Witch King (The Rising World Book 1)

The story is told in first person, in a wry and slightly cynical voice that draws one in. The world itself is very nicely evoked in spare brush strokes, making the reader work a bit to build it up. I like that, but if you’re the kind of person who wants the “as you know, Bob” info-dump, you ain’t gonna get it here. The core premise of the setting is actually a pretty horrific post apocalypse scenario that drives out of the magic system, very nicely done. Strong rounded story with a follow up set up but no cliff-hangers thank goodness. Only slight negative for me was the alternating present/distant past chapters, but that’s just a personal thing, it’s all well done. Good, smart, well written fantasy from a pro. Strong recommend.

The worlding building is original, but there are a few too many cultures. The characters are interesting, but there are a few too many of them. The magic systems are fascinating but there are like four or five of them. In addition there is a duel timeline. All that makes it a bit busy for a standalone. It is not one I would recommend to anyone new to adult fantasy, you need to have a few multi-volume series under your belt, to keep all this straight in your brain.But I am a huge Martha Wells fan, she is a very clever writer and she mostly keeps the whole show together. I read it in one day and I really enjoyed being in this world. I just don't think it is top tier Martha Wells. My main issue is that I didn't get big emotional punches at a couple of important junctures in the story. I felt that was because certain relationships weren't developed enough so that when things happened I was, okay that just happened, rather than feeling the characters pain as if it were my own.I'm happy to have read it. I would recommend other fantasy and Martha Wells fans to read it. But I'm not sure it will go on my re-read rotation with all the Murderbot and Raksura books.

From the off this felt like a new story. Often, within the first few paragraphs or pages, I feel like “I’ve read this before.” I did have a bit of trouble identifying with some of the lead characters, but that wasn’t much of a problem. It is well paced and pretty engaging. It got five stars because it felt original. Which of course is only my perspective based on my reading history! It finished a bit open ended so I suspect there will be more to follow.. I will see if I want spoil book this by reading a series.

Decent plot, but jumping back and forth in the books timeline became irritating rather than explaining event.Tedious gender war nonsense became tiresome.Plucky good guy soldiers are exclusively women, badguy legionnaires all male. Male characters long haired skirt warering, female with 'pants' and short hair.......First of Ms. Wells books I have been totally irritated by..

Wells has created yet another colourful and enchanting world and thoroughly sucked me into it.I dearly hope that this book is the start of a series, but it is a complete story and of itself.The characters were interesting, the writing was compelling and if you’re a fan of Wells you should definitely go ahead and get this book.

Martha Wells is a master of her art and this book was a pleasure from start to finish - a sweeping, complex world, peopled by characters with flaws and desires and short-sighted impulses and lofty ambitions, and a story which is satisfying in itself and clearly opening up a wider quest.

A real treat; a World so compelling that the book felt like an excerpt from a much larger canon. Hopefully it will be!

Possibly unfair of me to leave a 2*, but I have to compare it with the quality of the Murderbot series. In many ways it feels like I’m reading the opposite.What do I mean? It feels more like I’m absorbing a dry historical novel rather than a well fleshed out story. I see what she’s going for, but there are multiple cultures, a filigree of entwined stories, many characters (some with similar names) and a past and present.It feels like the book tries to do too many things, but none well. The author has set out to create the world and the characters on paper, has put down their histories and relationships - but couldn’t figure out how to bring them to life.

The world building is immaculate and the characters varied and believable. It drops you in the middle of a mystery and keeps up a relentless pace until it's resolved, revealing key details about the world as it was and as it is now as it goes. Clever, intense, and trusting the reader credit to pick up key details as it goes. Martha Wells hits it out of the park again.

I admit, as a lover of setting I'm drawn to all Well's books by her wonderfully vibrant world building, but of course we're also introduced to this world by an interwoven collection of characters we're immediately drawn to care for (smol (past) Kai stole my heart!). I look forward to more adventures in this series.

What can I say... I love this book. LOVE ....capital letters... I love the Murderbot books too and I am so glad that I can say the same about her storys with a fantasy setting.I read the first page and I was in.There ARE a lot of characters with a LOT of names but it didn't bother me at all. I like to use my brain to keep track of a story.Can't wait to find out more about this world.And I love that all her characters are so practical!And there is a lot of humour in there as well.Oh - and normally I am not a big fan of different time lines running through a story. Oftentimes I find it distracting and tiresome - but not in this case! I was just as much into the onfolding timeline of the past as I was interested in what was happening in the present. Not every author can pull that off!As I said: Martha Wells rocks and I will be a good and faithful fan forever! (In a not creepy but nice way.)Oh and the hardcover book is sooooo nice. With great cover art and the quaility of the paper is great. Buy the hardcover edition if you like books and have the money to spare :-)

Jag absolut älskar författarens Murderbot serie. Jag har inte provat hennes fantasy böcker tidigare så detta var en första. Jag var beredd på att det skulle vara en annan stil. Dock får jag säga att jag har lite svårt att fästa mig vid dessa karaktärer.Kommer nog hålla mig till Murderbot

Complicated story. Huge number of exotically named characters and places. Political conspiracy with the motives and actions of the characters poorly explained.Then, to make the story even more difficult to follow, the story is told in alternating chapters of present and past.This story would have worked better if told linearly, from beginning to end.This story did not need, or benefit from, this fancy trick.I read the whole story to find out how the two main characters got into their predicament given in the beginning, but was bored and disillusioned by about the 30% point. If it had been any other author, I would probably not have bothered reading beyond 30%. Disappointed.