Reviews with content warning for War - Witch King

Reviews tagging 'War'

Witch King by Martha Wells

64 reviews

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I was dubious about this at first since it's a big tonal leap from Murderbot and a lot of worldbuilding to get into, but I am glad I stuck it out because I really ended up liking it. I ended up really attached to the characters and wouldn't mind returning to this world. There is really something to the concept of a group of immortals being glued together by a human who's gone now, which isn't the main plot but rests just below the surface the entire time. It got to me.

Content Warnings

narsere's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Content Warnings

ruthlessreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Lots of interesting things about this book but, as a whole, it didn't really stand out to me in the fantasy genre. I found the story dragging, despite my initial interest in the characters and the world that was being built. I didn't fully understand what was going on until about halfway through the book. I don't normally stick around that long if I'm not feeling a story but I really like this author so I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Overall, I did enjoy it and there were some events at the end of the story that made the narrative much more interesting but, ultimately, I wish it had been constructed differently or not been quite so long. I *would* read another book in this world but maybe I'd prefer it as a novella.

Content Warnings

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Content Warnings

slipstream's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

If you too love a fantasy book that comes with a list of names and a map - have l got the book for you! I often found myself consulting these front pages due to the vast amount of incredible world building packed into this one novel. Wells is an absolute genius at creating dynamic settings and complex characters to inhabit them.

Content Warnings

clarabooksit's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Content Warnings

saltycoffee's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

obscurepages's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging funny mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

AFTER TWO WEEKS?!? I finally finished a book 😭😂

Okay this was good?? But it wasn't too mind-blowing, but also I wanted more??

I loved the world-building, and I loved the action. But because this is such a plot-driven novel, I feel like the characterization lacked for me? And that's a bit of waste because the characters are awesome and I loved reading about them. Sanja?? Dahin?? Tahren and Zeide?? And the tension or whatever between Bashasa and Kai?? Would have loved to read more about those 😆

Still, this is a solid book, a complex and rich SFF novel. For sure I need to read more from Martha Wells.

Content Warnings

alienor's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional slow-paced

4.0

Witch King is not a book that will appeal to every reader, whether they've enjoyed the Murderbot diaries or not. It's always true to some degree, obviously, but with books like Witch King — that drop you into a world with little to no exposition and trust you to follow along, confident that you'll pick the information needed little by little — the reactions are often very divided. I notice, because these books are my favorites. For me there's nothing quite like jumping into a story and feeling that the author trusts the reader to *get it*. I LOVE IT.

I think another complaint readers could voice is related to how *contained* Witch King is. But in the sea of very long series and 800 pages books I just found it so refreshing : I would be very happy if Martha Wells came back to this world later, but as a standalone it works, and I appreciate that she didn't try to do too much.

Finally, Witch King might be a little more emotionally distant than other books I love, but these characters? their relationships? I cared very much all the same, and I'd love to get back to them someday.

Content Warnings

librarianmage's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

More...