Witch king /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Nominated for the 2023 Nebula Award for Best Novel

From the breakout SFF superstar author of Murderbot comes a remarkable story of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose.

"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.

WITCH KING is Martha Wells's first new fantasy in over a decade, drawing together her signature ability to create characters we adore and identify with, alongside breathtaking action and adventure, and the wit and charm we've come to expect from one of the leading writers of her generation.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Demon Prince Kai awakens in his own tomb, alone and unable to remember how he got there, although he knows he must have been betrayed. He'll have to recover his companions, retrace his steps, both in the past and in the present, and consume the life energy of anyone who gets in his way. After all, Kai is the Witch King, and he can't let anyone stand in the way of protecting his loved ones. Kai and his dearest companions saved their world from an all-consuming conqueror. His betrayal is an attempt to undo that work, and Kai must figure out whom he needs to kill this time around. The world is wide-open, its peoples are not the usual fantasy suspects, and the power of both friendship and heartbreak pushes the story on at a breathless pace. VERDICT After the rousing success of "The Murderbot Diaries," Wells has returned to her fantasy roots in a tale of revolt, rebellion, and betrayal. Readers looking for more Murderbot may be disappointed, but fantasy readers looking for new worlds and characters to explore will be enthralled.--Marlene Harris

Publishers Weekly Review

Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winner Wells takes a break from her sci-fi Murderbot series to delve into a complex secondary world fantasy exploring the past and present of Kaiisteron the Witch King, a demon in human form. The past story line follows Kai's first possession of a human body and his relationship with Prince Bashasa, who orchestrates a coup against the autocratic Hierarchs to avenge his sister's death. The present begins with Kai abruptly waking to find his consciousness separated from his body--which is now a corpse entombed in a watery prison--and setting out to investigate his own murder. Among those helping him are Ziede Daiyahah, a witch searching for her missing wife; Sanja, a street urchin; and Ramad, a vanguarder and historian. The enormous cast is difficult to keep track of and the dry, workmanlike prose that works so well when Wells is writing robots can make it difficult to feel particularly close to any of these living characters. Laudably, however, Wells treats sexuality and gender (demons can move between male and female bodies) with a refreshing matter-of-factness and depicts the cultures of this world with an anthropologist's care. Fans will not be disappointed by Wells's return to fantasy. (May)

Booklist Review

In this new high fantasy, Wells creates a vast fantasy world in which demons and expositors battle. When Witch King and legendary demon Kai wakes in an underwater prison, his immediate reaction is rage. With his partner Ziede and new friend, Sanja, he sets out into the world to find out who imprisoned them and why--and what it means for the politics of their world. Meanwhile, in alternate chapters, we start at the beginning: how Kai first became a central figure in the war between demons, witches, and the mysterious Hierarchs. As always, Wells writes exciting action scenes that pepper this expansive, vivid plot, though the writing sometimes gets bogged down in exposition and untangling the vocabulary of the Rising Empire. Still, the characters are bright and exciting, rooted by Kai, this villainous, pain-powered demon with a soft, loyal center, and the relationships that push and pull between these characters. High-fantasy fans will want to dig into this new, inventive world from one of our sf and fantasy masters.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Martha Wells has written many fantasy novels, including Witch King, The Wizard Hunters , Wheel of the Infinite , the Books of the Raksura series (beginning with The Cloud Roads and ending with The Harbors of the Sun), and the Nebula-nominated The Death of the Necromancer , as well as YA fantasy novels, short stories, and nonfiction. Her New York Times and USA Today- bestselling Murderbot Diaries series has won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Alex Awards.