Witch King

"Yes, this was also a nominee for both the Hugo and the Nebula awards. Wells has declined nominations for her sci fi series Murderbot twice now, because it has received so many already. It’s exciting to see her here with a very different sort of novel. The world of Witch King is one of demons and witches, and visceral spell-like magic that draws on pain for its power. There’s a chilling, water-logged atmosphere to the whole story, and the explanation of the magic is understated so that the world feels awe-inspiring, rather than pseudo-scientific. The story itself is pacey, following a political resistance across two timelines – before and after their victory. There is no easy sense of final battles or triumphant-good – this is a world where political victories are hard-won and partial. This is about work that is in ‘the spirit of the Inklings’ – the group composed of C S Lewis , J R R Tolkien and Charles Williams. The society describe mythopoeic work as ‘literature that creates a new and transformative mythology, or incorporates and transforms existing mythological material’. It’s a really interesting award to keep an eye on; the popularity of this kind of fantasy waxes and wanes, so it’s great to see it consistently championed."

"Witch King is an evocative fantasy novel. Kaiisteron is a demon, and given a body in our world by a bargain with the Saredi – a civilisation that is destroyed shortly after by invaders known as the Hierarchs. The novel jumps between two timelines: the resistance to the Hierarchs, and the later plot against the nascent new regime that took their place, the Rising World. In the one, we watch the development of the personal relationships that are now at stake in the other. Witch King is dripping in atmosphere: this is a world of flooded stone halls, captured boats and bespelled whales. There are some especially striking scenes in the metaphysically-mysterious underearth, true home of the demons; and a memorably claustrophobic hunt. The magic is underexplained, to good effect. Expect cantrips and intentions wielded by expositors and witches and the Immortal Blessed, and magic that draws on pain and death for its power – but don’t expect to know exactly what all of these are. This is a tonal departure from Wells’ most famous works, the Murderbot Diaries series. Wells previously declined two Nebula nominations for that series to open the floor for highlighting other writers."

"It’s exciting to see this fantasy from Wells, who is most famous for her sci fi series Murderbot . In fact, Wells declined a Nebula nomination for that series this year – for the second time – because it has already received so many accolades. This is another rich world, but it’s carefully underexplained. The effect is evocatively murky – quite literally sometimes, with dark scenes underwater and one in the ominous underearth. We are following a demon who is embodied in the human world now, but has origins in the underearth; he is pitted against Hierarchs, who use the magic of expositors; witches are present, on the side of the heroes; and the Immortal Blessed are a powerful and morally divided group. Magic is fuelled by pain, inflicted on the self or others. This makes for some chilling scenes. Yes, it concerns high politics, and there’s plenty of mortal peril for the characters. You are following two timelines at once – a past resistance, and now a plot against the still-young regime that the resistance birthed. The book is serious about the long, slow work of political change – when one character wants to burn the world, they are told, “Unfortunately, someone else has already burned it. We need to unburn it.”"

"Kai, a demon, survives a murder attempt, only to discover his close friend is missing and the new world he helped forge out of the ruins of a brutal empire is on the verge of collapse. With old friends and new allies, Kai takes on powerful mages and past traumas. This motley crew of mages, demons and otherworldly beings crosses oceans and continents, past and present, to save the world and people they love. It’s the kind of novel you want to sink into, with a narrative style that hooks you in and makes it impossible to put down."