252:, Adrienne Martini stated that "Wells introduces so many parts of Kai’s world so quickly that figuring out all of the players and how they relate to Kai’s story quickly becomes impossible, so much so that I really wondered if this was the second book in a series." Martini praised the "imaginative bits of scenery" and the relationships between the characters, but ultimately felt that the plot was too confusing. A review for
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free the prisoners and kill a
Hierarch in the first successful retaliation against the conquest. During this process, Kai steals the body of an expositor. This non-consensual possession is a great wrongdoing in the eyes of the other demons, including his cousin Arn-Nefa; the other demons disown him. Bashasa reclaims his throne in Benais-arik, leading to the founding of the Rising World coalition.
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in the present day with the understanding that Kai has already defeated them—negating any tension involving the
Hierarchs that Wells crafts in the past timeline". Finally, the review noted that the "queer relationships in this novel are more repressed than celebrated; despite being openly gay or lesbian, her characters aren’t ever given an opportunity to show their feelings openly on the page."
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Benais-arik, causing the renewal to fail and the Rising World coalition to devolve into a set of allied states rather than an empire. Kai abandons Ramad. They use the finding stone to locate Tahren, imprisoned by
Immortal Blessed. The remaining conspirators are captured and Ziede is reunited with her wife.
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wrote that "the dry, workmanlike prose that works so well when Wells is writing robots can make it difficult to feel particularly close to any of these living characters." Nevertheless, their review praised the treatment of gender and sexuality, as well as the way in which Wells depicts "the cultures
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is normalized in the novel as well as Wells's "descriptions, both macro and micro." Brown notes that some readers may be disappointed that "Wells doesn’t tell the reader much about the history of the world or the specific events that bridge the gap between Kai’s time in the grasslands, the
Hierarchs’
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It is revealed that Bashat knew about the
Immortal Blessed and Nient-arik conspiracy. He allowed Kai, Ziede, and Tahren to be captured, then exposed the plot in order to strengthen his own city's position. Ramad has been his spy. Kai has simultaneously organized to weaken the international support of
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Kai is rescued by
Bashasa Calis, a prisoner of war and prince-heir of the city-state Benais-arik. Bashasa leads a rebellion. He is assisted by the witch Ziede; the Immortal Blessed warrior Tahren, who has chosen to turn against her people and the Hierarchs; and Tahren's brother Dahin. These fighters
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gave the novel 2.5 of 5 stars, noting that "the readers’ lack of knowledge about the world and Rising World politics makes the story cumbersome rather than engaging." The review criticized the dual-timeline structure, noting that "The
Hierarchs are established as the Big Bad, but we enter the novel
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They are pursued by expositors who are using a ship stolen from
Immortal Blessed. Ramad, personal vanguard to Prince-heir Bashat, helps Kai. The prince of Nient-arik is implicated. This city-state wants to replace Benais-arik as the leaders of the Rising World Coalition during the upcoming treaty
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Kai wakes to find that he has been imprisoned. An expositor attempts to bind him as a familiar, but Kai kills him. During this process, Kai's consciousness jumps into a new body. He rescues his companion Ziede and a street urchin named Sanja. Ziede's wife Tahren remains missing. Kai suspects that
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They travel to the ruins of the
Hierarchs’ Summer Halls to look for a finding stone, which will help them locate Tahren. At the Halls, they fine Dahin. They are attacked by Arn-Sterath (formerly Arn-Nefa), who is working with Immortal Blessed and the Nient-arik conspirators. Kai and Ziede emerge
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Kai-Enna is a demon living among the
Kentdessa Saredi clan. His cousin Adeni is killed by a monster, presaging an invasion by the Hierarchs. The Hierarchs's expositors, or magicians, close the gateway to the underearth and separate the demons from their home. The Hierarchs ally with the Immortal
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In the world of the story, demons come from the underearth. The nomadic people of the Saredi make a deal to allow demons into the overearth; the demons possess the bodies of recently deceased Saredi, becoming members of their extended families. Witches are born of the unions between mortals and
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as one of the top ten science fiction and fantasy novels of 2023. El-Mohtar wrote that the novel "is an immersive throwback to a beloved species of 1990s fantasy doorstop, full of cataclysmic intrigues between mostly immortal families". Alex Brown of
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brutal rise and subsequent fall, and the rebuilding of the world left in their wake." However, Brown notes that "it doesn’t so much matter how they got to where they are; what’s important is how they plan to move forward."
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Blessed in order to capture and control most of the continent. They take prisoners of war, including Kai, to their Summer Halls.
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The story alternates between the past and the present; this plot summary is written in chronological order.
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Bashat bar Calis, current prince-heir of Benais-arik, is responsible.
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308:"A Lavish, Crunchy Fantasy: Witch King by Martha Wells"
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376:"Pain as Power: Review of Witch King by Martha Wells"
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Hinchliff, Isabel; Cheunkarndee, Julia (5 May 2023).
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353:"Adrienne Martini Reviews Witch King by Martha Wells"
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285:"The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2023"
243:of this world with an anthropologist’s care".
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400:. World Science Fiction Society. 2024-03-29.
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123:https://www.marthawells.com/witchking.htm
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1148:Novels about witches and witchcraft
1037:Babel, or the Necessity of Violence
262:The novel was nominated for a 2024
196:victorious with the finding stone.
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16:2023 fantasy novel by Martha Wells
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351:Martini, Adrienne (26 May 2023).
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918:The Ocean at the End of the Lane
332:. Publishers Weekly. 17 Feb 2023
1094:(1989–1997, 1999, 2017–present)
404:from the original on 2024-03-29
283:El-Mohtar, Amal (4 Dec 2023).
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505:The Claw of the Conciliator
306:Brown, Alex (31 May 2023).
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493:Lord Valentine's Castle
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1098:Best Young Adult Book
534:Marion Zimmer Bradley
146:The Murderbot Diaries
21:The Lord of the Rings
906:The Apocalypse Codex
894:A Dance with Dragons
792:Lois McMaster Bujold
657:The Innkeeper's Song
486:Patricia A. McKillip
287:. The New York Times
25:Witch-King of Angmar
1143:Novels about demons
1138:2023 fantasy novels
959:Charlie Jane Anders
899:George R. R. Martin
756:George R. R. Martin
721:George R. R. Martin
697:George R. R. Martin
565:Soldier of the Mist
529:The Mists of Avalon
481:Harpist in the Wind
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1080:Best Fantasy Novel
1013:The City We Became
930:The Goblin Emperor
704:Earthquake Weather
546:Robert A. Heinlein
454:Best Fantasy Novel
398:"2024 Hugo Awards"
211:The New York Times
192:renewal ceremony.
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1092:Best Horror Novel
935:Katherine Addison
852:Ursula K. Le Guin
751:A Storm of Swords
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498:Robert Silverberg
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1086:Best First Novel
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716:A Clash of Kings
685:Orson Scott Card
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1070:(1971–1981)
1042:R. F. Kuang
1025:Jade Legacy
983:Naomi Novik
947:Naomi Novik
923:Neil Gaiman
816:Neil Gaiman
811:Anansi Boys
768:Neil Gaiman
589:Red Prophet
577:Seventh Son
450:Locus Award
183:The Present
86:30 May 2023
31:Witch King
1132:Categories
1068:Best Novel
1049:Witch King
1001:Middlegame
709:Tim Powers
651:Tim Powers
570:Gene Wolfe
522:Gene Wolfe
510:Gene Wolfe
408:2024-03-29
270:References
264:Hugo Award
220:Witch King
135:is a 2023
132:Witch King
1030:Fonda Lee
646:Last Call
310:. Tor.com
231:queerness
214:, author
204:Reception
139:novel by
75:Tordotcom
71:Publisher
942:Uprooted
775:The Scar
402:Archived
170:The Past
166:demons.
55:Language
847:Lavinia
355:. Locus
226:Tor.com
218:ranked
158:Premise
137:fantasy
119:Website
66:Fantasy
58:English
1056:(2024)
1044:(2023)
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1008:(2020)
985:(2019)
973:(2018)
961:(2017)
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901:(2012)
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882:Kraken
877:(2010)
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359:19 Jan
336:19 Jan
45:Author
23:, see
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604:1990s
314:2 Feb
291:2 Jan
249:Locus
99:Pages
63:Genre
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