3.5, rounded up.

I enjoyed the characters and their interactions and dialogue, but I found the story structure and pacing to be lacking. Kai, Ziede, and many of their friends, allies, and antagonists are charming, but I didn't find the past timeline to be engaging, and the constant switch between narratives caused the plot to drag.

I'm giving this one star because if it hadn't been a review ARC I would have DNFed it.

I am disappointed because I have both liked and loved the Murderbot books.

The biggest problem with this story is that Wells spent too much time describing setting, hair, and clothing; leaving the characters bland and the plot almost nonexistent. Another problem was everything and everyone seemed to be of equal importance to her. This meant some settings should have been given more detail and some less; and to be honest some settings didn't need to be mentioned at all. All the characters were basically given the same attention, so none of the important characters ended up being fleshed out enough.

There were way too many secondary and flat characters. Most of them had long similar sounding names, so they all started to blend together into one after a while, especially the ones who were switching bodies. I know she was trying to make some sort of a statement about gender, but the switching out of actual physical bodies and changing biological sex made things too complicated because gender is a social construct, and biological sex is not. I think she was trying to point this out, but it was lost in confusing mire.

Most of the task scenes were long and drawn out with too many extraneous steps. I would end up screaming, "Just do it already, my gawd," in my head.

There were too many different fighting factions with different types of government, with too many pacts and treaties, traitors, defectors, and spies for a standalone book. It would have been better to make this a duology with the earlier timeline being book one, but would she have used the extra pages to better define the political elements, explain the magical system, and more interestingly flesh-out the main characters? I doubt it. She probably would have just added more unnecessary abandoned cities to the travelogue.

What I was loving at first was the fresh take on demons and witches, and some intriguing magical elements, but nothing was ever explained, most not even in rudimentary terms. Explanations were basically "that's what witches do" and "that's how demons are" with no how or why given. I always say that if authors don't have to explain the magical systems they create, anyone can write a Fantasy book.

Terry Pratchett's writing advice, "Apply logic in places where it wasn’t intended to exist. If assured that the Queen of the Fairies has a necklace made of broken promises, ask yourself what it looks like. If there is magic, where does it come from? Why isn’t everyone using it? Fantasy works best when you take it seriously.”

Somewhere in the last quarter of the book I realized how much Wells was drawing from Full Metal Alchemist for some of the magical elements, especially transmutation circles, and this was solidified by the chimeras in the story being very much like misanthropic humanoids.

Was there a plot, not really, the storyline basically became following a crowd of characters traveling from one place to another in two timelines for reasons not well defined, with their hair and clothing overly described. Reading the conclusion was like eating soggy, room temperature cornflakes. Was this the author's idea of one of those ridiculous "no plot, all vibes" stories the publisher (Tor) has been trying to make trendy? Maybe she was asked to write one? At least be honest and publicize/promote it as one, so readers like me won't request review copies and then feel obliged to read the entire book.

It took me entirely too long to read this book because I kept going back to look for information I thought I had missed, only to find out the information was never given.

The way this book was written was incredible. Such an inventive story and world. I also loved that the main character is powerful - not a farm boy learning his powers. This is very different from Murder Bot, but the character work is just as good. Love necromancy? Love non linear plots? Check this out!

I loved this book! This is the first Martha Wells novel I've read (I'm late to the party, I know), and I really enjoyed the way the world in this book was put together. Kai is a compelling protagonist, and I found the magic system in this book very intriguing. By the end of the book, I was thoroughly invested and wanted to know more about the underearth and the Hierarchs. By the end of the book, though, I still had a lot of unanswered questions about Bashasa and Kai's relationship, and about the origin of the Hierarchs. This is not a problem if this book is meant to be the start of a series, and I'm really hoping for a sequel!

I for the most part enjoyed Witch King. It was by far one of the most original magic systems I've seen from a fantasy book. It definitely took a little bit to grasp all of the worldbuilding and politics fully. I feel like if it had just a little bit more exposition or even a glossary at the beginning of the book it would’ve been a lot easier to understand all the new terms. Having a list of all the characters at the beginning of the book was nice to keep track of them all though. I love Kai! One of my absolute favorite characters I have ever read about! He is such a complex character considering he is a ruthless demon but one you can’t help but root for throughout the book. The overall plot was intriguing, especially with the alternate storylines going back and forth between the past and present. Ultimately I would rate Witch King a 4 out of 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and plot but it was just slightly confusing at times.

I received an early reviewer's copy of Witch King from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Here is the deal - this is Martha Wells at all of her fantasy, world building glory. I know a lot of people have only read her Murderbot series and are surprised by how intense her fantasy writing is (and has been). I started with Murderbot a year or two ago, and then I spent a whole summer with the Raksura and realized how intricate all of her worlds are.
So! With that being said, this is a solid entry into Wells's fantasy bibliography. One of the main reasons I love her fantasy books is because she just drops you right in the deep end. It's a great way to kind of, spurn a sense of wonder at the largess of the worlds she creates.
The world she has created in Witch King is expansive, not just physically (though her worlds are usually so large in distance), but in the concepts of what it means to be human - gender, sexuality, ability... Sometimes you're a demon in a new body and you're just having a bit of a Time. It's so refreshing to be able to read a big-F Fantasy novel and not cringe internally at homophobia, transphobia and general LGBTQ squeamishness.
Witch King is the kind of book that is an escapist's dream: a world where it isn't all a metaphor for a current/recent social issue. (Don't get me wrong, I love books on both sides of this, but sometimes you need a book to let you stop thinking about the world so you can relax for a second.) And while it is unfortunately still a world that will be taken as a "political statement" by some, just due to Wells's standard inclusiveness, it is really just a story you can get sunk right into and inhabit the world in your mind.
Also, if you are a new Wells reader from Murderbot or just finding her for the first time: if you liked this book, you are going to *love* her back catalogue.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Tor in exchange for my honest opinion.

Genre: Fantasy
Format: Third person, Dual timeline

This one was a little hard for me to get into.

The world building is complex and deep—it helps that there's a human who was saved from being sacrificed to give us other humans insight into the world of demons and witches. Kai is multifaceted, and an interesting character. I enjoyed the grandmother and her way of dealing with Kai and the family.

I never felt completely immersed in this novel. And I believe that's because it wasn't in first person—which I'm now more accustomed to reading.

If you're ready for a high fantasy, dealing with politics, social questions, and a fairly cerebral story, this is perfect for you!

Happy reading!

DNF at 61%. I like the concept of this book, and Martha Wells has an engaging writing style. However, the approach of this book did not really work for me at this point in time, especially with the dual timeline.

Thank you to Tor Dot Com and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this book.

I ended up DNF'ing this book about 33% of the way through. There was a lot of info dumping and I was really struggling to read. The characters all seemed really interesting but I struggled with them because of all the info dumping, I felt like there was more exposition than seeing the characters actually doing something. My book club will be reading this over the summer so I will pick it up again then and see if I like it better the second time.

I was super excited when I saw that Witch King was on NetGalley and I was so happy to receive a copy of it in exchange for an honest review.
 
Unfortunately though, this was not a book for me.
It is partly my fault: I was hoping for it to be more funny and engaging, and reading the blurb I was expecting a different story. Also, since it is a book with a demon as the main character, I was expecting a lot of sarcasm.

This wasn't the case at all.
 
The book is told from a third point of view, and it goes back and forth between the past and present.
In the present, you just start to follow the demon Kai after he wakes up, and nothing is explained to you at all. It was a sink or swim situation, and I just did not stay afloat.
 
In the past sections, it was a bit easier to follow, but there are still so many new names of people, places, and different people's titles that are used without much context. The book also flips between past and present when you are finally starting to figure out what is going on with some catching lines, which made the experience even more frustrating.
 
Maybe some people like being thrown into the world and just having fun going along with all the action without understanding much, but sadly, I am a slow-paced reader, and this read just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and TOR for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

This was my first Martha Wells book and what a first book it was. I hope there will be many more books in this world, especially with Kai and his found family.

The alternating timeline between the past and the present was probably the best execution I have ever read. The interweaving of the storylines was seamless. They were subtlety connected. They gave foreshadowing to each other. *chef's kiss*

I could go into heavy detail about the plot and the characters' relationships but I don't want to because I suggest you go into this book blind. I went in only knowing what I read from the back and that was enough.

It was a gloriously written story with sublime intricate worldbuilding and a wonderful cast of characters.
I could not recommend it more.

After seeing so many of my mutuals on bookstagram and Goodreads adore this book, I was SO excited to dive in. But unfortunately, I had to DNF around the 30% mark.

I’m Witch King, we follow Kai THE baddest of bad guys, who has just been resurrected after being unconscious for years cannot recall the events that led up to his “big sleep”. Kai was, most definitely the BEST part of this book, and the reason I stuck it out for as long as I could.

Unfortunately my issues are with the writing style and story telling in this book. Told in two timelines, today and what I can assume is the past leading up to Kai’s big sleep. It was impossible to follow, with enough info dumping to make my head spin.

However, if you’re able to handle that better than me ( and I have no doubt you will ) this is probably the book for you!

Thank you to Tor & Netgally for providing this e-arc for review.

A temporary DNF at 36%. I fully intend to pick this up again during a time where I am not exhausted and too busy to focus on the plot.

At this point, I like the characters, I love some of the non-gender conforming elements being used (like men wearing skirts and girls wearing pants, or Kai being a male demon who makes himself comfortable in either male or female bodies with seemingly no preference). I am intrigued about the plot and want to know what happens.

BUT, I am struggling with the plot, find the time jumps confusing, and generally feel like I picked up book two in a series. I think this is a book where I would benefit from being in a physical copy and not the digital ARC. I would also love a map and more information about the various factions/races. We are given a character breakdown at the beginning, but that doesn't necessarily help.

I will pick this back up, but with a physical copy and when I can dedicate time to reading and give it all of my focus.

I love Martha Wells books and this was no exception. Amazing storytelling going back amd forth, deep characters, world building that might confuse you until you get in tune with the story and then you're along for the ride. And what an amazing ride! I loved the MC a lot and I was on the edge of my seat trying to understand who wanted them gone. I am not a very good detective so I didn't guess anything but I loved reading the story unfolding from his POV and seeing all the characters he encountered along the way.

Thank you to Tor for providing me an arc in exchange for a review!

This is my new favourite Martha Wells’s book!

“I know who you are, the demon the mortals call King of the Witches. Do you promise revenge?”

I was hesitant going into this after reading fellow reviews of the complicated intricacies, time jumps, and the numerous characters which made the book hard to follow.
However, I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected - always the best feeling after becoming scared to pick it up.

The main aspect of Kai’s demon power involves body jumping similar to The Ruin of Kings and Immortal Longings. Basically, the Grass King clans trade the death of a clan member for a young demon, for the chance to hear the last thoughts of the dead. Then, the demon takes up the dead one's place, and works, fights, and even bears or sires children.

Sanja was a good plot device - a young girl drawn into Kai’s world saved from being used as a sacrifice. As she doesn’t know anything, she’s used to explain history, politics, and, most importantly, swear words.

I loved the relationships Kai cultivated. He’s a demon and thus faces so many prejudices and myths, and yet there are some characters who seek him out and treat him as a real person, someone deserving of worth, attention, and even friendship.

“I don't know if I can do what you want me to do, Bashasa. If I can stay calm and always think ahead, like you do. I'm so angry, I could burn the world."
Bashasa didn't seem concerned. “Unfortunately, someone else has already burned it. We need to unburn it." He looked up, his expression serious.
"Will you help me do that, Kai?"

I do understand others’ complaints about complication world-building and info dumping. Sometimes it felt there was too much description for futile things, and then the important fundamentals were skimmed over, leaving me confused and frustrated at the useless-feeling exposition. Then again, I feel many fantasy books suffer from this, so this is no major criticism that should put you off reading this book if you do read high fantasy regularly.

This was a good blend of action, a hard magic system, politics and past combining with the present.

I would recommend this if you enjoyed The Ruin of Kings.

Witch King is a found family fantasy that read exactly like what it says on the tin.

Its theme focuses heavily on forged interpersonal bonds -- the transition from reluctant allies to lifelong soulmates between a ragtag group of survivors united under one common cause, unlikely to meet, let alone befriended, otherwise, but here they are -- and leaves very little exploration for anything else. The so-called antagonist is but fading fog in the background. The world building and magic system are purposefully sparing, just enough for the readers to glean what's going on, but not enough to linger on.

The plot creeps up on you, it's not the kind of action-packed that you come to expect out of high fantasy. This one's quiet, meditative, and honestly, it's not straying far from the cosy fantasy label -- as in everyone is just so damn nice and reasonable to one another, the good just outweighs the bad and you always get the feeling that they'll come out alright in the end. The writing, moving unhurriedly, encourages this. It is Layered with descriptions, of people, their background and clothing, of food, of places and setting -- and teeters on the line of being redundant. Honestly, if Martha Wells wasn't the author on the other side of these words, I would have dnfed this long ago. Somehow, she still managed to make it tolerable enough for me to power through.

One last thing, this is the first instance where the past-present intertwining storyline worked out for me. I enjoyed reading about both timeline and the characters that occupied them, and I appreciate that they seem to be balanced very well. Usually, I'll just get invested in the present and be disappointed in the boring past, but this was not the case.

The premise of this is incredibly intriguing. Even the beginning chapter absolutely hooked me. However over 20% in, I found myself confounded. I’m used to Wells’ murderbot series which excels because of its genius ability to simultaneously built an inventive and exciting world, told my a literal murderbot, but in an incredibly tight and controlled manner. That ability seems to be absent here as Wells has entire pages of exposition and info dumping that doesn’t feel fluid or purposeful. It feels convoluted I stead of elegantly clear and to the point. The use of a past timeline at first seemed to provide good background for Kai, but then also began to meander into its own plot which seems to diverge from the present plot.

Perhaps these two ultimately come together but for me, at least right now, I find myself having to put this down after feeling increasingly lost and confused.

I really really struggled getting into this book. It drops you right in medias res with a bunch of characters and more new worldbuilding jargon in the first couple chapters than I want to handle right now. I just could not engage with the narrative or characters with this writing style, and once I get turned off from a read like this it's hard for me to muster the motivation to keep going. Maybe one day in the future I will pick this up in print and bring the right amount of patience to bear to give it a fair shot.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Tor, for providing me with this e-arc.

I could not get into this novel so I left was not able to finish it. It was confusing, too complex, and did not rope me in.

This was my first ever Martha Wells and tbh I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Where I know her from most is the Murderbot series, which obviously is quite hyped, but it didn't give me a lot in terms of what to expect.
Save to say tho, this book very much delighted me!
This book is all about a sad emo gay boy and his angry lesbian side-kick and I was here for it!
First a couple of negatives tho. It took me quite a while to get into the book. Idk if it was the writing or just reading it in an e-format (not my favorite format) but while I enjoyed the book when I read it, for the first half-ish of the story I didn't necessarily find myself thinking of it or wanting to pick it up in between chapters.
Part of that might've also been due to the structure of the story, which took me a while to get into. It's told in present and past chapters, where the chapters set in the past slowly reveal the information necessary to understand what is currently happening. Because that information wasn't just worldbuilding or plot-relevant but also added a lot in terms of context for the characters, it took me just a bit to latch onto them (latch onto them I did tho).
In terms of worldbuilding, for me personally there wasn't enough there and I would've probably preferred to have... just more.
Now for the positives: I really enjoyed the plot. While I don't think the way the story is told is for everyone, once I git into it I really enjoyed it. Martha Wells managed to both keep the plot very self ontained and small (we're basically just trying to find someone) while also managing to weave it into this bigger picture. That however mostly provides the backdrop to our central plot and through that raised the stakes. AT the same time there's always parallels between the past and present, which meant that jumping between the two was interesting, rather than jarring and gave a lot of context.
My favorite thing about the book was definitely the characters. Kai is such an emo sad boy and *I was here for it*!!! The side characters as well added so much and I especially fell in love with Dahin.
I think that's all I can think of right now but safe to say I was a fan and am now a lot more confident picking up Murderbot this year!