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wordsareworlds's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
For once, a dual timeline book that I really loved. Wells has an interesting take here on demons and magic in general, and the ripple effects of colonization throughout many cultures.
I really enjoyed having a fantasy not set in Western European mythos, and that casually incorporated so many SWANA elements and queer characters without their queerness being a main source of the conflict. Did have a small hiccup where a character names a food "lentil daal" when daal means lentil, but can't have everything I guess.
As the book went on, I found myself more invested in the past timeline than the present, and the final present reveal felt a bit like a gotcha/anticlimactic moment.
Overall, I am so invested in these characters and the world Wells describes, and am so excited for the sequel.
I really enjoyed having a fantasy not set in Western European mythos, and that casually incorporated so many SWANA elements and queer characters without their queerness being a main source of the conflict. Did have a small hiccup where a character names a food "lentil daal" when daal means lentil, but can't have everything I guess.
As the book went on, I found myself more invested in the past timeline than the present, and the final present reveal felt a bit like a gotcha/anticlimactic moment.
Overall, I am so invested in these characters and the world Wells describes, and am so excited for the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Violence, and Genocide
Moderate: Slavery and Child death
citylif's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
mcayers316's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
journeying_homeward's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
mschene's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
chelseacounsell's review against another edition
5.0
Martha Wells proves once again that she deserves to be my favorite author. The world building of Witch King is sumptuous and delightful in its ferocity. Its exploration of conquest and imperialism and the people who fight back is really… powerful. I feel emotions. I really liked Kai and Ziti and even Bacharta. The descriptions were greatly vivid, and the magic felt very intuitive, but I did lose some details along the way in terms of what happened in the sixty years between the present and “the past”. I wish there would be a sequel that went into some of that.
amphigorist's review against another edition
3.75
I feel uncertain about my rating. I have complicated thoughts about the politics of the book, though its heart is clearly in the right place. The world building is solid but not exceptional, and I largely feel the same about the characters (I like the core queer found-family gang and they're on average a touch more developed than the Preservation folks in Murderbot are, but Kai isn't Murderbot and Ziede isn't ART.)
tal42levy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.25
sarahfa's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
This is the second book I’ve read by Martha Wells. I liked it because it reminded me of one of my favorite YA series I read as a teen, Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus trilogy. The main character of Witch King was similar to Bartimaeus in that he wasn’t human, used magic that humans can’t use, and was distrusted by most humans. Also he didn’t really have a gender like humans do. But both characters do care about the other characters who are mostly human.
Witch Kind did the thing where it presented (what we would consider) non-traditional gender roles (for one community, women are traditionally warriors, also most men in the series wear skirts) and queer relationships as “normal”. Sometimes this doesn’t work and feels forced and like the author is trying to say, “Look at how good I am because I am writing my book this way!” But it worked here, but the details were not as fleshed out as in say Gideon the Ninth.
I read a reviewer that stated that they were confused by the plot, and I def agree with that. But I wasn’t going to back to reread things when I was confused. Did the story tie up all the loose ends? I don’t know? Yes?
If you are wondering if all the questions the story raises are going to be finished by the end, the answer is they will not be. But I liked it. Solid vibes. I really don’t know if it will be a series, but it is good either way. I hope it will be!
Witch Kind did the thing where it presented (what we would consider) non-traditional gender roles (for one community, women are traditionally warriors, also most men in the series wear skirts) and queer relationships as “normal”. Sometimes this doesn’t work and feels forced and like the author is trying to say, “Look at how good I am because I am writing my book this way!” But it worked here, but the details were not as fleshed out as in say Gideon the Ninth.
I read a reviewer that stated that they were confused by the plot, and I def agree with that. But I wasn’t going to back to reread things when I was confused. Did the story tie up all the loose ends? I don’t know? Yes?
If you are wondering if all the questions the story raises are going to be finished by the end, the answer is they will not be. But I liked it. Solid vibes. I really don’t know if it will be a series, but it is good either way. I hope it will be!
goodbyerachel's review against another edition
I am so confused and now there are flashbacks and it’s just getting worse. This jumps immediately into action and the world feels a bit too complicated for that. I’m not invested enough to figure this out.