"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.
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This book dragged, and overall was a bit disappointing. But there was also this line:
“I didn’t know you were a demon
You idiot I’m the demon”
So that’s pretty good
2.75
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"I don't know if I can do what you want me to do, Bashasa. If I can stay calm and always think ahead, like you do. I'm so angry I could burn the world."
“Unfortunately, someone else has already burned it. We need to unburn it. Will you help me do that, Kai?”
Okay so I know people had difficulties with this book like a lot of reviews have already stated, and I will say it was not a fast read for me, but despite that I really enjoyed this book. I will note a few things that stood out to me:
1) The characters: Loved every single one of them, not only was Kai my kind of protagonist, but every secondary character was amazing. The way they carried themselves was singular, they didn't feel like tropes.
2) Lore/Magic: Although it was hard to understand at first, things slowly start to piece together. I'll admit I am still confused about how the magic system works in it's entirety, but I think I get the gist of it.
3) The diversity and representation: The marginalized groups of Witch King are very much reflected from our world. For one, I believe the main groups are POC. Many characters use they/them pronouns, and it's normalized (love that), furthermore queer love is also normalized. There is also a mute character, who communicates through a sign language they call "witchspeak." Anyway, Alex Kingsley's review said it well: "The characters, of course, have no concept of queer or trans or disabled. To them, this is all just how the world works, and it’s deeply refreshing to spend some time in a world with such different cultural norms. "
So, if you like any and/or all of those above points, and you're okay with being thrown into the middle of things, okay to learn as you read, okay to be intentionally in the dark, and okay with time jumps, you should definitely read this book.
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