempts to cover a lot of ground by essentially telling two stories at once: Kai's backstory as a demon confronting the corrupt powers of his world who are exploiting him and others like him, and Kai's present in which he is escaping from suspicious circumstances and wondering if those same powers have caught hold again somehow and whether he'll have to fight them again.

I originally thought the flashbacks were only going to happen for part of the book, and then eventually the information in them would be resolved in a way that informed the present action. However, that does not happen. The narrative switches back and forth between past and present evenly, and I think that this detracted from my ability to attach completely to either narrative. By continually switching back and forth between two timelines, it's hard to follow the traditional story arc, meaning that all of the wonderful elements I mentioned in my first paragraph essentially felt that they weren't developed or explained enough.

I will definitely read another book set in this universe, and I remain interested in Wells's work.

An incredible new fantasy from Martha Wells! Kai is a demon who awakens without a body, only to realize he's been buried at the bottom of the sea. It's page 2 before he finds a way out, and his power and wit continue to be demonstrated from there. Every move Kai makes is measured with consideration for his friends and his values, as confused as he may be about what is happening in his world, which has been turned upside down too many times to count. There are dual storylines in this book, and I wanted to stay in each for as long as possible.

Witch King is the newest fantasy by Martha Wells, who I only know from the Murderbot books. This book follows Kai, who after he was murdered, was confined to a water trap while time continued to pass around him. When he wakes up in a different body, he has more questions than answers. He teams up with his allies in an attempt to learn more but may not like what he finds out.

I was so excited when I got approved for an arc of this. I enjoyed what I have read of Murderbot and I thought that this book would be almost a fantasy version of that. Unfortunately, it’s not. The beginning of this book is very, very dense. There is a glossary at the beginning of the book but having the ebook copy, it was such a pain to flip back and forth. And I don’t like when books depend on you looking at the glossary for context. I like having clues in the book to help figure stuff out and this just lacked in that.

The second half of this book did pick up quite a bit and I really enjoyed that part of the book. But it took so long for me to get there. I almost dnfed this book and at the end of the day, I didn’t enjoy it enough to justify pushing myself through it. I have just loved other books by this author so I knew eventually I would have fun reading this.

Just know going into this book, the physical copy is probably your best bet and know that the beginning is very dense. It’s something that would probably age well with a reread but I just stayed confused through most of it.

A return to form for Martha Wells, showcasing her ability for creating unique and detailed worlds. The mystery of trying to unravel Kai's past and how it related to his present troubles made me want to keep on reading. This will be a great addition for my library's science fiction collection. It will appeal to the readers that love world-building and exciting, new settings.

There are elements here that as an avid fantasy reader, I can see the potential of. However, the world building was all over the place and confusing to follow. There were timeline jumps from the present to past events which I have seen done really well, but here it did not work. It almost felt like two different books in a series (and probably would’ve worked better if it had been written that way). Many are going to be drawn to this book because of their love of the Murderbot series and I can’t stress enough how different this is from that. Read if you are really hard up for high fantasy books but skip if you were hoping for Murderbot fun.

5/5
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.

My full review will be posted closer to publication.

I loved the world building but I couldn't connect with the characters. I loved the intricacy of the politics and details, but it was almost too confusing.

What a great read, with stakes that are just high enough, intricate worldbuilding, and characters that stole my heart. I can understand why some found it too complex/confusing, because of the detailed politics of the world and the shifts between past and present. However, I didn't think it was too hard to follow. I was absolutely swept up by this book, and I hope there's more in store in this world!

This is world-building and high fantasy at some of its finest. Martha Wells managed to create an intricate plot with a lot going on. At times it became hard to follow, even with the reference at the beginning to who's who in the zoo. The nuance is great but not for the faint of heart. I would have liked to see more of the "behind the scenes" feelings and thoughts of our main characters to flesh them out a bit more clearly.

So much clever worldbuilding, not enough character.

The story starts out with a 'what happened before' scenario with the protagonist entombed, and the plot unravels from there. How did this happen? Who captured the Witch King and why? And who the hell are these characters we're meeting at the very beginning?
All of this is embedded in a very rich world with its very own system of magic, mythology and politics. From the very start I was eager to find the answer to all the questions above and more. And it's very promising that they might get answered in two timelines (past and present).
Unfortunately the book quickly gets deep into exposition of court politics and and introduces a lot of groups and people at once without explaining a lot. This made it hard to follow for me, while on the other hand the characters - who seemed really intriguing in the beginning - are hard to grasp.
So even though the world is really well thought through and like nothing I've ever read, I just couldn't fall into the world and could not go deeply into the characters and their inner life and motivations. For me the book was all description and facts, but not enough emotions and passion.

Very different from Murderbot, but wow, Martha Wells is one heck of a writer! Spectacular craft in her worldbuilding and plotting. The book starts in medias res and keeps up the pace for pretty much the whole time, which is an impressive feat for a chunky epic fantasy! There's a very large cast but the whole book is centered around Kai, the eponymous (erroneously named, as it turns out) Witch King, and follows him in two timelines as he helps overthrow an empire and then has to deal with the descendants of heroes living long enough to become villains. It's hard to describe what makes the book so good, really, except that it was so impeccably written and I never wanted to stop reading! I was terrified as I approached the end because I thought there was no way to wrap it up in time, but it really is a true standalone. A very fun, tightly plotted book.

An engaging story from Martha Wells drops the reader in the midst of a complex but unique world featuring political intrigue and a rich history of magical systems. I cared early about Kai and his companions as they sought to unravel one mystery, while another thread of the story took me back in time to show how they first came together.

I found it a bit challenging to get into the book at first, though, due to the complexity of the system and the unique terms and groups described. Even after completing the whole story, I was still unclear about some of the political groups, how they came to be, and how they fit within the entire structure of the world. That said, I found the characters compelling and simply had to know what happened at the end, the writing was excellent, the magic system unique, and I'd happy return to this world created by Wells for more stories.

Martha Wells spins a high fantasy adventure that grabs your attention and doesn't let go. As a huge fan of the Murderbot series, I was excited to read how Wells was going to create a fantasy world and I was not disappointed.

The reader follows Kai, a demon living in the mortal world and inhabiting the body of a high born family member. Kai was....dead-ish, and now he's alive, in a tomb, and someone is trying to steal his power. That's where we begin and it's a wild ride until the end. The chapters switch between past and present, so be sure to pay attention. I got a little lost a few times, but going back a page or two got me back on track. What I love about Martha's writing, is that she makes the reader love her characters. Kai is a demon, this is very clearly defined, and I still fell in love with his character even with the occasional gore and murder. The found family elements and the very well thought our magic system were icing on the cake for me. I hope this novel is the start to a new series, but the story could be self contained if not. Great book!

3.5 / 5

Thank you so much for the ARC, Netgalley! As a huge fan of Martha Wells's "Murderbot" series, I was excited to read her latest foray into a more fantasy-flavored story. There's a lot to enjoy here - "Witch King" tells the story of Kai, a demon who is able to possess dead mortal bodies, and his struggle to reunite his found family following a threat on his existence. Yes, there are certain Murderbot-y narrative choices: Kai is deadly and dangerous, but largely a good guy who wants to be left alone. Found family is a BIG theme here. The whole thing has a nicely genderqueer approach, as the soul does not always match the sex of the body. I grew attached to Kai and his friends as they unravel the question of who betrayed them, and why.

So why did this not *entirely* work for me? The worldbuilding was so, so dense. As the first novel in what I assume (?) is a series, "Witch King" does a lot of creating, but I was left with so many questions as I was reading, that the emotional points didn't always land. A lot was not explained. A lot was inferred. And Kai's story is one of those back-and-forth past-and-now-present narratives with every other chapter or so taking place at a different time that I had trouble connecting with the overarching plot. Characters would be reunited and I'd know it was supposed to be an emotional scene, but instead of feeling much I'd go "who is that?" because they had not appeared in the plot yet. Frankly, the past sections versus present sections did NOT work for me. It was like Wells couldn't decide between telling the story of how a found family came to be, and telling the story of the found family going through trauma years and years (centuries?) later.

Still - I DID like this. I was compelled to keep reading. I want to read the next story. Kai is a charming protagonist. But I think I'd have enjoyed this more as a linear tale than what it was.

I love Martha Wells, I do. And I was really into this book in the beginning. It felt slow for a while there, and I lost interest for a bit, but still well done overall.

I love the characters this author writes. Murderbot comes to mind with it's super compelling main character and fun, well-developed assortment of side characters. This story is no exception with Kai, a demon. I also liked the way this story alternated between past and present, but every once in a while I had to remind myself what section I was in. I loved the world-building in this book and the pacing was so tight and well done that I found myself flying through this. This was such a compelling work of epic fantasy and I highly, highly recommend this! I can't wait for more in this world and/or more from this author.

This one sadly just didn't work for me. What I can't get over is just how plot-heavy it is. I don't mind a lot of plot in the SFF books I read, but I do mind when the book is ONLY plot--which felt like the case with Witch King. One thing happened, then another, then another, with very little feeling of how the characters were processing it all or what kind of people they actually were. These kind of breathless books never work me, so unfortunately I didn't end up enjoying Witch King (though I woulddn't rule out checking out some of Martha Wells's other books).

In the Witch King, Martha Wells throws us head first into an intense epic fantasy, one populated by diverse cultures with different systems of magic. Told in two lines it details how a powerful people called the Heirarchs invaded the lands of this world intent on wiping out or enslaving its people.

Kai is a demon from the Underearth who made a pact with a peaceful nomadic people to experience mortal life in exchange for inhabiting the body of a dying girl. This is considered an honor for the dying person’s family and a way to preserve their memory and continue their line. When the Heirarchs invade, wiping out his entire tribe, Kai manages to escape and will later find himself joining a coalition of cultures intent on fighting back and regaining their world.

The world built by Martha Wells in this fantasy takes a little while to get to know as, rather than large blocks of information, it is gradually revealed through the narrative set in the past and the present. It does take a little attention and concentration to work out who the characters are and what they can do and to keep track of which time line you’re reading, but the reward is well worth the effort.

The characters are all fascinating, particularly Kai, who is hard not to like, even if he is a demon who can drain the life of a mortal in seconds. It wasn’t clear to me why he’s called the Witch King since he’s neither a witch nor a king of witches, except that it’s a name from legend, so maybe this will become clear in a sequel (if there is to be one). Kai’s companion Zeide is a witch who has her own unique magical abilities and together they are looking for Zeide’s wife who has disappeared, and might have been captured herself. Bashasa, leading the band of races revolting against the Heirarchs is also a very charismatic character (and someone I’d love to see more of in a sequel).

Recommended to all lovers of epic fantasy, especially those who enjoy a complex tale of betrayal, revenge and political intrigue wrapped in a creative character driven plot. I hope this is the first of a series as I would love to learn more of this world and what happens next and it will also give me an excuse to re-read this novel, which I suspect I’d enjoy even more the second time around.

A high fantasy adventure with in-depth and completely original worldbuilding. As with the Murderbot series, Wells showcases realistic, prickly-yet-lovable characters and weaves their stories together with a compelling and intricate plot. Kai, a demon prince, finds himself resurrected and hunted. He must outpace and outwit his pursuers as he travels with allies both new and old to rescue the missing members of his once-found family, and possibly set right the course of history.

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!