MAY 2023 - AudioFile
Narrator Eric Mok makes this wonderfully inventive and diverse fantasy eminently accessible. Kaiisteron, a demon prince of the underearth with the power to possess other bodies, wakes up imprisoned and confused. Kai and his dear friend, the witch Ziede, escape and, along with a growing motley crew, set off to find Ziede's missing wife. The story jumps between the present time and years earlier, during a terrible war with the invading Hierarchs. We slowly learn more about Kai's history and how the close bonds between his found family came to be. Mok's Kai is appealing and relatable--he sounds simultaneously young and resigned, weary of death and pain and betrayal and yet still hopeful for something better. Listeners will hope we get more of this fascinating world. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
03/06/2023
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)
From the Publisher
A USA Today Bestseller!
A Sunday Times Bestseller!
Winner of the Locus Award!
A New York Times Best Fantasy of 2023!
An NPR Best Book of 2023!
An AppleBooks Best of the Year!
A 2023 American Booksellers Pick!
A LibraryReads Pick!
“Wells is working at the height of her powers here, and it’s relaxing to be carried along for a ride in the company of such a phenomenal storyteller.” —The New York Times
“A wonderfully original world, sympathetic characters and a solid quest make Witch King the satisfying fantasy you yearn for when named swords and cursed rings begin to grow stale.” —The Wall Street Journal
“A wildly original and complex fantasy exploring how revolutions are won through trust, and destroyed through selfishness. Wells excels at brooding, powerful inhuman protagonists who just need a little kindness to be their badass best.” —N. K. Jemisin
“...The kind of novel you want to sink into, with a narrative style that hooks you in and makes it impossible to put down.” —Alex Brown for NPR
“Unlike anything I've ever read. A layered and complex novel that delivers on the promise of epic fantasy.” —Zoraida Córdova
“Fantasy readers looking for new worlds and characters to explore will be enthralled.” —Library Journal
Library Journal
02/01/2023
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
MAY 2023 - AudioFile
Narrator Eric Mok makes this wonderfully inventive and diverse fantasy eminently accessible. Kaiisteron, a demon prince of the underearth with the power to possess other bodies, wakes up imprisoned and confused. Kai and his dear friend, the witch Ziede, escape and, along with a growing motley crew, set off to find Ziede's missing wife. The story jumps between the present time and years earlier, during a terrible war with the invading Hierarchs. We slowly learn more about Kai's history and how the close bonds between his found family came to be. Mok's Kai is appealing and relatable--he sounds simultaneously young and resigned, weary of death and pain and betrayal and yet still hopeful for something better. Listeners will hope we get more of this fascinating world. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
