This book follows multiple storylines. It was definatly entertaining. It feels like a cross between sci-fi and fantasy. If if that's your vibe read this one.

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Where to start with this? It wasn’t inherently bad, but I was definitely disappointed as I was really looking forward to seeing what this author would do in a fantasy world after loving her sci-fi works so much.

Witch King is a long ride for sure it starts with our main character checking murked, but it’s cool because he’s a demon so not really.

What this does functionally is spilt us into a couple different timelines both with huge cast of characters that I found hard to keep up with and I typically love an ensemble cast.

There is a lot of investigative things happening and political intrigue happening as Kai tries to discover who “killed” him and ever his friend’s wife is.

Honestly I think this book was trying to tackle too many approaches in too few pages. Had the ideas had more page time to mature and be set up I think it could’ve been more impactful.

The writing itself is good though, you can’t deny that Wells has a talent with words and she does found family really well.

I’m definitely open to reading other worlds from her even if I don’t return to this one.


The narration in the audiobook was also not my favorite, definitely not the worst I’ve heard but I’m not going out of my way to find more books from this narrator.

I guess at the end of the day I’m left with having both too much chaos in this story but also not enough in terms of worldbuilding. Which is a weird place for me to be as a seasoned fantasy reader

Witch King by Martha Wells is my favorite fantasy of 2023. It begins in the decades after a war of resistance against an aggressive empire from the far north, The protagonist Kai, is a demon prince who was given the honor of living among nomadic mortals in the steppes. Kai is the epitome of “looks like a cinnamon roll and could kill you.”
My favorite part of the book is the world building. Wells took care to research societies that aren’t western European and use their histories as inspiration without appropriating or tokenizing. It’s a refreshing, exciting book that should be moved to the front of your to read list.

I did not like the narrator for this book. I thought it was difficult to understand and would have liked a little more emotion.

Excellent narration and beautiful world building. This story is very different from the Murderbot diaries that introduced me to Wells' writing, but just as enjoyable. This is an immersive and well thought out story filled with diverse and interesting characters. The beautiful narration really made the story shine. Highly recommended.

Fresh off the many lessons garnered from the Murderbot series, Martha Wells steps back into fantasy with an epic tale, rife with wonderful worldbuilding and fleshed out with charming and sarcastic characters. Often timeline shifts can leave a reader in distress when listening to an audiobooks but this was not the case in the slightest due to the superb and clear writing.

I was so very excited about this one and may try to pick it up again one day but sadly, I tried the audiobook ARC and really could not stand the narrator. I feel awful even saying that but it was a struggle just to listen and the character and place names were complex and large in number. Again, maybe I will pick it up again some day but this one was not for me at this time and I had to DNF. Thank you for the review copy.

As a fantasy, Witch King sets a very different tone from Wells’ Murderbot series, yet it is still replete with her distinct sarcastic characters and richly detailed world-building. The story follows Kaiiesteron, also known as Kai, a demon who awakens in a water-coffin cutting off his ties to the underearth. Trapped in the prison as well is his good friend, a witch named Ziede. Someone has captured them, but for what end he’s not sure. The story is told in two timelines, the present chronicling Kai and Ziede’s escape and subsequent quests to find Ziede’s missing wife, Tahren, and take vengeance on those who had betrayed them. Kai has seen terrible things in his long lifetime, and the other timeline follows his history, of watching his people be massacred and fighting a losing war against the Hierarchs. The book is full of narrow escapes and daring plans, a unique magic system, and the unyielding support of found families.

Ended up having to DNF this halfway through. Just wasn't invested in the characters as much as I would have liked to be. I enjoy Wells' writing style but this one wasn't for me.

WITCH KING by Martha Wells
Publication: 5/30/2023 by tor.Com
Page Count: 430
Audiobook by Macmillan Audio
Narration: Eric Mok
Length: 13 hours , 9 minutes


A sweeping epic fantasy populated by a multitude of characters … with the main protagonist being Kaiisteron (Kai), the demon witch king. Kai awakens suddenly from a curse that kept him trapped in stasis … he is disoriented and separate from his body… apparently having been murdered and betrayed. His best friend Ziede’s wife, Tahren, has gone missing. Obviously political machinations are operant in his present situation.
Both Kai and Ziede set off in a quest across the empire, eventually leading them to the palace where his enemies previously held him captive …where he was beaten and tortured. The narrative takes place in two time lines … present and recent past. Interesting enough, Kai has the ability of taking on the form of recently deceased mortals. Kai will need to solve the mystery of his death. Unfortunately the multilayered plot lines and crisis did not captivate my attention., and the world building appeared disjointed. I had difficulty divorcing myself of my enjoyment from the Murderbot adventures. Wells does explore gender and sexuality in her quest for diversity. Demons and magic abound.
I personally switched back and for the between the kindle and audiobook version. The narration provided by Eric Mok was enjoyable and brought to life the convoluted tale in the theatre of my mind. The inflections of different characters was a welcome relief. Thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom and Macmillan Audio for providing an Uncorrected Proof and advance audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I think I’ll stick to Well’s science fiction works, and pass on the Witch King’s lyrical prose.

The narrator was fine although I did find my listening at 1.5 speed. The audiobook was confusing to follow as apparently the book layout was alternating chapters of present tense and past tense which did not translate well at all. I thought the book slogged along and I couldn't get past that the entire book was about them trying to find out who betrayed them. That's it.

Witch King by Martha Wells shows just how much range this author has. I've loved the Murderbot series and this book is different but equally as compelling.

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Format: Audio (Netgalley via publisher)

Narrator: I really enjoyed the narrator. I thought his voice was perfect for the setting and he did an excellent job helping me connect with the story and the characters.

Story: This story was complex in all the best ways. While some may find it difficult to follow since the timeline shifts between the present and the past, I thought this was the perfect way to maintain tension and suspense while slowly giving the reader answers as to the character's motivations and the root causes of the conflicts. Some of the political and character names were hard to follow, but overall it was pretty easy to keep track of who we were rooting for and who we trusted.

I thought the characters were well-developed, and as always, I am a huge fan of Martha Well's writing style. I love how she weaves in natural ways to provide exposition (oh, you have a new person in the group who has no idea what's going on? have them ask questions of the MCs!). I am also a fan of how she creates powerful, but not overpowered, characters who are dynamic and resilient enough to get pretty beat up and keep going. I enjoyed this book a lot and will likely read it again.

Martha Wells has been a long time fave author of mine and it was good to have a new fantasy novel from this amazing writer. This is darker than some of her previous fantasy. Enjoyable. Narration was terrific. Have 2 family members who bought book in hardback. So, yeah, many stars****

I received an e-audio galley of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.

I want to believe that if I reread this it would get a higher rating from me, but I did not have a great time with this. I think the narration by Eric Mok was good, but something about the distant writing style or the dual timeline or the way the world was explained (or a combination of those things) left me really indifferent to the story and the characters. About 20% of the way through, I realized I had no idea what was happening so I went back to relisten and was just as lost. I continued on hoping it would come together and while it did in some aspects, in others it just felt really flat.

That being said, it has so many elements that I love like demons and body-swapping and political intrigue. I will definitely be giving it another shot when I’m in a different headspace, and maybe as an immersion read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of the audiobook.

I read the first book in the Murderbot series earlier this year and loved it, so I was really looking forward to this one. But it was pretty disappointing, unfortunately. It had all the hallmarks of a good adult fantasy novel - imaginative world building, intriguing characters with strong motivations and a steady plot - but there was no flair to the writing style. The narrative felt dry and lacking in humour and vigour, and the balance between world building and action/plot-driven scenes felt too heavily weighted in favour of world-building, which slowed the pacing down a lot. I liked the main characters, but I just didn't feel fully connected to them, and I think, again, that was down to writing style. So a bit of a miss for me, unfortunately.

Book Thoughts
Witch King by Martha Wells

As a huge fan of Wells’ Murderbot Diaries I was so excited to start this audiobook. Wells’ descriptions of complex magic systems, new worlds and their history/beliefs, badass characters, and action packed adventure are beautiful. I loved the main character Kai from the start, he’s a sarcastic demon that is hard to not love. The book is a dual timeline, and I found myself enjoying the chapters set in the past much more than the present. I think that having to learn about the complex history/magic of this world made for a slow read or listen in my case. I found myself feeling like not much was going on, Kai awakened and set out to find who wronged himself and his friends. At 85% through the audiobook I stopped listening. I am still intrigued by the story and I may pick it back up again when my morning commute in September starts up again.

Thanks to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this audiobook and thought the narrator did a really good job with the story. I would have liked a bit more variation to the different characters voices though. The story was really enjoyable, and I loved the interactions between immortals, demons, humans and other creatures. I want to thank the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for giving me an e-copy of this book, in return for an honest review.

I loved the story but I did not enjoy the audiobook. Martha Wells does a wonderful job at making their characters real. Coming from the Murderbot series I was excited to dive into this fantasy book and I was not disappointed. However, I felt that the audiobook and production was lacking. I will give it another try now that the book has been released.

This book just has none of the warmth or humor of the murderbot books. Good for horror and fantasy fans, not for murderbot fans.