Witch King is an adult fantasy novel following Kai who after being murdered and trapped finds a lesser mage trying to gain control of his powers. Kai, along with his friend Ziede, must figure out why they were imprisoned though Kai might not like the answers.

The world created here is very different from other fantasies with a very unique magic system. The story goes back and forth between the present focusing on the mystery of what happened to Kai and his past and how he became know as the Witch King. Martha Wells does this so well that the reader learns what is going on in the present at the same time as the characters. The flash backs give enough information on the world and the past events to be informative while also leaving a mystery.

This is one of those books that is good on a first read but will be even better on a reread when you understand what is going on Witch King is currently a stand alone but is left open enough to have sequels in the future if the author wanted to.