The Will of the Many book review

The Will of the Many by James Islington
Series: Hierarchy #1
on May 23, 2023
Goodreads

At the elite Catenan Academy, a young fugitive uncovers layered mysteries and world-changing secrets in this new fantasy series by internationally bestselling author of The Licanius Trilogy, James Islington.

AUDI. VIDE. TACE.

The Catenan Republic – the Hierarchy – may rule the world now, but they do not know everything.
I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilised society in allowing my strength, my drive and my focus – what they call Will – to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.
I tell them that I belong, and they believe me.
But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to find answers. To solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may tear the Republic apart.
And that I will never, ever cede my Will to the empire that executed my family.
To survive, though, I will still have to rise through the Academy’s ranks. I will have to smile, and make friends, and pretend to be one of them and win. Because if I cannot, then those who want to control me, who know my real name, will no longer have any use for me.
And if the Hierarchy finds out who I truly am, they will kill me.

This book is a beast! The Will of the Many has taken me SO long to get through and not because I wasn’t enjoying it but because the world and the politics are so complicated that there is no skipping through sections or dazing off into space. I do however feel after finishing this book I was just hanging on for the ride, I couldn’t have a sensible conversation about what Will is or how it’s used. Odd that I liked this one as much as I did in that respect.

The Will of the Many follows Vis, a young scrappy orphan who is fighting to survive in a world where the powerful take from below to run the world. He is taken from the depths of obscurity and placed in a school full of kids from the highest ranking families and expected to compete, all the while trying to keep track of the dark goings on behind the scenes.

This book has SO many characters and good luck remembering all of their names and their associated families, pyramids and what that actually means for the plot. I had NO idea all the way through who was doing what for why and what the motivations were. However, I did love the camaraderie from the Callidus and Eidhin, the friendship between the three of them was one of my all time favourite parts of the books, I really loved how easy and refreshing it was to see them as a whole and work together. I was definitely dying for more information on them both especially Eidhin but really appreciated the fact that it wasn’t forced into the story and it definitely leaves the door open for book two, which I already have on my shelf waiting.

One aspect I didn’t enjoy was the romantic relationship within the story, I won’t spoil who it was with but I think it becomes fairly obvious when he joins the academy who he has his eyes set on. It was the one part of the book that felt forced and rushed. There wasn’t a huge amount of buildup and when it did actually happen, nothing really changed, it was a little frustrating and it just felt unneeded especially with everything else that was going on within the plot and with the characters.

I would have loved to have seen more of Lani and her story but I think that will be explored more in the books to come (I HOPE). One thing I was surprised by is that despite not really grasping what the hell was going on for the majority I guessed one of the twists, which actually brought me so much joy! I definitely needed the small win that that afforded me.

If you’re looking for a high fantasy then I would recommend this one. It has so much political intrigue, the world has been SO well built that I just know once we get deeper into the world there aren’t going to be annoying plot holes or things that just don’t make sense. The foundations of this book feel so well placed and I cannot wait to see where Vis ends up and how the characters we met in The Will of Many end up playing a part in the drama yet to come.

This book would be perfect for anyone who enjoyed Red Rising and The Ember in the Ashes, I genuinely cannot wait to read the sequel and I will definitely picking Islington’s other work up as well.