Witch King: The Martha Wells Book You Missed
The Martha Wells Novel That Gets Overlooked for the Wrong Reason
Everyone who reads speculative fiction knows the Murderbot Diaries. Far fewer know Witch King, a standalone fantasy published in 2023 about a demon named Kai who wakes up drowned at the bottom of a well and works backward to understand who put him there. Martha Wells writes with the same intelligence and wit that made Murderbot beloved, but Witch King has a scope and emotional depth that the shorter format of those books does not attempt. It deserves more readers than it has.
Wells writes secondary characters better than most authors write leads.
"He had been many things before they drowned him. Not all of them were good things.
"Martha Wells
Reading Witch King
Enjoyment
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Section
Why to Read Witch King if You Have Only Read Murderbot
It shows what Wells can do with a longer format and a secondary world setting
The moral complexity is deeper than the Murderbot novellas allow room for
Kai is a completely different kind of character and equally worth spending time with
It stands alone, no series commitment needed to get the full experience