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wardenred's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-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? Yes
4.0
“Why is everyone so afraid of demons?”
It's curious how each individual aspect of this book is pretty much exactly up my alley, but the whole they form left me vaguely unsatisfied. The beginning hooked me pretty hard: a classic in media res opening that felt like starting a new tv show with the first episode of season two; a soul-sucking, body-snatching demon trying to figure out who betrayed him and where his companions went; a few cool subversions of minor fantasy tropes along the way; evocative descriptions; immersive vibes. For the first quarter of the book or so, I genuinely enjoyed how the flashback storyline intermeshed with the plot in the present time. There were plenty of interesting, fleshed out characters with a complex web of relationships between them and smart, quippy moments of dialogue.
However, the deeper I went into the story, the harder it was to sustain that immersion. The world continued to be interesting and cleverly built. The characters remained complex and compelling, in theory. In practice, I was finding harder and harder to connect to them, possibly because of the two different arcs (the past and the present) running alongside each other. I kept waiting for certain gaps between the two storylines to be filled, but they never quite went there, and there were a couple of plot threads that felt practically abandoned, even though technically, the events that needed to happen to wrap them up did happen. The emotional payoff, however, just wasn't present, as if something important was missing each time between the set-up and the conclusion.
Upon some thinking, I suspect that part of my dissatisfaction comes from not forming expectations correctly. I'm not even sure what I expected, exactly, but I just thought I'd be more engaged with Kai in the present storyline. But for the most part in the present, he's the sort of character who's already peaked and now is figuring out where to get the will to go on. It doesn't help that the present-time plot is fairly straightforward to the point that it's barely enough to sustain a novel. The depth comes from the various side characters who, by virtue of being side characters, don't get to take the center stage, and from the storyline that unfolds in the flashbacks—and has the ingrained flaw of the reader knowing how it ends before it even begins.
This is definitely the kind of story that's focused on the journey above the destination, and I'm normally all for it. But the further I read, the more disconnected I felt from that journey, and I still struggle to formulate why. So far, my best guess is that the things that would hook me the most into the characters' stories and inner worlds were glossed over or kept silent. There were some moments that really stuck with me: Ziede and Kai's moment of "how it started, how it's going" reminiscence, or that instance when Kai heard of how his relationship with Bashasa was perceived from the outside and reflected on how it truly was in that regard, or Kai's interaction with his mother. All of those exchanges were ripe with emotional weight and history that I longed to see the story properly delve into. Instead, those things that would have truly hooked me were stuck existing between the lines. In general, I just think that for my taste, too much was missing/assumed about the character and relationship development.
I did enjoy a lot of narrative threads here, and even more so the worldbuilding. In particular, I loved the themes of what happens to the world after it gets saved/rebuilt, the post-revolution instability, and the anti-imperial ideas. I also, being me, wholeheartedly appreciated how queernormative this setting is, and I found Wells's take on demons super refreshing. While the magic system and some other aspects of the worldbuilding had me confused for a long time, I felt like the key points came together quite naturally by the end and I definitely prefer this sort of organic immersion to infodumps. And I'll be definitely thinking more about the dual narrative structure here and all the ways it did and didn't work for me in the coming days.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Slavery, War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, and Grief
norspider's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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
4.0
Definitely building toward something!
Witch King is full of multidimensional characters in a fleshed-out world. The magic system is unique and leads to several powerful characters. There is also a great amount care given to under-represented people.
But there's no conclusion! This is obviously meant to be the beginning of a series, and there's nothing wrong with that. But books, all books in any series, should still have a complete narrative in themselves. Witch King fails in this regard. That said, it does a wonderful job introducing this world, and I will absolutely continue this adventure.
Witch King is full of multidimensional characters in a fleshed-out world. The magic system is unique and leads to several powerful characters. There is also a great amount care given to under-represented people.
But there's no conclusion! This is obviously meant to be the beginning of a series, and there's nothing wrong with that. But books, all books in any series, should still have a complete narrative in themselves. Witch King fails in this regard. That said, it does a wonderful job introducing this world, and I will absolutely continue this adventure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Slavery, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Child death
maryellen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
I liked this book much better as an audio book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Colonisation, Self harm, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
seattlehols16's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Violence and Torture
kkulhannie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Death, Forced institutionalization, and War
Moderate: Trafficking, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Confinement, Genocide, Violence, Slavery, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
skudiklier's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? No
4.75
The only Martha Wells I've read is the Murderbot series, and in a lot of ways this was quite different from that, so I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. And honestly there was a period in the beginning where I was worried I wouldn't like the book and thought about DNFing. But I'm glad I stuck with it because in the end I really enjoyed it.
You just sort of land in the middle of things without a lot of context in the beginning, so it can be hard to follow, especially with the time jumps. But I think it all came together really well and I cared about the characters and was engaged in the story. That said, I do think if I hadn't been reading an audiobook, I would have struggled more. It probably would have taken me a lot longer to read it.
All in all I'd definitely recommend this to anyone interested, especially if you like Wells's writing or if you like fantasy more broadly. However, if you're just looking for more Murderbot, you might be disappointed. I wasn't though, and I'm glad I read it.
You just sort of land in the middle of things without a lot of context in the beginning, so it can be hard to follow, especially with the time jumps. But I think it all came together really well and I cared about the characters and was engaged in the story. That said, I do think if I hadn't been reading an audiobook, I would have struggled more. It probably would have taken me a lot longer to read it.
All in all I'd definitely recommend this to anyone interested, especially if you like Wells's writing or if you like fantasy more broadly. However, if you're just looking for more Murderbot, you might be disappointed. I wasn't though, and I'm glad I read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Genocide
Moderate: Grief, Child death, and Slavery
julesadventurezone's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
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? Yes
4.25
The worldbuilding is very thick, so much so that even on a reread i haven't grasped all of it. Despite that I had a lovely time reading this book again, and found myself quite captivated, especially by the storyline set in the past. The main character Kai is so compelling and i love both his arcs.
My favourite relationship wasbetween Kai and Bashasa, who have this very fun desperate allies to mutual respect to tender friendship to possibly future lovers dynamic.
Kai and Ziede I didn't really care for until late in the book, whenshe helped him bury his former body.
Ziede is very cool but I feel like for a main character she was a little underdeveloped.
My favourite relationship was
Kai and Ziede I didn't really care for until late in the book, when
Ziede is very cool but I feel like for a main character she was a little underdeveloped.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Genocide, Violence, Death, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Child death
laurel616's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.25
I had a really good time reading this book, but I will admit at the end I was a little disappointed. It really felt like not much had happened. It looks like this is a standalone, but reads as if it's the start of a series.
I would definitely enjoy spending more time with some of the characters we saw less of, and I really liked the world we were in. But this book left me wanting more, despite how much I prefer standalones.
I would definitely enjoy spending more time with some of the characters we saw less of, and I really liked the world we were in. But this book left me wanting more, despite how much I prefer standalones.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: War and Death
petrel's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Kidnapping, and Self harm
zachisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
4.75
The Witch King is the kind of book I avoided finishing because I didn't want it to be over. The characters grew such immense personality it was tough to say goodbye.
Martha Wells, perhaps best known for the Murderbot Diaries has an incredible talent for writing unique fantasy worlds. In the Witch King she balances the magic system expertly between "makes sense" and "inexplicable." In fact, the entire book keeps the reader on that same razor's edge. Fictional politics make sense, but you struggle to figure out each player's end game, or even who the player are. Each turn between past and present shifts your understanding just a bit more. And by the end you're twisted around this masterfully crafted tale of geopolitics, betrayal, and found family.
It is important to say that the twists in this don't feel like twists. It is not that the narrator is attempting to deceive but that they were deceived or there was no deception but simply an unseen perspective. The story doesn't seek out irony but sincerity to obfuscate in a way that cements Martha Wells further in my recommendations for anyone looking to explore modern literature.
Martha Wells, perhaps best known for the Murderbot Diaries has an incredible talent for writing unique fantasy worlds. In the Witch King she balances the magic system expertly between "makes sense" and "inexplicable." In fact, the entire book keeps the reader on that same razor's edge. Fictional politics make sense, but you struggle to figure out each player's end game, or even who the player are. Each turn between past and present shifts your understanding just a bit more. And by the end you're twisted around this masterfully crafted tale of geopolitics, betrayal, and found family.
It is important to say that the twists in this don't feel like twists. It is not that the narrator is attempting to deceive but that they were deceived or there was no deception but simply an unseen perspective. The story doesn't seek out irony but sincerity to obfuscate in a way that cements Martha Wells further in my recommendations for anyone looking to explore modern literature.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence