Kate Elliott is a modern mistress of fantasy, her Crown of Stars saga is a classic of the genre as well as more recent series such as The Spiritwalker Trilogy and The Crossroads Trilogy. In fact, I think Black Wolves is one of the best fantasy novels of the last decade or so. But on to The Witch Roads, the first in a two-book set aptly named The Witch Roads. A courier – Elen – traverses the roads of Tranquil Empire bringing news to villages while also being a defensive agent against the Spore. Hundreds of years ago the devastating Pall first struck, which brings the deadly Spore in its creepy clouds. is tasked with bringing a prince across a dangerous magical landscape. Elen is also the guardian to Kem, her young trans nephew whose mother (Elen’s sister) passed away before the start of the novel. They’ve been traveling for a while, but when they return to Orledder Halt, she’s “hired” by a young, arrogant prince to guide her through a very dangerous landscape. Shockingly, complications ensue.
When an arrogant prince (and his equally arrogant entourage) gets stuck in Orledder Halt as part of brutal political intrigue, competent and sunny deputy courier Elen―once a child slave meant to shield noblemen from the poisonous Pall―is assigned to guide him through the hills to reach his destination.
When she warns him not to enter the haunted Spires, the prince doesn’t heed her advice, and the man who emerges from the towers isn’t the same man who entered.
The journey that follows is fraught with danger. Can a group taught to ignore and despise the lower classes survive with a mere deputy courier as their guide?
Early on in the novel, Elliott does a great job of establishing the relationship between Elen and Kem as they make their way through an ancient stronghold. Her descriptions here pulled me into the world. There’s a strong bond of love and trust. When they settle for the night at a Spire, they encounter a haunt, a spirit creature that is quite unsettling and are known to be able to take over the bodies of people. Initially, Kem comes across as “male” coded, but this is a choice Kem made when they were younger. They are trans and Elliott’s handling of this situation comes across (to me, a cis-gender male) as genuine and handled quite well.
The prince and his retinue prove a stressful element in an already stressful world. Because of Elen’s stature among the people (she and her sister were largely looked down upon as Lesser People), she is not even permitted direct communication with the prince. As the traveling departs and eventually approaches the Spire where Elen and Kem encountered the haunt, she cautions the princes (through his proxy) against entering the Spire, he ignores her as much rich, snobbish, know-it-alls tend to do when “lower” people advise them. He enters the Spire, but who emerges is different and only Elen is able to see the change, even if the “Prince” acts a little differently including beginning to speak directly to Elen.
As Elen and the “Prince’s” party progress across the landscape, Elliott brings to light more about Elen and Kem. Unsurprisingly, their past comes back to them quite potently leading to a rift between Elen and Kem. Elen also begins to develop some strong relationships with the Prince’s retinue as well.
Kate Elliott’s greatest strength, in the novels I’ve read from her, is her ability to balance incredible world-building with well-drawn, realistic characters. As much as I adore Crown of Stars for that superpower, I would posit that strength is even more powerful here in The Witch Roads. Those first few chapters establish those elements extremely well, I felt an immediate connection and empathy to Elen and Kem. As Elliott reveals more of their past, that empathy only increases. The way she introduces them traversing the ruins allows for the world to exude a lived-in, deep historical feel. Again, that feel to the world only gets stronger the narrative progresses and additionally layers to the world are revealed and come to the forefront.
In the interest of providing a fair/balanced review, my only slight issue is that the pacing felt slightly uneven, some chunks of the narrative felt powerfully immersive (especially some of the deep character interactions) made it difficult for me to pull my eyes away from the book. Some other passages / narrative chunks weren’t quite as magnetic. Those passages were minimal.
In her introduction, Kate Elliott says this is the novel that “reignited her love of writing.” Damn does this novel show-off a love of writing. The Witch Roads is a wonderful fantasy novel, much of it evokes what readers of fantasy for the past few decades have loved, while injecting a great deal of modern sensibilities into the novel handled with care and thoughtfulness.
I’d like to call out the gorgeous cover art by Raja Nandepu as well. If readers have the slightest bit of an inclination to read fantasy, this evocative cover screams READ ME! with its images and lovely color palete.
The Witch Roads is a great series starter and a fun, immersive, touching fantasy novel.
Highly Recommended.
© 2025 Rob H. Bedford
Publisher: Tor | June 2025
Hardcover 434 pages
https://imakeupworlds.com/
Excerpt: https://reactormag.com/excerpts-the-witch-roads-by-kate-elliott/
