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Witch King

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Witch King

Written by: Martha Wells
Narrated by: Eric Mok
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About this listen

"Narrator Eric Mok makes this wonderfully inventive and diverse fantasy eminently accessible... 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."- AudioFile

From the breakout SFF superstar author of Murderbot comes a remarkable story of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose.


"I didn't know you were a... demon."
"You idiot. I'm the demon."
Kai's having a long day in Martha Wells' WITCH KING....

After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well.

But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence?

Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions.

He’s not going to like the answers.

WITCH KING is Martha Wells’s first new fantasy in over a decade, drawing together her signature ability to create characters we adore and identify with, alongside breathtaking action and adventure, and the wit and charm we’ve come to expect from one of the leading writers of her generation.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor.com.

©2023 Martha Wells (P)2023 Macmillan Audio
Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Magic Users Royalty Witchcraft Wizardry King
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What the critics say

2023, Nebula Awards - Nominee: Short-listed

Nebula Awards - Nominee: "Short-listed

Hugo Award - Nominee: Short-listed

2023, Hugo Award - Nominee: Short-listed

Locus Awards - Winner

2023, Locus Awards - Winner

“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

“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

What listeners say about Witch King

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I’m not a fantasy person, but I liked it

While I’m not typically into fantasy stuff (more hard sci-fi), I thought I’d give it a try, since it is Martha Wells. The first chapter is just naming the houses, etc. and may have made more sense at the end or something for the audio version, but after that you get into it pretty quickly. I like the way the book jumps back and forth between the past and present day to unravel this story.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great work, great characters, great world-build

Like the Lord of the Rings, you get to the end with a pretty good idea of the rich people groups and histories of this fantasy world-build, but there still much more richness to be explored

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Monotonous

The tale itself is fine. The characters are well written and the story is driven by the personality of the characters involved. Sadly, the narration doesn't breed any life into the characters. The narrator has a nice voice, but there is minimal difference between the narrative or any of the characters, creating a slurry of monotony spread over the hours of listening.

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Interesting world, could lose the flashbacks tho

I enjoyed this book, especially the parts in the present. The magic system felt unique and complex, which is something difficult to find in fantasy these days. The world also felt full in ways that made me want to explore further. I'll definitely be re-reading this in the future. 

The only reason I'm not giving it a higher rating is the flashbacks. Don't get me wrong, they were entertaining enough, but ultimately the book could be read without them without losing context. In other words: they didn't add to the story. 

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