Yesterday I reviewed Charles Stross’s Season of Skulls, written during the Pandemic where Stress decided to attempt Something Different and mixed a Regency Romance with a Lovecraftian Time Travel adventure. Today, I’m reviewing Martha Wells’s Witch King that blends magic and Epic Fantasy and feudal warfare into a compelling story. Martha Wells, best known for her Murderbot series (you can read my reviews, here, here, here, here, here, and here), where a SECURITY UNIT robot who hacks his governor module and goes rogue. This is a Far Cry from Wells’s latest novel.
Witch King opens with a scary scene as the Witch King, Kai, finds himself “dead” and buried in a tower of water (water makes it hard for witches to work their magic) with his companion, Ziede, another type of witch. Together, they escape to find out how they “died” and who buried them.
I suspect the Pandemic led Martha Wells to forgo another episode in the Murderbot series and to tackle this long, complex, and exciting Fantasy novel, instead. If you’re in the mood for some action/adventure Fantasy in the George R. R. Martin and Robert Jordan style, you might want to give Witch King a try. GRADE: B+
You got me at George R. R. Martin than lost me at Robert Jordan. I like Martin as a writer but find Jordan a bore.
Steve, I was using Martin and Jordan as examples of Epic Fantasy. Some Fantasy readers prefer Martin, some Jordan. Some both.
Not my type of book but it is a failure that I don’t read more widely.
Patti, sometimes I just get into the mood for High Adventure.
And you wouldn’t want to start with Jordan or Martin. The latter seemingly a good guy, but a highly uneven writer. A bit like trying to get into crime fiction by reading Ludlum and Jeffery Deaver.
I haven’t tied Wells as yet.
My failure is not Keeping Up.
Todd, it’s hard to Keep Up. I’m constantly behind the publishing curve.
I’ve liked the Wells books I’ve read but think the Murderbot books are more to my taste than this.
Jeff, Martha Wells writes great SF and Fantasy: a double threat!