:INFO
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.


:NOTE
Wells writes secondary characters better than most authors write leads.


:QUOTE [quotetype:plain, subtitle:Martha Wells]
He had been many things before they drowned him. Not all of them were good things.


:JOURNEY
Reading Witch King
5 Immediately compelling
5 Through action
5 Genuinely alien
4 Complete and open

:CHECKLIST
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

:POLL
Do you think Martha Wells is underrated relative to her influence on the genre?
Yes, she deserves wider recognition than she has
She is well known enough within fantasy and sci fi circles
I am only familiar with Murderbot and have not read Witch King
I am not familiar with her work yet