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A review by bhnmt61
Witch King by Martha Wells
5.0
Kaiisteron, Demon Prince of the Fourth House of the underearth, comes blearily awake to realize he has no idea where he is or what happened to him. His body has been held in stasis for almost a year in an underwater coffin. He has only minutes to figure out how to respond, save an innocent victim, and rescue his friend Ziede. And that’s just the first ten pages.
The publisher’s blurb is fairly accurate, except that it sounds like Witch King will be a fun adventure through magical lands. There is some humor (“I have an idea” “Is it a terrible idea?” “Probably”) but mostly this is a deeply heartfelt story of Kai and his devoted friends figuring out how to respond to oppression, betrayal, and grief. There is magic, but it is sometimes dark and desperate.
It is also almost too complex. I felt like Kai at the beginning, trying to get my bearings as I was thrown in at the deep end with little help. When I was twenty, I would have had no trouble with it—and I’m pretty sure I would have thought this was the best book I’d ever read (at the time, that dubious honor was held by the Thomas Covenant books). If I hadn’t immediately loved Kai, I might not have been motivated to finish.
I still loved it but I had to read it twice to really understand what happened. There is a lot going on across two different time lines, and Wells resists the temptation to info dump—which takes far more work on the part of the author. And the reader, for that matter.
But on the second read-through, most of my confusion was resolved, and there were moments when I was in awe of what Wells was doing. There is no indication that this will be anything but a standalone, but I will be disappointed if she doesn’t write at least one follow-up. A main plot point is wrapped up in each of the timelines but there are many other stories to be told.
Highly recommended if you enjoy complex world-building and a loyal band of friends fighting impossible odds. I went back and forth between the ebook version and the audio version, and the narrator is great. Plunge in, because it’s a great story.
The publisher’s blurb is fairly accurate, except that it sounds like Witch King will be a fun adventure through magical lands. There is some humor (“I have an idea” “Is it a terrible idea?” “Probably”) but mostly this is a deeply heartfelt story of Kai and his devoted friends figuring out how to respond to oppression, betrayal, and grief. There is magic, but it is sometimes dark and desperate.
It is also almost too complex. I felt like Kai at the beginning, trying to get my bearings as I was thrown in at the deep end with little help. When I was twenty, I would have had no trouble with it—and I’m pretty sure I would have thought this was the best book I’d ever read (at the time, that dubious honor was held by the Thomas Covenant books). If I hadn’t immediately loved Kai, I might not have been motivated to finish.
I still loved it but I had to read it twice to really understand what happened. There is a lot going on across two different time lines, and Wells resists the temptation to info dump—which takes far more work on the part of the author. And the reader, for that matter.
But on the second read-through, most of my confusion was resolved, and there were moments when I was in awe of what Wells was doing. There is no indication that this will be anything but a standalone, but I will be disappointed if she doesn’t write at least one follow-up. A main plot point is wrapped up in each of the timelines but there are many other stories to be told.
Highly recommended if you enjoy complex world-building and a loyal band of friends fighting impossible odds. I went back and forth between the ebook version and the audio version, and the narrator is great. Plunge in, because it’s a great story.