Witch King

A curious fantasy story (apparently the start of a series) where demons, witches and other beings (both supernatural and mortal) mix together in a world that has seen devastation after an invasion, but whose future is yet to be determined.

The story is set both in the present and the past. In the present, the demon Kai and his witch friend, Ziede, wake up in a prison. They escape and discover that time has passed during their imprisonment and their friends are also missing, probably detained as part of a conspiracy to prevent them from attending a meeting of allies to determine the future of their coalition. We follow them as they pick up clues to find their friends, and we learn more of their world, which is still recovering after an invasion by people called the Hierarchs.

In the past, we see a younger Kai, sent from the underworld to inhabit the body of a newly dead mortal as part of an alliance agreement. Here, we see the beginning of the Hierarchs invasion, and the devastating power they use to overcome demons, witches and mortals resisting the invasion. Kai is captured, but later escapes with the help of rebels who want the world to rise up and fight back against the Hierarchs.

Both parts of the story intertwine via common characters, places and events that occur in both parts. As the story progresses, we also learn more about the world and the powers that demons, witches, Hierarchs and others posses and how they are wielded.

The ending, and the conspiracy that imprisoned them, would eventually turn out to be rather anti-climatic. Hopefully, this, and other unanswered questions raised, can be addressed in later books in the series.

The only other books by Martha Wells that I've read are the Murderbot Diaries, so it's pretty hard for me not to view it through that lens.

Which is unfair on the book, because it is entirely its own thing.

But also carries a lot of Murderbot DNA.

There's the conversational style, the same exasperated, hyper-confident protagonist with a prickly exterior but a heart of gold...

But Kai is also more openly vulnerable, more open with his friends and much more DTF.

Plot-wise it suffers from the same issues I have with the MBDs. The overarching story wasn't compelling, I don't really understand the stakes or the politics, at least not for the bulk of the book. So it was hard to get invested. But it doesn't matter because the whole thing is really just a framework to hang the individual set pieces on and, man, Wells is amazing on the small scale.

The action is so good. Well's writes in such a cinematic way that I am immediately sucked into the scene. And they feed into each other so well, with the split past/present back story meaning that you are always left in the middle of some cliffhanger or important event even during the downtime.

The setting is also really interesting, the magic system is weird, but usually clearly conveyed, and the world is... well it's a mess. Dealing with the fallout from the magical equivalent of a nuclear war.

Overall, the most basic comparison is the strongest though. This is an incredibly compelling book, that I can see myself re-reading many times.