The Will of the Many (Hierarchy)

The Will of the Many showed up on my suggested books on Kindle yesterday evening, and after reading the sample in record time (even for me), I decided to buy the full book. I’m so glad I did! The characters were well-developed, the worldbuilding was solid and detailed without overwhelming info-dumps, the themes were thought-provoking, the general imagery was fascinating, and the plot was twisty enough to surprise me. (And as a writer myself, that’s fairly rare!) Go figure I mostly want to talk about the characters, but Vis is amazing! I really enjoyed having a competent—if slightly inexperienced at times—protagonist going into a new series. He’s intelligent, intriguing, courageous, and generally manages to avoid the stupid mistakes that most teenage protagonists tend to fall into so easily. He’s definitely not perfect, but I was rooting for him almost immediately. Briefly described, the setting is a “Post-Cataclysmic,” Roman-Empire-reminiscent world with a strict hierarchy that is rather caste-like. Everyone in the empire “cedes” a portion of their “Will” to the levels above them in a pyramid-like structure, leaving the highest levels with tremendous power and influence. This raises interesting questions of autonomy, as well as leading readers to consider the impact (and tacit complicity) of staying silent and complying with “the system.” As one character says in the first quarter of the book, “—should we not hold others to the standards to which we hold ourselves? Anyone who does not resist them… is lending them their strength. Is complicit in all that they do.” Granted, we are not ceding actual tangible power in our daily lives, but the concept still made me think more deeply about how many things we lend our silent support to, simply because of our unwillingness to take a stand and risk the loss of our comfort zones and social popularity. The last characteristic of this book that I enjoyed was its length. I strongly appreciate long fantasy books (when done well). At no point when reading The Will of the Many was I bored and wanting the story to end. On the contrary, my only fear while reading was that it would end before I was ready. As it was, the ending was satisfying and certainly a cliff-hanger, but not as bad a one as I’d feared. I will certainly be on the lookout for the sequel! If you’re looking for an adventurous fantasy with fascinating, multi-dimensional characters, thought-provoking themes, and dark political academia vibes with fierce competition between individuals and classes, this book might just thrill you as much as it did me :)

Just finished The Will of the Many (Islington) and damnnnn the book is amazing. Without spoilers, the ending clearly sets up a longer series, and book2 releases in Nov. Overall: World: fantasy version of Imperial Rome. The worldbuilding was perfect, and easy to dive right into. The "pyramids" of the magic system are integral to the world, character, and plot, and were also definitely social commentary on class structures. I loved the world and found it easy to picture. The magic system of Will was really unique. It was interesting that he had to sort of go to places without magic for more than half the book though, making me wonder how different future books might feel. Pacing: Perfection. It is intense, but with pauses... thats something a lot of new authors miss, and the variance between both is needed. Twists were very surprising. There was one moment near the end where I was like... thats IT? And no... it was not it. Characters: The main character is really great and is compelling. His homeland is Suus. I kept reading it as "sus" which is what my kids say, quoting Among Us. The other chatacters are mostly well developed with great motivations... but it is clear Islington prefers writing male characters. The females all felt a bit...less developed. But hoping to see that change in future books. The book straddles ya and adult, with the mc turning 18 at the books end. Quite a bit of violence. No on the page sex, and barely a hint of romance. Highlights: the shift in book styles throughout was refreshing. I consistently had no clue where it was going. Theres a magic school part, a hunger games part, a Gladiator part... but the interweaving of these elements, with other completely new parts, left the book feeling exciting and unpredictable. Prose and mcs voice were spot on always. Overall rating: 5 out of 5 easily. Cant wait for the next one.

I really enjoyed The Will of the Many (Hierarchy) — the world-building, characters, and plot kept me hooked from start to finish. The story is compelling and the pacing is excellent, making it hard to put down. The hardcover quality is solid, but I’m not a fan of the reversible cover design. It feels unnecessary and a little cumbersome compared to a traditional dust jacket. That aside, the book itself is fantastic. If you enjoy epic sci-fi with strong characters and intricate world-building, this is definitely worth picking up. Highly recommend.

let me preface this entire mini review with this: even in the year 2023, the name of the wind is still my favorite book of all time, and the will of the many was the closest book i’ve ever read to capturing the feeling of that book. and i am not saying this because there is a magical school setting in part two of this book, i am saying this because the main character, vis, reminds me so much of kvothe, the main character of the name of the wind, that it casted a magic spell on me while reading. i am also such a character driven reader, and to give me the feeling of one of my favorite characters in all literature? yeah, i fell in love with this one easily, friends. (and yes @ everyone also comparing this setting, world building/caste system, and even a trial/competition feeling like red rising!) but i don't want you all to think i only like this because it reminded me of my favorite book, because i promise you this book and story and main character completely stand on their own and deserve to be celebrated all on their own as well! also, the prologue of this one will grip you all on its own, i promise. but after the prologue, we see vis, seventeen years old and still orphaned, working in a prison where people are being drugged and their will (or magic) is being siphoned to other people higher in society (or pyramids). But vis catches the eye of one of the visitors, and he finally receives his opportunity to train to go undercover to catena academy and get revenge for the murder of his family. but this synopsis is really only the tip of the iceberg pyramid of this story. this is also a story about love and how that can take so many different shapes and forms. this is a story about friendship and the beauty of learning to trust after the world has given you so many reasons not to ever again. this is a story about honoring your past while also embracing the hope of what your future might look like. this was paced so very well - the lead up was everything, but the ending was out of this world phenomenal. this was written so beautifully, from quotes to metaphors, to just being a book that i feel like i could highlight something on every page. this was also so smartly written, and always walked a really tight balance line of dark and light. and the magic system is so complex yet also simple at the same time, and it really impressed me all on its own. this book was truly an accumulation of so many amazing ideas and executed concepts that i was completely immersed from cover to cover. and the book truly evoked so many feelings (and tears… one time even involving a lobster) from me, and it really instantly became a new all time favorite. and in 600 pages, vis really stole my heart and became a new all time favorite character. this really was one of the bright shining lights of all of sff in 2023, and very much a part of my reading year, and i highly recommend this story to you. and I absolutely cannot wait to see where this author takes this story next.

It is readily apparent from page 1 that James Islington is a masterful writer. The main character is a consistently ethical and appealing as he is presented with one intimidating challenge after another. This book has countless twists, and every character has secrets. The world-building is comprehensive, and realistic. I was riveted from the start, and have been singing its praises to friends and family. It is one of the best books I have ever read. Can’t wait to tackle Book 2!

Considering how much more expensive this book is than most fiction novels, a 5-star review means more for me than it normally would. A great book. Occasionally a bit slow, mostly the first third. But afterwards quite captivating. There protagonist is interesting and relatable and there's plenty of interesting relationships and suspense. And a slowly revealed mystery that is quite interesting and leaves you wanting to read the second book. Recommended!

Nothing makes me happier than handing out another 5 star review, this makes number 12 on the year, which may seem like a lot, but I’ve been very selective on what to read this year. With that many 5 stars, The Will of the Many could easily be my favorite of all of them. I mean I’m always a sucker for blending genres, and history is always my favorite to get blended, so when I heard that this was similar to Red Rising in how the world and history is based around Greco-Roman history, I knew I was in for a treat, but I did not expect to love it as much as I did. I am new to Islington, and I may just have to go back and read Licanius very soon. I do think that there will be some that may (WRONGLY) throw this in the YA category the way they throw Red Rising in to that incorrect category, and I’m just here to say, that it’s not YA. Why do I bring up the YA, because some will use its first person POV, a cast of young characters, and a magical school similar to Book of the Ancestor by Mark Lawrence and Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss as a way to mischaracterize the story. I do love that Islington separated the story into 3 different parts, first being an introduction to the main character and a bit of his training, the second part is where the story really gets going when he gets into the academy, and the final part, the explosive finish, reminded me a bit of the Spartans Agōge. But the epilogue… that left me absolutely flabbergasted. This story was filled with mysteries and twists that revealed themselves at perfect times throughout the story rather than doing it at the end, which made things more interesting. “That’s the power of the Hierarchy-we do, because there is no standing apart. You fight the tyranny of the many, or you are one of them.” Islington really created a cast of great characters, starting with the MC, Vis, who I really liked from the get go, he just had that same type of persona that Darrow of Red Rising and Nona of Book of the Ancestors have, the further the story went on, the more I liked him. Though there’s not a lot of development with the other characters, I feel like it was done purposefully for future twists and revelations, I still liked several of them like Eidhin, Callidus, Emissa, and several others that I think will end up playing a major part in future installments of the series. Not to mention the mysterious wolf-like creatures, the alupi, I have a theory about them, but will keep that to myself to keep from spoiling things. Euan Morton’s narration was phenomenal, I am definitely adding him to a list of narrators that deserve A LOT more recognition! The story was already fantastic, but Morton sucked me in even more with the voices of the characters and as well as the emotions he evoked when needed. Truly a remarkable job! There’s still so much to learn about what’s actually going on with this story, because it is very complex compared to how it first appears. Things are not as they seem and my mind is going wild! Truly though, the only negative I have is that the surface was only scratched on what Will is, and judging by other things, this may very well have been purposefully done as more can be revealed as the story progresses, rather than just dump it all out. I would have preferred to learn more, but I also really love the mysteriousness of everything.

Throughout most of the book I couldn't put it down. The Will of the Many's first person perspective, violent and detailed action sequences, great world building, layered political plots and exceptional protagonist make this an enjoyable read. There are flaws, though. (No spoilers.) The setting of Ancient Rome with magic might not work for some. Latin words and neologisms throughout. You *really* have to suspend your disbelief at times, especially in the second half of the book. Some characters willingly believe something when they would have relentlessly questioned it a few chapters before. Or an act of compassion becomes a predictable but essential plot point. At times I was shaking my head at the apparent laziness of the plot devices. The biggest flaw, though, is that our hero cannot fail. At all. Failure is always death or worse. This leads to a lot of false tension and belabored conflict since you know he will succeed. The influences of Dune, Mistborn, Kingkiller and Count of Monte Cristo or Demolished Man are quite apparent. I was unpleasantly surprised at the similarities to Harry Potter in the middle of the book. Pacing suffers at times while the author details what it's like to trudge through a thick forest. Again. And again. Ignore other reviewers' accusations of it being a romantasy. While there's some of that it's by no means dominant nor detailed. This is adult fiction not some YA romantasy trash. All that said, I recommend it. I can't wait for the next book.

😍😍😍

This book is quite frankly brilliant. It took me some time to get past the slow start and even the first person perspective. But the book kept me reading, kept me on my toes, and drove me to an ending that felt satisfying in and of itself with a great desire for the next book. I shall be reading that one forthwith. It was clever in all the right ways. Absolutely recommend!

Brand new and no flaws or dents on the book

I haven’t read anything by James Islington so far, even though I have only heard good things about his books. That will change now, because I really enjoyed The Will of the Many. I am a huge fan of the academy-trope and setting in fantasy books, so I was pretty sure I was going to like it, but I didn’t expect to love it so much. Especially because in retrospect the main character would usually be too much: Vis Telimus seems to excel in almost everything he does, no matter what it is: studying widely different topics, learning martial arts, …it doesn’t matter what it is, but once he applies himself to it, Vis will become very adept at it in a rather short amount of time. While also being an outsider with a tragic backstory that tries his best to be true to himself and generally seems to be good people all around. He reminds me of the early Superman. Usually, I am not a fan of this type of character, but he and the story in general are just so very well written, it didn’t bother me at all while reading and I actually only realized him being a male Mary Sue (I think I read ‘Gary Stu’ for that?) looking back at the story. With that out of the way, let’s get into it: The Will of the Many is a first-person POV-narrative, told by main character Vis Telimus. The world-building is very obviously Roman-inspired and is done thoroughly and convincingly. The characters are interesting, obviously focused on Vis, but with a few interesting side-characters as well. Only some of Vis’ antagonists fall a little flat, to be honest. But the strength of this book in my opinion is the actual story and the way it is told. It is very fast paced, very engaging and with lots of twists. We learn more about Vis, about the people around him, about the society he lives in, there is intrigue galore,… All this combined made it really difficult to put The Will of the Many down, I can’t remember a section I would have liked to skip ahead, I was truly entertained. I finished the book about the time the second part came out, and I doubt I will wait very long to continue Vis’ journey.

Quite complicated at first but definitely enthralling!