Witch King by Martha Wells is a poignant standalone fantasy novel

Martha Wells, the multi-award-winning author of the Murderbot Diaries series, is back with her first new fantasy novel in over a decade. Witch King is a standalone book with all the adventure, deeply realized characters, and complex worldbuilding you’d hope for in a fantasy novel, delivered with Wells’ trademark wit and insight. Read on for our spoiler-free review!

Book review: Witch King by Martha Wells

At just over 400 pages, Witch King is a fairly compact story. This may not please readers who love to get lost in the doorstopping-tome variety of fantasy books, but I found it to be a strength. Like Wells’ Murderbot novellas, there is a razor-sharp precision to the writing and storytelling; the entire story of Kaiisteron the Witch King may span only 400 pages with no promise for a follow-up, but not a single one of those pages is wasted.

The basic set-up is that Kai is an immortal demon who awakens to find that he’s been imprisoned, his previous body lost to him. In this world, demons can possess the bodies of mortals, typically after they’re already dead. Following a botched attempt by a mage to shackle him to their will, Kai grabs a new body, frees his close friend and Witch companion Ziede, and sets out to unearth the truth about who imprisoned them and why. From there, the story unfolds in two separate timelines: Kai and Ziede’s journey in the present, and flashbacks which shed light on Kai’s backstory and involvement in the crucial events which shaped the political landscape of this world.

The flashbacks and present-day storyline are given an almost equal amount of weight. Focusing on flashbacks to such an extent runs the risk of diluting the tension in the present-day storyline, but that doesn’t happen in Witch King. Much of the book deals with how the events in the present mirror the ones in the past. Since Kai has lived a very long time, he has a firsthand view of history, which isn’t always accurately recorded by historians or the cultural consensus. Without going into spoilers, these dual journeys for Kaiisteron, and what they ultimately mean for his and his companions’ place in the history of this rich fantasy world is a thematic highlight.

Witch King examines humanity through a complex lens

As with Murderbot, Witch King features a protagonist who isn’t human but still derives some meaning from the human experience, which is a sort of character Wells really excels at writing. Kai is a non-human character who thinks and behaves in a way that feels non-human. Demons have their own culture in this story, and Kai never reads like a caricature.

There are quite a lot of details to keep track of in this book. I was reminded of George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones more than once, both because the world has a vast and complex history, and because Wells doesn’t break out the kid gloves to explain it all to us up front. Instead, bits of backstory or info about the various magics at play are delivered when they make the most logical sense for the story. Exposition happens because there’s a reason for it to happen, not just to make things easy for the reader.

This is something that some readers may have trouble with at first, depending on how much handholding you like in your fiction. Wells explains various ideas when they will add the most to the story and not a moment sooner, meaning you’ll likely have lots of questions as you read. That can require a bit of trust that the author won’t leave you hanging.

Thankfully, Wells is a master at her craft, and that trust is well deserved. While it took me a couple of chapters to really get adjusted to the vastness and strangeness of Witch King’s world, it ultimately ended up adding to the sense of immersion. There’s always a strong feeling of intention behind the specific choices Wells makes in telling the story; the magic, cultures, and various creatures and bits of lore are expertly drawn. The characters are vivid and lovable, especially Ziede, who is a consistent scene-stealer. Witch King is simply a well-wrought fantasy book in pretty much every respect.

One other specific aspect of the worldbuilding I want to call attention to is Kai’s body-shifting. Kai has both a demon body in the underearth, the underground region where demons dwell, as well as various human bodies he inhabits in the world above. Some of those human bodies are male, some are female. Wells hasn’t necessarily written Kai to read like an intentional trans allegory; demons simply don’t care about human genders all that much. I found myself wondering multiple times how Kai might present to trans readers, because Wells did such a good job of both exploring Kai’s experience as well as painting various human cultures in her world as having varying levels of gender conservatism. This meaty complexity makes the story feel more poignant.

Witch King doesn’t need a sequel (even though I’d devour one)

As mentioned at the start of this review, Witch King is a standalone fantasy novel, which is something of a rarity. I’ve seen some reviews for this book which have lamented the fact that it doesn’t give us more time with its world and characters. And while that’s understandable in a genre which is best known for multi-volume sagas, the conciseness of Witch King is one of the things that makes it unique. It tells a very specific story about a found family of misfits exploring a fascinating fantasy world, and their overall place in the annals of its history.

In that way, Witch King almost reads more like an expanded novella than a typical epic fantasy novel. The exact nature of the story Wells is telling doesn’t become clear until late in the game. It doesn’t exactly reframe everything that came before in the way a huge plot twist might. Instead, Wells reveals what kind of story Witch King is, thematically speaking. And a big part of why it works is when the author chooses to end it. So as much as I wish there were going to be more novels featuring Kai, Ziede, and all the rest, as a standalone book, Witch King is a resounding success.

Verdict

Witch King is a triumphant return to the fantasy genre for Martha Wells. With its intricate worldbuilding, carefully crafted plot, and lovable characters, it’s an engrossing read that left me thinking about it for days afterward. The on-ramp into the story and various magics can be a little steep at times; Witch King is the sort of book that rewards a close, thoughtful read through. But if you’re willing to spend the time with it, it’s well worth adding to your fantasy bookshelf.

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