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.

I also sampled the audio book read by Eric Mok and thought he read it well. It is always nice to hear how the character and place names should be read.

So, this came to me sooner than I was expecting from the library, and I wanted to see what Ms. Wells would do with a new fantasy book (and it's not clear at this time whether it's standalone, or first in a series). My reaction to this is coming to it as a standalone, and if it's later revealed to be the first novel in a series, I'll amend this accordingly. Kai is a solid main character, I love the dynamic between him, Ziede, and their wife, and Wells does fantastic with describing the clothes and scenery, and juxtaposing the past against the present the way she does. The problem on my end was that I had trouble grasping the magic system to some degree, and given how much of a load bearing element the magic system is, that made it a bit difficult to follow at times. If this cast isn't coming back, I genuinely cannot name characters beyond Kai and four of the people that come up at various points throughout the book, one of whom doesn't even show up till the last chapter; there's lots of them, but not a lot of them are too memorable. The audiobook lends itself incredibly well to details though, and is a great narrator besides. Highly recommended.

I received this audiobook ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Y'all I DNFed this book at 20%. I was so excited for this book. I've heard so many good things about Martha Wells, but this book was not it. I was 15% in and had no idea what was happening. Everything was very confusing. I didn't understand what was happening in the plot. The characters got mixed up in my mind. Maybe it's because I went in not knowing much about the plot?.. I don't know.

I do have the beautiful Illumicrate edition as well. Maybe I will retry this book in the future, but right now it's a DNF.

This book had a great premise but was not executed very well. Unfortunately I was unable to finish this book.

I'm a huge Martha Wells fan and was thrilled to get a shot at this Advanced Listening Copy! The plot was enticing and I was in to the time-jumping we got between different eras/realities/lives(?) in the first third of the novel. However, I had the same problem with the Witch King audiobook that I've had with a few Netgalley ALCs--the digital file went wacky around one-third of the way in, almost sounding like it was running two tracks that were both slightly out of sync. I eventually got my hands on a paper copy of the book and tried to pick back up; but I'd lost track of the world-building and could never get reinvested, so ended up DNFing.

*Witch King* by Martha Wells is a captivating and action-packed fantasy novel that combines political intrigue, magical warfare, and complex characters. The story follows Kai, a former ruler and powerful witch, who finds himself caught in a battle for power after his imprisonment. Wells expertly weaves themes of revenge, loyalty, and redemption as Kai navigates a world full of treachery and shifting alliances. Her world-building is immersive, with rich lore and a fascinating magic system. The characters are multi-dimensional, and the plot keeps readers on edge with its unpredictable twists. *Witch King* is a thrilling, thought-provoking read for fans of high fantasy and strong protagonists.

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.

I loved the story. It's a little slow but still so good.
And I loved the audio book so much! The narrator is great.

I don't think Martha Wells is for me. I dnf Murderbot. I zoned in and out of this one and was bored from beginning to end. I didn't find Kai or any of the other characters interesting.

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

From the author that brought us Murderbot Diaries, Witch King, is a great new fantasy filled with innovative storytelling. The perspective changing from past to present was very interesting too. For fans of some light humor blended with witches, demons, and an interesting magic system.

I'm sorry but I did not finish this one.
I have been so obsessed with murderbot from this author that I think my brain just expects a continuance of that type of chaos. I did not get it here and after reading more than halfway through, I kinda gave up, sorry. I will try harder.

I really wanted to like this one but I just didn't. It wasn't that it was bad, the writing was good and I did like the main character I just had a very hard time connecting to the characters of caring about the world. I can see why this book would appeal to other people, it just wasnt for me which is a shame since I REALLY love the authors other series.

An intricate story that used complex relationships and a interesting magic system to propel the story. The characters were interesting and I enjoyed the use of flashbacks to help us learn more about the people and world.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was exactly what I wanted it to be! I loved it. I will make sure to check out other books by this author. When I requested this I was just intrigued by the concept of it and I loved how it turned out. This story had a great plot and if you have read this and enjoyed it, This was so much. It was such a great story. I would say give this one a try. I will continue to follow this author. Way to go to this author for not letting me down.

I highly enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook. Kept me listening.

3.5 round up

I had high hopes for Martha Wells' "Witch King," especially given my fondness for her captivating "MURDERBOT" series. However, my experience with this novel left me somewhat unsatisfied. While Wells introduces an intriguing premise, the execution fell short for me.

One of the main hurdles I encountered was the abrupt feeling of being thrust into the middle of a story without sufficient background. It almost felt like starting with the second book in a series, leaving me struggling to grasp the full context. The narrative spends considerable time delving into past events to justify present circumstances, almost as if there should have been a preceding book to provide necessary context.

Wells ambitiously incorporates multiple timelines, which, although aligned cohesively, occasionally disrupt the flow of the story. Certain sections felt like unnecessary detours, slowing down the pacing to the extent that I found myself questioning the purpose of certain plot threads.

Although the magic system presented great potential, it felt underutilized, primarily serving as a plot device to maneuver characters rather than fully exploring its intricacies. Looking back, it's challenging to pinpoint the overarching goal or significance of the story, which detracted from my overall enjoyment.

Unfortunately everything that drew me to Martha Wells' books is what led me away from this one. The characters didn't draw me in, the world felt bland, I just wasn't a fan and was so sad about it.

I love Martha Wells, but I really struggled to immerse myself in this story. I’ve tried putting it down and coming back to it a few times, but I think i’ll have to pick up the physical version of this book. The world building was a bit too hard to grasp via audiobook.

I find it difficult to rate this book. It's a captivating read, but the frequent time shifts didn't work for me. Switching between different timelines can enhance a reading experience. However, in this case, it felt like Martha Wells wanted to write a trilogy, and her publisher shot down the request, so she wrote this book instead. Like, the first book took place in the flashback chapters, there was no second book, and the third book was in the remaining chapters.

Reading the flashback chapters and then going back to read the present chapters helped me with my understanding of the world and characters.

I wish this book were a proper trilogy, allowing the author to flesh out the world and characters more. I enjoyed the characters and would love to see more of them.

The narrator did a great job. I liked the dry humor he infused with the characters.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

As someone who enjoyed Wells's Murderbot Diaries, I was excited to check out a new novel that is fully fantasy after so much of her sci-fi work. I found the book interesting and I thought the audiobook was done well, but there were a few parts that fell short for me.

The novel follows the consciousness of Kai, a higher being also known as the Witch King, who awakens to realize that he has been murdered (bodily) and trapped (psychically and magically), and his allies and companions are missing. The story chronicles Kai's attempts to determine what precisely happened to him and why, and to reunite with his allies to fight against rising powers.

Kai is a delightful, murderous protagonist much in the realm of what I expected from Wells's writing, and I enjoyed the worldbuilding she did. I also liked the use of the flashbacks to lend context to Kai's story. However, the pacing of the book dragged in parts, and the emotional connections to the characters fell short for me. I think this is a great fantasy read for 2023, and certainly worth checking out if you've liked Martha Wells but prefer fantasy over sci-fi. For me, I still think my heart lies with Murderbot Diaries.

I picked this up because I LOVED the Murderbot series and the premise for Witch King sounded good.

I first picked this up and set it aside- thinking that my mood may have impacted how well I was connecting with the book. I waited until the fall season where I crave all things dark and witchy. But even then it did not help me. I just wasn't connecting.

I finished it this time and thought that it may pick up. It did not.

I think With Martha Wells, I enjoy reading her Novellas the best. She writes really well in the short form. It's her longer books that tend to trip me up (even in the murderbot series). and unfortunately, this is one didn't have a series I loved building up to it and so it's a bit of a "womp-womp" for me.