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booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
THE WITCH KING is excellent and I had a great time reading it. The worldbuilding is nuanced and well-developed, with factions and history in a way that implies much more going on, but not getting bogged down in little details that don’t matter to this particular story. It deals with colonization and empire from the perspective of a quasi-immortal character (Kai) who has not been around forever, but has been around long enough that things which are part of his culture and history are now details that would fascinate only historians. The narrative shifts between two time periods in his life. This means that some events are mentioned before they were actually shown, but it was generally in a way that made the whole thing easier to follow. The two timelines are connected, as the main characters are trying to figure out whether the plan they were working on when they were betrayed is still salvageable.
I like the friendship between the two main characters, with zero hints of any romance. Kai is trying to figure out their next moves, piecing together what changed in the years since they were shut away. They’re stalwart companions in a way that is frustratingly rare in an opposite gender pairing of protagonists, but is very good here. I love the worldbuilding and characterization, and especially how those are intertwined in the person of the Witch King. He explains things in a way that inform the current plot points without slowing down the story. Kai's method of quasi-immortality is a neat bit of worldbuilding, one of several kinds of magic which are practiced by different groups. There's the feeling that they're all part of one world but are following different culturally-specific pathways to magic. Kai's work-around for accessing magic which should be off-limits to him helps to bolster this initial impression. I want there to be more in this world, I want more time with these characters. The story is very self-contained and, narratively speaking, doesn’t need a sequel, so I just have to read some of this author's earlier fantasy books to get what I’m looking for.
I like the friendship between the two main characters, with zero hints of any romance. Kai is trying to figure out their next moves, piecing together what changed in the years since they were shut away. They’re stalwart companions in a way that is frustratingly rare in an opposite gender pairing of protagonists, but is very good here. I love the worldbuilding and characterization, and especially how those are intertwined in the person of the Witch King. He explains things in a way that inform the current plot points without slowing down the story. Kai's method of quasi-immortality is a neat bit of worldbuilding, one of several kinds of magic which are practiced by different groups. There's the feeling that they're all part of one world but are following different culturally-specific pathways to magic. Kai's work-around for accessing magic which should be off-limits to him helps to bolster this initial impression. I want there to be more in this world, I want more time with these characters. The story is very self-contained and, narratively speaking, doesn’t need a sequel, so I just have to read some of this author's earlier fantasy books to get what I’m looking for.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Genocide, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War
micheala's review against another edition
4.25
I did really enjoy this book, however: I think it would have been better if the two timelines were separated into their own novellas/short novels.
In the present timeline we are following Kai and Zeide as they attempt to deal with all the stuff discussed in the blurb. The past timeline is following Kai (and co.) during the historic war that set up the current political world.
I was equally interested in both timelines, however that did mean that no matter which timeline we were switching to, I didn't want the switch. And because of that feeling, plus the fact that the past timeline felt like it was mainly just being used to flesh out the worldbuilding, rather than dropping hints about the present timeline situation, I would have rather it be a duology situation.
The other main issue I had, was that the timeline itself was unclear. The blurb makes it seem like Kai has been trapped in the prison for a very long time, however you find out right at the beginning that it's only like a year. It also took a very long time to work out how long ago the past timeline was - eventually it gets referenced as being a "mortal lifetime ago", so like 60-100 years? The problem with this, was that it became very unclear on how much information people other than Kai and Zeide had about what happened during The War, which in turn made the political motivations of events hard to keep track of.
All that said, I had a great time reading it, and I wish we were getting more in this world as it has super interesting worldbuilding and characters.
In the present timeline we are following Kai and Zeide as they attempt to deal with all the stuff discussed in the blurb. The past timeline is following Kai (and co.) during the historic war that set up the current political world.
I was equally interested in both timelines, however that did mean that no matter which timeline we were switching to, I didn't want the switch. And because of that feeling, plus the fact that the past timeline felt like it was mainly just being used to flesh out the worldbuilding, rather than dropping hints about the present timeline situation, I would have rather it be a duology situation.
The other main issue I had, was that the timeline itself was unclear. The blurb makes it seem like Kai has been trapped in the prison for a very long time, however you find out right at the beginning that it's only like a year. It also took a very long time to work out how long ago the past timeline was - eventually it gets referenced as being a "mortal lifetime ago", so like 60-100 years? The problem with this, was that it became very unclear on how much information people other than Kai and Zeide had about what happened during The War, which in turn made the political motivations of events hard to keep track of.
All that said, I had a great time reading it, and I wish we were getting more in this world as it has super interesting worldbuilding and characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Genocide, Self harm, and Slavery
laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
The Witch King is a stand-alone fantasy novel set in two timelines, both following Kaiisteron, a demon. In the earliest timeline, here positioned as a backstory, the novel follows Kai's emergence into the mortal realm into his first human body, his meeting most of the supporting characters, and his participation in an uprising. The later timeline begins with Kai awaking from imprisonment and needing to figure out who betrayed him and to what end. Both timelines are, effectively, adventure stories, complete with magic artefacts, dangerous terrains, outmaneuvering enemies, and the need to keep complicated, messy coalitions and allegiances together.
This novel does a lot of things that I love: multiple timelines used effectively, political intrigue that isn't predictable, wonderful relationship dynamics between characters. It is worth noting that this is not entry-level fantasy - Wells throws the reader into the world with a list of characters and not much else to go on, and the reader must navigate a ton of new terminology (for peoples, organizations, forms of magic, etc.) without any real guidance. The benefit of this is that there is zero 'info-dumping' here. The drawback, I think, is that it can feel a bit hard to get into at the beginning. It's worth it: when it comes together, it's wonderful.
While not the focus of the book, there are ways that gender is addressed that are worth paying attention to -- demons (at least all the ones we meet throughout the book) seem to have fixed gender identities (Kaiisteron is unambiguously 'he' throughout) but may of course occupy any and all kinds of bodies, and the different cultures in this fantasy world do (or don't) distinguish gender in different ways (ex. sometimes dress is a distinguishing factor, sometimes it isn't).
This novel is, as I understand it, written as a standalone and it absolutely works as one: it is self-contained. I will say, though, that given the depth of this world-building, I'd love to see more works by Wells set in this series, whether with this same cast of characters or otherwise.
Content warnings: violence, murder, death, injury detail, war, colonization, forcible confinement, blood, torture
This novel does a lot of things that I love: multiple timelines used effectively, political intrigue that isn't predictable, wonderful relationship dynamics between characters. It is worth noting that this is not entry-level fantasy - Wells throws the reader into the world with a list of characters and not much else to go on, and the reader must navigate a ton of new terminology (for peoples, organizations, forms of magic, etc.) without any real guidance. The benefit of this is that there is zero 'info-dumping' here. The drawback, I think, is that it can feel a bit hard to get into at the beginning. It's worth it: when it comes together, it's wonderful.
While not the focus of the book, there are ways that gender is addressed that are worth paying attention to -- demons (at least all the ones we meet throughout the book) seem to have fixed gender identities (Kaiisteron is unambiguously 'he' throughout) but may of course occupy any and all kinds of bodies, and the different cultures in this fantasy world do (or don't) distinguish gender in different ways (ex. sometimes dress is a distinguishing factor, sometimes it isn't).
This novel is, as I understand it, written as a standalone and it absolutely works as one: it is self-contained. I will say, though, that given the depth of this world-building, I'd love to see more works by Wells set in this series, whether with this same cast of characters or otherwise.
Content warnings: violence, murder, death, injury detail, war, colonization, forcible confinement, blood, torture
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
ehmannky's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
Gorgeous, dense and intricate fantasy writing. It's definitely not as breezy and funny as Murderbot, but the same heart, found family elements, and wry wit is there. The story bounces back between Kai, an immortal demon, and his companions in the "present" day (waking up after being entombed and trying to figure out who temporarily killed them and also where his best friend's wife and her brother are) and the beginnings of a war that Kai fought against the genocidal and imperial Hierarchs that happened 70 or so years before. Despite these two disparate timelines, at no point did I find them disjointed and I never felt like either of the plotlines dragged on. It is, as I said, a dense fantasy. Like, there is no real exposition about the magic system or the history is going to be explained outside of what the characters naturally decide to share. But it's so good. And the main relationships between Kai and his family are so beautifully written and the theme that you just have to keep going to unburn a world that has been burnt are so beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide, Self harm, Blood, Grief, and War
yourbookishbff's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Kidnapping
displacedcactus's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I'd call this a pretty old school fantasy, with lots of names and factions to keep track of, and weird magic, and the occasional monstrous beast. Whether or not you'd consider it epic fantasy probably depends on your definition of "epic." It only has one POV character, but it does have dual timelines. One timeline focuses on a war and a rebellion against an oppressive conqueror, and one is a more personal story of trying to figure out who has betrayed our main character and where his friend's wife is. There's lots of fight scenes, lots of magic, lots of traveling across the countryside, etc.
I find that I'm not as into this sub-genre as I used to be. 10-20 years ago I would probably have loved this book, but now I merely liked it. One thing it has over most of the fantasy I grew up with is that it's delightfully queernormative. Kai's demonic race inhabits human bodies with no apparent preference for their biological sex, maintaining their gender identity regardless of the body they're in. Kai seems specifically attracted only to men; his friend is a woman married to a woman. All of this is treated very matter-of-fact.
I find that I'm not as into this sub-genre as I used to be. 10-20 years ago I would probably have loved this book, but now I merely liked it. One thing it has over most of the fantasy I grew up with is that it's delightfully queernormative. Kai's demonic race inhabits human bodies with no apparent preference for their biological sex, maintaining their gender identity regardless of the body they're in. Kai seems specifically attracted only to men; his friend is a woman married to a woman. All of this is treated very matter-of-fact.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Blood
clarabooksit's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Slavery and Fire/Fire injury
saltycoffee's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
gondorgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gore, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
alienor's review against another edition
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.
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
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and War