A big thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

You saw her sci-fi, now get ready for Martha Wells' fantasy.

Witch King by Martha Wells is a standalone fantasy novel that follows the (after)life of Kai, who was previously murdered, after his consciousness has been reawakened following his prolonged dormant state. He awakens to find a lesser mage trying to harness his magic. Which doesn't end well of course. With a new body, Kai must navigate this new world in an attempt to understand all that's happened since his death. And most importantly, why he was trapped.

This book is so wild and weird, it's hard not to love. And to save everyone from spoilers, as the description does it no justice. Read this book! Go read it right now!

Witch King jumps straight into the plot and action which grabbed my attention but also soon lost me. So much happened with dual time lines, magic system, and many characters, that I felt like I was coming into the second or third book of a series and trying to grasp at some element I missed. I really wanted more exposition and intro to the world and Witch King to help me follow along and feel the connection I wanted to with the characters and the conflicts. I do think the plot was unique, especially the Witch Kings' situation at the bottom of the ocean and his abilities, but even with that I got bored and struggled through skimming the last bit.

I am rounding up from 2.5 and it breaks my heart. I am a big fan of the Murderbot series and Martha Wells. I hate to say that this novel was disappointing for me. Though the world is quite intricate I was surprised at how distant I felt from the action and the characters. I am still trying to figure out exactly why. I usually enjoy multiple timeline mysteries. Here. we follow Kai in the present as he works with a band of folks to discover how he was assassinated and entombed underwater (the only place a demon like him is vulnerable). The story begins with him waking up and goes from there. The second timeline gives us the events that lead up to his temporary demise in the past. It is a great concept, and yet it fell very flat for me.

Perhaps it is the limited third person narration that is focalized through Kai- it limits us to what he knows, which isn't much. I normally prefer third to first person, but here I think it is part of what creates such distance as we observe the events of the story more than feel them. There is a large list of supporting characters, but again, none really popped off the page for me and at times (especially with body hopping) it was difficult to keep track of everything, Still, there are hints of the humor and deprecation I enjoyed in Murderbot sprinkled throughout what is a very dark and complex story. It is possible I will enjoy this more when I am in a different mood and the timing was just not right, but I am sad about how indifferent I felt while reading. I expected to be far more invested. Had this not been Martha Wells, I likely would have DNF'd.

I was so happy to also have access to the audiobook of this and believed it would help me to finally get into the story, but I found it to be less of a help than it normally is for me. I found myself lulled by the narrator's voice and it was easy to dose off in the middle of a scene. But again, I think this had more to do with the words on the page and the distant characterization than it did with the narrator's performance. . Overall the audiobook is well produced, it just lacked the ability to pull me into the story or care more than I was able to muster with the book alone, which for me is a rare experience.

I am thankful to Netgalley, Tordotcom and Macmillan audio for access to arcs of the ebook and audiobook in exchange for a fair review.

DNF at 40%

The Murderbot Diaries is one of my favorite Sci-Fi series and thus this new book my Martha Wells was once of my most highly anticipated releases for this year and unfortunately this instead became one of my most disappointing reads.

While I did not find anything overtly wrong with grammar and syntax, I felt that the sentences did not really come together to make a cohesive story. It feels as if Wells handed me the middle of book 2 in a series without making me read both the first book or the first half of the second book. Even after 40% through, I cannot remember a single thing about the book, other than its meandering feel and over the top descriptions about everything. Nothing felt important enough and everything purposefully vague.

I was very lucky enough to get both the eARC and the audioARC and honestly, regardless of what format I read it on, it was an extremely frustrating experience. I picked up the ebook multiple times, zoned out and fell asleep mid-read. I then tried co-reading with the audiobook but I was just frustrated at having to concentrate too much. Then I also tried reading the audiobook on the go, which is the way I usually enjoy audiobooks, but it really highlighted that the narrator was just as bored as I was! His sentences were monotone and ended on the very same note. While I loved the tone of his voice, he seemed as detached as I felt.

I think the one thing I would’ve enjoyed most about this book were the characters and yet I never really knew who they were and what motivated them. As frustrated as I was about this book, I knew that pushing forward reading the book would be an impossibility as the rest of my reading experience was already quite jaded. I did love the first couple of pages of the book and the possibility of amazing characters but I didn’t find that it was worth any more of my time attempting to read it.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan.Audio, Tor Publishing Group, Tordotcom for both the eARC and the audioARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF 52%
I had previously read All Systems Red and wasn’t into but saw potential in how the author formulated her characters. As a result, I this book a chance. It starts off well. The beginning of being trapped will the area is getting flooded strongly brought memories of the movie Tangled. Unfortunately this book wasn’t engaging. I kept holding out hoping that I could actually care about the plot but I couldn’t. The reader is thrown into this narrative and can’t simply care for these characters or their agenda.

This isn’t an easy plot to pick up from the start, you kinda just have to go with it and hope you understand more later. There are a lot of characters and while there is a list at the front, it did make for slower reading. I did really like the creativity to this though and thought it was really unique (if a bit confusing) world building. It is a slower pace plot, but I think with the complexities of the story I appreciated that as I tried to grasp what was going on. There is a dark humorous tone to it that I appreciated and would have loved to see a bit more of even. There were too many descriptions, especially of clothing which was described in great detail for all characters - color, style, culture and sometimes gender info for that style. It just didn’t add much to the story and took up a lot of page time.

The book bounces back and forth between past and present and mostly succeeded. I had both the audio and physical copies of this one but found the audio was confusing early on as I tried to remember who everyone in both timelines was. The narration was well done, but I read more of the physical book and needed the character list from it even when listening to the audio.

This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. I received an advanced audio copy from the publisher through libro.fm. Opinions are my own.

This is true high fantasy complete with a diverse character list, explanations of magics used, descriptions of the world and the different factions operating to bring about events. To be honest, when the narrator started off with a lengthy list of characters and I assume terms, I was freaking out because I knew I would never remember all of that and had no print book to refer to. But in the end it did not matter and I'm so glad I did this in audio. The narrator speaking with Kai's POV was fantastic. His tones and voice were perfect and conveyed real feeling through the words. I feel I liked this one so much because I listened to it, and may have missed some of the nuances had I just been reading.

The story starts with Kai awakening after being murdered. Buy hey, he's a demon and that's how he rolls. The story takes off immediately and through a series of time jumps from present to past and back again, all the information is provided to not only allow the reader to join Kai and his friends on the journey to figure out the mystery of who betrayed them, but how they all met each other and became friends in the first place. These POV time jumps are perfectly aligned to give the reader all the necessary information at just the right moment in the story.

The story had a closed ending, but in a way that more adventures could follow. I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a good high fantasy story

.Thank you to Macmillan Audio & NetGalley for allowing me to review this book

Chef's kiss! This book had me hooked from page one all the way until the very end! The plot, the story telling, and the setting alone were enough to interest me in the book I the beginning and keep me flipping through the pages throughout the rest of it.

Martha definitely shocked me with how much I enjoyed this book as she's not an author I typically read from! However this was a book that I could get behind and really get into! The characters were all complex, interesting, and had a good chemistry that worked in tandem with the overall plot.

Definitely a book I thoroughly enjoyed!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received this as an audiobook but I feel maybe print would have been better for me. It was hard for me to stay engaged with the narration at times.


The story starts out with zero to no context. You discover, as you go, that our Witch King, Kai, is a body jumping demon who is pretty badass. He was buried in a watery tomb (to stifle his powers) and no recollection of how he got there. Desperately looking for his friend. And figure out who betrayed him and tried to take him out. That’s the present. Then the story takes us back from how he started his life in the mortal world and then get to how he started his rebellion which led to the grave.

The story building is dense and at some times hard to follow but if you see it through, it’s pretty amazing. Unfortunately I had trouble staying engaged as the story went on. Again, I’m thinking I need to read this in print and not audio next time!

The characters are all lovable and powerful! And I can never get enough of found family!!

All in all it’s a 3.5 ⭐️ from me!

DNF @ 65%

A jumbled, sterile mess. It was told in a very convoluted way but didn't earn it's convolution; I couldn't be bothered to care about anything going on or when in the timeline we were or why any things were happening. All the characters were boring and the demons were sometimes different names depending on who they were inside...just dial it down, Martha.

The audiobook performance was fine, but nothing noteworthy.

3.5⭐️
This started out so interesting, the world building and characters were intriguing…but by half way through it just started to drag and I had a hard time getting through it. I felt like it was lacking in character/emotional development, it just turned into a series of things happening without much to make you actually care about the characters or their story, unfortunately. Very much a case of telling instead of showing everything that’s happening and it’s in such a like…detached, clinical way, that (for me, at least) there was just no emotional attachment to keep me engaged. This was one of my most anticipated spring releases, so, sadly I was pretty disappointed.

I will say the audiobook definitely helped though! I don’t think I would have gotten all the way through without it, so I highly recommend reading it that way!

I just couldn’t get into this one and I love everything about witches. This one just wasn’t for me. I will try to read more from this author because I did like her writing.

The fascinating opening scene is a high point that the rest of the book never quite regains.

The beginning is brilliant, letting the reader flounder with the main character Kai in trying to discover what is happening. Then past and present timelines begin to alternate, telling a story in Kai's history that started him on his present path. Old traditions mix into a story filled with invasion, massacre, subjugation, and revolution.

I have such mixed feelings about this book. The concept of demon "possession" and powers is excellent! The character interactions are engaging and the action scenes exciting, the combination being why I stayed invested. In fact, I would have loved to have much more relationship development piled into the storytelling.

But the traveling and evading and worldbuilding bored me. I would glaze over listening, and realize that I simultaneously did not know key details but could still understand the plot. Example: I can explain the plot of the book if you ask, but I am confused about nearly everything involving the grandmother.

Now high fantasy isn't exactly my go-to (though I love fantasy as a whole). I was thrilled to receive this book early, but I had to really put in effort to keep reading. Eric Mok does a fine job with the audiobook - the narrative portions feel a little dull, but he really shines when performing the characters' dialogue.

As soon as it was announced, Witch King immediately intrigued me. I loved the title and the cover and the premise, and while I’ve never read anything from Martha Wells, her Murderbot Diaries series is highly loved and lauded by those I trust. I’m much more of a fantasy reader than a sci-fi reader, so when I saw that she was writing a fantasy, I knew that I wanted to read it as soon as possible. And I’m happy to report that, in spite of those sky-high expectations, I was not disappointed. Witch King is a high-octave quest through a very original world littered with compelling characters, captivating locales, and some deeply disturbing magic and monsters. But, at its core, it is the ultimate story of found family, one of the best I’ve ever read.

Kai is a life-sucking, body-snatching demon with an ooey-gooey center. He might be nigh on impossible to kill, and he can take some seriously hard knocks without stopping until he is the last being standing. But when it comes to those he loves? He will do absolutely anything for them. Even if that means going to essentially the ends of the earth and battling hoards of opponents to reach them. Because that’s what the quest is here. Kai is not seeking gold or glory or even vengeance; he just wants to find the missing members of the family he built for himself and reunite them.

Our story begins in a tomb. Kai’s tomb. Demons are severely weakened by water, and he finds himself in an elaborate water trap, with no clue as to how he got there or how long he’s been there. After freeing himself and his best friend, a witch named Ziede, they seek to find Ziede’s wife and brother-in-law, and to learn who betrayed them and why.

The storytelling here felt incredibly unique to me. The pace is somehow both slow and propulsive, with action on nearly every page. There is no intensive world building; Wells doesn’t hold her readers’ hands, but rather reveals things organically as the story progresses. For some reason the world felt vaguely Egyptian to me in terms of setting, but that was the only similarity I can draw between this book and anything else I’ve ever read. There were so many different classes of beings, and we learn little snippets and snatches about them as that information becomes relevant to the plot.

This is a story that demands and rewards patience. While the book starts off incredibly strong with Kai’s escape from his own tomb, and there are action sequences aplenty, there’s something meandering about the plot itself as it unfolds. We flip every other chapter between Kai’s present and his past, how he came to be called the Witch King and how he built this family for himself out of the ashes of loss. I was equally invested in both timelines. The combination imbued the book with an element of mystery that really worked for me.

Wells is a marvelous crafter of character. Kai was multifaceted and somehow wholly unexpected. I fell in love with him, and was charmed by the people he loved. I could have spent endless days with him. And yet, we get very little inner monologue from any of these characters, including Kai. He still felt like a mystery to me, even though the entire story was told from his perspective. Everything I learned about his character, about his inner conflict and his love for his friends and his determination to protect them against all odds, I felt as if I learned from outside observation. When people talk about how an author should “show not tell” in their work, this could serve as an excellent example of an author doing exactly that, with great aplomb.

I thoroughly enjoyed Witch King, even when I was feeling slightly lost. Wells created something truly special with Kai, and with the world in which he lives. I would love to visit him again someday, should Wells ever decide to revisit the world. But even if she doesn’t, this was a wonderfully contained story that left me feeling content after I read the final pages. If her character writing is this good in everything she pens, I can’t wait to go back and reader her Murderbot Diaries.

DNF at about 40%
This book was not for me. Which is a shame. I was very intrigued and this was at the top of my anticipated reads this year :(

Martha Wells has officially made me a fantasy fan! The imagery. The magic! The evil! Oh my! After spending all that time with characters during the audiobook, I was truly sad to have it end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC!

I've read and listened to many of Martha Wells's books and loved them. This one I had a difficult time getting into. I can usually listen and track things pretty well, maybe I was just distracted, but I had a hard time figuring out which magical powers did what, and who was who. Who was a friend and who was a foe? I will have to try this again, or perhaps just pick up the physical book so I can refer to the names and connections at the beginning of the book.

I did enjoy the narrator and the production.

This was a fantastic listen with great narration. Martha Wells world building is very well done. I can’t wait to read more about these characters and their world.

I never want to do this when I am gifted a book or in this case audiobook, but unfortunately I had to DNF this at 22%. I even started it over in the hopes that I would find my footing in this story.

However, I simply could not understand or follow this on audio and honestly I don’t think there is enough intrigue in the setup for me to ever enjoy it in its physical form.

The overall idea for this story sounded so amazing, even re reading the description I can’t compute how different it feels reading it versus the quick synopsis.

This one really hurts and I’m said it didn’t work for me to even continue.

Giving 2 stars because if this story is not over your head I can see people having the kind of love for books like Circe and Song of Achilles.

Unfortunately, Witch King didn't work for me at all. I loved the idea it began with: epic fantasy from a demon's perspective. But even though the reader is immersed in the story right away, I couldn't get into it. I found the characters and writing style just not very interesting. I read to 30% and decided not to finish.