As a fan of the Murderbot series, picking up a new novel from Martha Wells was a no-brainer. I went in completely blind, having not looked up any other reviews or even really what the plot synopsis was. If you enjoy having a reluctant hero who is morally gray, then you can rest assured that Wells brings that through in this book which looks to be the first of the series. 

There is a LOT of world-building going on here, like pages and pages of it. It's incredibly detailed, and beautifully written. There's not just a whole magic system, but there's witches, demons, other beings of magic users, and religious zealots. Wells spends a great deal of time between the present and past narrative to help build out the world, the war, and the relationships of the main characters. If you're looking for something action-packed, this ain't it. You can tell this is the foundation of a larger story, and a lot of this is the groundwork. I swapped between physical book and audiobook, which I do think helped. Knowing there's more to follow makes me want to give this world and series a chance, even though I'd given up for less on other authors/books. 

If you're ok with some serious ground being covered that isn't necessarily all action (Sanderson fans, I'm looking at you...), then I'd give this one a shot. But if it's fast-paced escapism you're after, this may not be for you.