Witch King

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By Martha Wells

Publisher Description

Winner of the Locus Award!

From the breakout SFF superstar author of Murderbot comes a remarkable story of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose.

"I didn't know you were a... demon."
"You idiot. I'm the demon."
Kai's having a long day in Martha Wells' WITCH KING....

After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well.

But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence?

Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions.

He’s not going to like the answers.

WITCH KING is Martha Wells’s first new fantasy in over a decade, drawing together her signature ability to create characters we adore and identify with, alongside breathtaking action and adventure, and the wit and charm we’ve come to expect from one of the leading writers of her generation.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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1270 Reviews

3.0

Jenna Triana

Created 1 day ago

Nic

Created 1 day ago

“Martha Wells' "Witch King" presents an interesting but occasionally frustrating reading experience. For the majority of the novel, I found myself struggling to fully engage with the story, mentally assigning it a two-star rating. However, the final chapters and the nuanced character relationships ultimately elevated the work, earning it an additional star in my final assessment. Wells does demonstrate a pretty remarkable talent for worldbuilding. The novel's cultures, societal structures, and power dynamics feel thoroughly developed and lived-in; even if I did occasionally confuse them. Particularly notable are the detailed clothing descriptions, which serve not just an aesthetic purpose, but indicator cultural identities and social standings. The most significant challenge for me with "Witch King" lies in its narrative structure. Wells employs ‘in medias res’ not only for the present timeline but also for the flashback sequences that reveal crucial backstory. This dual-layered approach to dropping readers into the middle of the action results in immediate and for me, persistent confusion. It left me struggling to piece together basic information about characters, relationships, and motivations. Adding to this confusion was Wells' choice to give several characters similar-sounding names. In a narrative already challenging to follow due to its non-linear structure, these names also created additional confusion. What ultimately saves "Witch King" are its character relationships, interpersonal dynamics built on shared history, and unspoken understanding. The final chapters of the novel marked a significant improvement for me. These concluding chapters demonstrated what the entire novel could have been. Despite my frustrations, Wells gives tantalizing glimpses at the mysterious Hierarchs. The foundation laid in this book, particularly in its stronger ending chapter, ensures that I'll read the next one. I hope the series will build on its strengths while addressing its structural challenges.”

Diverse representation Strong relationships Nonlinear narrative

Delyth Donlan-Harrison

Created 2 days ago

“I won’t lie, I have no idea what this book was about. I have nothing against this book, the writing was great and clear and the world building was really good. I just felt this book had no real story. I didn’t feel a connection to the characters and didn’t really care about any of them. It also felt like nothing really happened and there was no real plot to it. It wasn’t very exciting and it didn’t grip me like I would want it to. As well as this. I found that jumping back to the past got very confusing. It seemed like in the present someone was trying to kill them, and in the past someone was trying to kill them. Maybe it was me but I had no clear idea of why people were trying to kill each other. I hope other people enjoyed it but I don’t think I will be reading book 2 when it comes out.”

Feel distant Confusing Unique location Death Violence War violence

Jacqueline Kirk

Created 4 days ago

TT Smith

Created 5 days ago

About Martha Wells

Martha Wells has written many fantasy novels, including Witch King, The Wizard Hunters, Wheel of the Infinite, the Books of the Raksura series (beginning with The Cloud Roads and ending with The Harbors of the Sun), and the Nebula-nominated The Death of the Necromancer, as well as YA fantasy novels, short stories, and nonfiction. Her New York Times and USA Today-bestselling Murderbot Diaries series has won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Alex Awards.