The Books of Ile-Rien
fantasy
Series · fantasy
The Rising World
The Rising World series by Martha Wells has 2 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Witch King (2023).
- Books
- 2 books
- First published
- 2023
- Status
- ongoing
- Last checked
Start here: Witch King (2023) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Witch King
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Witch King - Book 2:
Queen Demon
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Queen Demon
About The Rising World
Kai Bashevi wakes up drowned and imprisoned in an underwater vault, having been murdered by someone he trusted -- and as a witch king, dying is more of an inconvenience than an ending. Witch King (2023) unfolds on two timelines at once: Kai's present-day hunt for whoever betrayed him and why, and the buried history of the war and revolution that brought his world's current order into being, gradually revealing how those two stories are the same story. It's one of Martha Wells's most structurally ambitious books, using the dual timeline to build a genuinely non-Western fantasy political history from the ground up.
Queen Demon (2025) continues directly from Witch King, deepening the series' central demon-and-human political alliances as new threats to the fragile order Kai helped build emerge. A third and concluding volume has been announced for 2026, though no title or firm release date has been confirmed as of August 2026.
How to read this series
Read in publication order: Witch King, then Queen Demon. Witch King itself alternates between two timelines within the book, which is intentional structure rather than something to read out of order -- just follow the chapters as printed. Queen Demon assumes you've read Witch King and continues its plot directly. No other Martha Wells reading is required; this is a standalone setting unrelated to Murderbot, the Raksura, or Ile-Rien.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in The Rising World series?
Two published so far -- Witch King (2023) and Queen Demon (2025) -- with a third and concluding volume announced for 2026, though no title or confirmed date has been set as of August 2026.
What order should I read The Rising World books in?
Publication order: Witch King, then Queen Demon. Queen Demon continues directly from Witch King's plot.
Is The Rising World connected to the Murderbot Diaries?
No -- it's an entirely separate secondary-world fantasy setting with no shared characters or continuity.
Why does Witch King have two timelines?
The novel deliberately interweaves Kai's present-day investigation into his own murder with the buried history of the revolution that shaped his world, revealing by the end how the two are connected.
Is The Rising World a trilogy?
It's been described as planned for three books, with a concluding volume announced for 2026, but as of August 2026 no title or specific release date has been confirmed, so this dataset doesn't list one.
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Reading order last verified .