This was an incredibly intricate and involved novel. There are dual timelines, clearly delineated and only one narrator/pov which is also helpful to keep things straight. Theres a LOT of action and show, don't tell which is how you learn to the players (demons, witches, Hierarchs, etc) and what they're capable of. The ending is actually quite masterful and well done. I still have some questions but I don't know if I just missed it in the story or if it wasn't fully explored. Very much enjoyed this; Wells is a really great writer.

I kind of loved this book. It’s an epic fantasy with a rich world that we get to see affected over a long period of time via these characters with long lifespans and through two time lines alternating between the past and the present. Seeing the results of the characters revolutionary actions in the past contrasted with what’s happening in the present and seeing characters who only knew about the events that happened from a historical perspective was something I really enjoyed. Seeing how the different people’s cultures and their politics interacted and the way the book explored gender identity dynamics was also really interesting. The magic systems are well constructed and smoothly implemented in the story in a really intuitive way. The story is rich and complex and yet how Martha Wells brings these elements together feels effortless.

This isn’t a quick light read, it’s something that should be enjoyed and savored when you have the time to dedicate to it and really get immersed in the story. Witch King is a stand-alone as far as I know and wraps up in a satisfying way but there is definitely more that can be explored and I would be excited to read more about this world if the author decides to continue it in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an amazing fantasy book! I loved this so much. I was hooked from the beginning and I thought that this was an amazing read.
I just reviewed Witch King by Martha Wells. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for giving me a digital copy of "Witch King" by Martha Wells in exchange for an honest review.

I think the best place to start is this: if you came to Witch King by way of Wells's sci-fi masterpiece Murderbot series, please be aware that these are very different stories. The subject, the setting, the tone, and the style, are all completely different. If you want Murderbot but in epic fantasy form, you will not find it in Witch King.

The story begins when demon Kaiisteron, Prince of the Fourth House of the Underearth (Kai for short) and his friend Witch Ziede Daiyahah awaken in a magical tomb, finding they've been betrayed in advance of a major world summit. Ziede's wife Tahren Stargard is missing and their collective absence from the summit could have serious implications. They immediately fight off an expositor (a type of magic wielder) who would have used Kai's abilities for his own nefarious purposes. They escape, hitch a ride with a magically encumbered whale, collect a street urchin and a mute Witch as sidekicks, fight another expositor, and set out to find Tahren.

If this feels like a lot, you are correct. It is. But there's more!

The story then breaks into alternating chapters of different time periods, The Present and The Past. The Present traces their journey to find Tahren. The Past traces Kai's arrival in the human world decades prior, the result of a peace treaty between underearth demons and an ancestor of the Saredi plainspeople. When members of the Saredi die, their bodies are inhabited by demons such as Kai, who then live among them filling the roles of those whose bodies they now inhabit. Among the Saredi, it's an accepted practice, but other societies are ignorant and fearful of the demons.

Kai isn't on the surface long when. a group called the Hierarchs appear on the scene and use an absolutely devastating form of magic to subjugate or annihilate the rest of the world, the Saredi included. Kai's entire adopted family is killed and he is taken prisoner. He is eventually rescued by, and then partners with, human prince-heir Bashasa. Bashasa is a member of the Benais-arik, held hostage by the Hierarchs to ensure his family's cooperation.

Kai and Bashasa's initial goal is only to wreck havoc and go down fighting; they have no expectation of surviving, let alone winning. And yet, somehow they do. Of course they do. Their path to victory parallels the path Kai and Ziede take decades later in their search for Tahren.

To be honest, I wasn't totally sold on Witch King in the beginning. The alternating timelines don't align with any real clarity until around 40%. World-building is a bit bewildering until you have collected enough detail to piece everything together and if you don't pay attention, you're going to miss important details. All of which means that this book requires effort. I almost felt like I should read it a second time before writing this review (I didn't, so please forgive an misrepresentations.)

As much detail as there is, some areas could have used more development. For example, their adopted urchin Sanja and Witch colleague Tenes didn't feel like fully-realized characters; they were convenient mechanisms to assist in the plot and to round out the Found Family vibe, but never really owned their spaces in the story.

If you're willing to keep an open mind and to make a commitment, you'll find an interesting story. I was particularly interested in the dynamics of gender identity and I loved the LGBQT aspects. I enjoyed the story, but I can't say it's for everyone.

In the beginning, the Grass King clans made a deal with the underearth - they traded the death of a clan member for a young demon. Kaiisteron, the Witch King, was a demon living with the Saredi clan, until he was captured and taken to the Cageling Demon Court. Kai is rescued by the charismatic Bashasa Calis, a Prince-heir turned hostage, who leads the liberation of the Summer Halls.

Years later, Kai awakens in an underwater tomb to see his dead body encased in a glass coffin. A magician comes to enslave Kai, but he takes a new body and rescues his friend Ziede. Kai and Ziede must discover why they were entombed, who was behind it, and why their allies have disappeared. They need help, but they can’t trust anyone.

Being an avid fan of The Murderbot Diaries, I was beyond excited to read this book! It was engaging with a well-crafted plot and immersive worldbuilding. Witch King is a face-paced, action-packed fantasy with complex characters and detailed descriptions of people, places, and artifacts. The story unfolds in dual timelines, alternating between the character’s current quest for answers, and Kai’s past, as his origin story is slowly uncovered.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are mine.

This had a really promising start, and I thought I was well on my way to one of the best reads of the year. I eventually fell off a reading cliff here, and totally lost the hooks this book had in me. I suspect this book will be quite polarizing. In the end, it did not end up being for me.

Witch King was A fresh fantasy from the queen of Sci-Fi, Martha Wells. Rich world building and I really loved it. I love the slow pace so I could understand more about the world building first. The characters were amazing, I love the dynamic between them.

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.
3/5 stars

Thank you so much @netgalley and @torbooks for the eARC

(Repost due to merging accounts)

This was absolutely breath taking. A fresh new take on the genre. Everything about this is fun. Can’t wait to read more from this author

Thank you to Netgalley, TOR, and the Author for this ARC!
I have had my eye on this book since it was announced. I was beside myself with joy when I got approved to read this book early. For my Goodreads peep reading this review, YES, pick it up and enjoy. From the very beginning, I loved Kai. He is beyond cheeky. His cheek and wit literally sparkle on each page. Martha Well sure does know how to write them. The story trope of Found family is well served in this book. Other things to know: Casual Worldbuilding, Nonbinary rep, and Sapphic rep.
Overall a real fun time.

DNF-ed at 50%.

I don't think I would be this disappointed if it wasn't a Martha Wells's book. But after almost half the read of me not caring at all, I have to give up on this one.

I’ve ran into several books lately that start with a list of all characters, and I don't like this new trend. I guess the concept is supposed to make the narration flow easier because the author don't have to worry about introducing the backgrounds of the new characters. But that doesn't make the story flow better for us the readers.

First, we are met with a long list of names and titles we couldn't care less about because we don't know any of these people. And then, every time a new name is introduced in the story, I’m supposed to scroll back to the beginning to figure out who we are talking about? How exactly does that help my reading go smoothly?

Plus, everything was so slow and just – thrown in together. Not engaging and really hard to get through.

I loved this author’s previous work and I’d be willing to check her future books. But this one wasn’t for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc.

This is an absorbing epic fantasy, with a story told in two alternating timelines and lots of intricate political, military, and interpersonal plots. If you're not interested in tracking lots of confusing fantasy names for people and places, this won't be for you. That said, if twisty epic fantasy is your jam, this book rules. Martha Wells has a fantastic gift for breathing life into characters. The magic and the world are fascinating, and unfold fast enough to keep you interested without being overwhelmed with information and names. I would be delighted to see a sequel or more stories in this world, but also think this could stand on its own, and am excited to read this again knowing how it ends and see what else I pick up on.

I ended up really liking the world and the characters of Witch King, but I will admit that it took some perseverance. I can't quite point to why but it felt like the story didn't really get rolling until about 2/3 through the book. The world did feel very rich and interesting but I felt disconnected for the first part of the story--perhaps it was just too much unfamiliar stuff all at once. That said, I did get pulled in eventually, and ended up enjoying the book overall.

3.5/5

This novel demands attention, there is a lot to take in. It starts quite slowly but the pace builds to a page turning finish. Chapters alternate between past and present, which can be a little confusing. The main protagonist is a demon, Kai, who inhabits the bodies of recently deceased mortals. A pearl in Kai’s heart connects him telepathically with Zeide, a witch, who can control wind devils. The story starts as they both wake to find themselves in some elaborate trap cut off from the outside world.
This is an epic fantasy with great world building and a complex magic system involving cantrips and intentions. Magic is drawn from wells of suffering and mortal misery. There is a lot of action, some of which is underwater much to Kai’s dislike, demons are not fond of water. A group of different beings comes together not without some trepidation, wary of past betrayals, in a quest to find some finding stones and start a revolution against the genocidal Hierarchs.
There is a plenty of wry humor between the characters and the story is engaging, if a little confusing at times. I hope the finished book will come with a map of the lands and a plan of the Summer Halls, as that would be useful for following the action.
I enjoyed this immensely and found the characters fascinating and flawed, particularly Kai.
I received this book as a free ARC via NetGalley and the publisher, Tor in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved the characters and the world, but all through it I could help thinking: this would have worked so much better as two separate books.

I get what Wells was going for by introducing Kai and Ziede then showing us their past, but switching back and forth kept killing the momentum in both stories. It also would have given more space to actually get to know some of the other characters, so that plot elements like ‘the quest to find Tahren’ and ‘is Ramad a traitor’ would have more emotional depth to them. Instead while the main action was generally exciting and I was completely invested in what was happening it was very easy to forget why they were doing this at times, particularly in the present timeline.

Honestly, I respect the lack of infodumping. Having a world with three different magic systems that I can at least vaguely tell the difference between without a big scene where it’s all explained is pretty impressive. The generic evil empire is probably the worst world building component here, they seem to exist just to be the bad guys.

Overall, I would absolutely read more books in the series, but preferably ones that focus on one point in time.

Kai (main male character), 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. The beginning of the book was very hard for me to get into and more political than I tend to go for especially in my fantasy reads. There is a glossary for this book but on an e-reader it was hard going back and forth for referencing and that pulled away from me. I would rather read this as a physical copy due to all the elements with this novel. The second half does pick up and that’s when you get pulled in and start having fun and excitement with this novel. It was confusing a bit so my suggestion is sticking with it. Is it my favorite no but would I recommend it yes especially if this is your style or element.

Wells drops you right into the middle of a political adventure as Kai, the titular Witch King, and his partner wake to find themselves entombed on a secluded island unaware of how they got there and with another mage hoping to steal his power. That easily handled, Kai needs to find out how he ended up in this situation to begin with. His past plays out in chapters interspersed with the present, with interesting characters, and a world I’d happily visit again. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Simply put, this novel is unique in its construction. Without giving anything away, there are multiple layers and they offer complementary undertones. But I wasn't fully invested in the story until about a third of the way in. The descriptions were excellent, and Tarrow is such a fascinating character, I just wasn't gripped until Act II. Would I continue reading, if this became a series? Probably. But I would be expecting a tighter knit first act.

While this novel wasn't bad by any means, I regret to say that I was pretty disappointed by The Witch King, which is probably more a result of how hyped I was for Wells' first new foray into the fantasy genre in quite a while.

The Witch King follows the demon Witch King, Kai, as he is willing to do anything to rebel against autocratic power regimes and saves the ones he loves. What ultimately results is a book fully of ideas, but it just too abstract to really be the immersive fantasy read I was hoping for.

Like any book from Martha Wells, Witch King is bursting with creativity. The world, while definitely pulling from West and South Asian cultures in some of its customs, feels wholly original and avoids the problem having the "nation that is a veiled East Asia" and the "nation that is a veiled Scandinavia" (so on and so forth). Wells not only subverts many of the tropes of the fantasy genre, she smashes through them, grinds them with her boot, and proceeds onwards. If there was anything that I was completely enthralled by in this book it was Wells' purse imagination in the way that she constructed the world around her characters.

But I think at times Wells' uninhibited creativity may have come at a bit of a detriment to my overall engagement with the book. I think there were many occasions where the world felt so different, so new, and so alien that I had a difficult time really centering myself in the story and setting. It was almost as if Wells at time struggled to put her ideas down into words and clearly transport what was going on in her head into the heads of her readers. I am a very visual reader; I like to be able to immerse myself into a book to the extent where I can run a vivid movie in my mind as I move my way through the pages. I couldn't do that in Witch King because I had a hard time grounding myself in the story; I was often left confused about what exactly was going on and why exactly it was happening.

While I do ascribe some of these problems to issues with the writing itself, some of the confusion was intentional by the author. Readers who like to feel lost in the narrative, who like to feel uncomfortable with their understanding of what the heck is going on, will like how Wells structures the book. The book occurs across to different time periods - one that would be the "current" time period, while the other is a few years in the past. As the novel progresses, each timeline fills in the small details of the other as the overarching plot slowly comes into focus. Therefore, while I was still often abstracted from what exactly was going on at any given time, I also did start get a better grasp on the world, plot, and characters as the book progressed. If you are someone who likes books like Malazan or A Touch of Light where you are just dropped into a story and told to catch up on your own, you will be delighted by what Wells does here.

There is a similar sparseness to worldbuilding here that Wells also exhibited in her Murderbot Diaries series. While minimal descriptions work in that series of novellas because it is set in a pretty generic futuristic sci-fi setting, here the world is so new and different that I think the book needed to fill things in which just a tad more depth and detail.

Unless you really hate what you are reading in the early goings-on of The Witch King, give it at least 25%. The book has a pretty slow pace overall (mostly because you can feel Wells being very careful not to show her hand too much in any individual chapter), but by a quarter of the way through the novel the plot starts to kick it into high gear and things start to come into focus; by that point if you haven't locked in, then it isn't going to get any better for you.

Because I was struggling to become immersed in Witch King, I had a really hard time really connecting with any of the characters. The main character, Kai, was obviously the most developed, as readers get a clear sense of his complex and often contradictory personalities. He is a demon that (to put it lightly) does a lot of bad things to people, but he also has a clear moral compass, forms genuine relationships with people, and ultimately emerges as a sympathetic character as Wells pushes him into ethical dilemmas and tough corners.

However, I had a hard time making emotional connections with the other characters, even our second main character, Ziede, who got a lot of words dedicated to her character and yet I still had a hard time pinning her down. As you get further and further away from the main characters, the problems only multiply. Other characters, such as the Immortal Tahren play a big role in the book, but whose character is relatively flat and lifeless. Of course, other readers may feel differently and this might just be a "me" problem. Outside of the outstanding Murderbot character, I never really connected with any of Wells' characters in that other series either. I ultimately may just not vibe with the characters that Wells' writes.

Did I enjoy my time with Witch King? Moderately yes. While the pacing was inconsistent, causing my engagement to be inconsistent, the creatively of the book ultimately overcame the other flaws to keep my reading until the very end. But this was the kind of book where I was interested while I was reading it, but I was never running to go and pick it back up.

Readers who like wholly original worlds and like challenging fantasy reads with little handholding will get a lot of enjoyment out of Witch King, but others may want to look elsewhere for your next favorite read. Ultimately, the ideas here are great, but the execution was "only" good.

Concluding Thoughts: The Witch King, Wells' big return to fantasy, is a novel boiling over with creativity in the worldbuilding, but the structure of the book and its inconsistent and slow pacing make the book a bit of a difficult read that is hard to immerse yourself in. I spent so much time trying to situate myself in the world and plot that I couldn't really connect with any of the characters, which was a disappointment. Wells obviously has very real talent (as exemplified in her extensive bibliography), but this is not her at her best. Pick it up if you like wholly original worldbuilding, but otherwise I don't feel this is a must-read.

I'm not sure what to rate this book. Did I like it? Yes. Was it well written? Yes. Would I continue reading this series? Yes. I just feel like something was missing. Maybe that's what always happens in the first book of a series where your introducing worlds and magic systems. I would definitely read the next book of the series, as this one left me wanting more information about the world, the characters, the history.

The book follows Kai and Ziede who wake up after being betrayed and they have to figure out where their family is and what is going on. They meet some other notable characters that I quite enjoyed, but I feel like we didn't get enough interaction/banter for that true "found family" feel with all of them. You jump between two timelines in the book, and I wish we were just given 2 books with each timeline separated. For me, there wasn't a satisfying resolution of either timeline.

I was really excited to read this, because I've only heard amazing things about Martha Wells' writing and her Murderbot series, and I will probably read those in the near future because I did really like the writing and the characters.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Tor for the ARC!