Published in 2023 by American author Martha Wells, Witch King is the story of a man named Kaii searching for both friends and answers. After he awakens from a magical underwater stasis, Kaii travels the world with his friend Ziede, a witch with the power to control air spirits, and together they search for her wife and brother-in-law. Along the way, they encounter magical warriors who threaten to thwart their plans and flashbacks tell the story of Kaii’s demonic origins and the means by which he was imprisoned. Witch King is currently rated 3.7 stars out of 5 on GoodReads, a rating taken from over 13,000 reviews. I have to admit, I almost did not finish this book. I attempted to read it before I read Jade City but I stopped reading around page sixty to read that book instead. But I was intrigued enough by the beginning of the book to come back to it a few weeks later and I am glad that I did, for reasons I’ll cover in this review. The New York Times rated this book as one of the top ten fantasy books of 2023 and I have to admit, I just don’t see it. I give Witch King two stars out of five, and here is why.