A review by mad_bandersnatch
Witch King by Martha Wells

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

3.5

This feels like a solid start to a series.  There is a lot of intesting world building and magic system to be explained, which might have taken away a bit from developing some of the characters more.   Aside from the main character Kai and his friend/partner in crime Ziede we don't get a whole lot of character development. But what we do get has left me interested enough to find out more about them in a sequel.
The book flips back and forth between the past and the present, and I did find the past storyline to be far more intriguing than the present day.  
In general it was a slow burn to not a whole lot of pay off in the present day plot but some satisfying concussions to the past. 
As a stand alone I found it to be a bit meh with a lot of unanswered questions or character development but has promise as a starting point for future books.