Review: Witch King by Martha Wells

After being swept away by Martha Wells’ sarcastically funny The Murderbot Diaries, it was only a matter of time before I explored her fantasy works. I thought I would end up grabbing one of her older books, but I was drawn to the title and premise of Witch King, the first of The Rising Word fantasy series. I had very little expectations going into Witch King other than knowing that I enjoy Martha Wells as an author, so I had a lot of fun diving into her new story.

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Blurb

“I didn’t know you were a… demon.”
“You idiot. I’m the demon.”
Kai’s having a long day in Martha Wells’ WITCH KING….

After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well.

But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence?

Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions.

He’s not going to like the answers.

Review of Witch King

• Format: physical copy
• Pacing: slow
• Plot or character-driven: both
• Multiple POVs: no, but multiple timelines
• Representation: implied m/m relationship and f/f relationship in side characters, gender nonconforming main character

Witch King has a very unique set up with the main characters essentially rising from the dead. The main character is forced to take a new body and mourns his old one, so there’s this sense that he’s actually begun a new life.

As Kai begins his journey with his friend, Ziede, to reconnect with allies and figure out who killed him, he reflects a lot on his past life. The characters have already experienced devastating loss, created alliances to fight back, and triumphed. I had the paradoxical sense that the entire book was both extended exposition and that the story had already ended. The reality is that we are meeting our immortal main character as he reincarnates into his new life, so much time is spent allowing Kai to process and grieve the events of his past life and figure out what comes next. I thought this was a very unique take on storytelling that only an experienced writer like Martha Wells could attempt to pull off. Witch King felt very nostalgic, and I could easily feel Kai’s grief for the original life and body he was given as Kai-Enna.

I really enjoyed learning about the world Witch King is set in, especially Kai’s origin. Kai is a demon that was gifted a human body that allowed him to enter the mortal world. In theory, he can return to the underneath, but not as freely as before his people were attacked by the Hierarchs. Through Kai, we see the world as it was and as it is now after the Hierarchs launched their campaign. Kai and his allies ultimately defeated the Hierarchs, but not before they destroyed Kai and many other’s homes. I liked that Wells emphasized the scars that war left on the world and all the work that goes into healing. Kai survived, but his life is never the same as it was before the Hierarchs.

Although there is action and mystery in Witch King, I still felt like almost nothing happened in terms of moving the plot forward. This first book felt like a setup for the main plot of the series, and I don’t think everyone will enjoy the slow-burn style. I felt interested enough in learning about Witch King’s world and it’s history that I didn’t mind. Now that all the characters have been introduced, I can’t wait to see what happens next.

I would recommend Witch King to fantasy fans that enjoy in-depth worldbuilding and are interested in reading a story that doesn’t start at the beginning.

You’ll Like This Book if You Enjoy…

• Witty and loveable characters
• Unique takes on storytelling
• A slow-burn plot with good worldbuilding

Where to find Witch King by Martha Wells

Have you read Witch King? Let’s chat in the comments!