Like a slew of readers, I love Martha Wells’ Murderbot series. I do not love her latest fantasy novel, Witch King, which a slew of readers also love. It loses me in part because I find it hard to care about its complex world of demons, expositors, witches, and cantrips. Mostly though, I am bored by the can-do attitude of demon Kai, who says let’s get out of our undersea coffin and hitch a ride on some whales and take care of business. Give me the Eeyore-ish Murderbot any time. He knows that however messed up he is (pardon the old-school pronouns), at least he is not human. ( )

Another Martha Wells series begins. It is the tale of Kaiisteron,Fourth Prince of the underearth. It is beautifully written with complex cultural and metaphysical details. I found it unexciting. ( )

Did not finish ( )

*3.75 stars*

The Witch King is a dense fantasy written in an inimitable Martha Wells way that had me rooting for a demon. While the world building and parallel timeline action took a while for me to get used to, once I was in, I was completely in. Indeed, I ended up having a lot of fun with Kai and his world.

My quibbles are that I wish the worldbuilding had been just a tad less and that we had some more characterization for some side characters.

Overall, a really solid read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC
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Before Martha Wells created the amazing Murderbot stories, she wrote great fantasy stories, including The Death of the Necromancer. Her first fantasy novel in more than 10 years is Witch King. Kaiisteron, or Kai, is a demon in human form and a witch. Kai's story is told in two timelines. The past, where he first took human form and played a crucial role in overthrowing the invading Hierarchs. In the present, Kai's consciousness becomes aware sometime after his body is entombed in a watery prison. Finding a new body to inhabit, Kai frees his companion Ziede, herself a witch, and sets out to discover who murdered him and what has happened in his absence.
Wells does such an excellent job with characters, plot, and world-building. The world-building occurs in the background as you get to know the characters and follow them on their journey. In the past, Kai learns his powers and weaknesses as he is caught up in a war and captured by the Hierarchs. Prince Bashasa rescues him and uses him in his plans to free the lands from the Hierarchs. In the present, Kai searches for his murderer as well as the plot that he is certain is working to undermine the new rule. Wells uses both of these timelines to sketch a complex world with a diverse cast that have different powers, politics, motivations, and cultures. The complexity of this world is part of its charm. The alternating timelines also highlight what has changed and what has been lost.

This is a fascinating world to visit. Fans of Wells' fantasy are in for a treat!

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. ( )