The Will of the Many by James Islington Series: Hierarchy #1
Published by Saga Press on 23 May 2023
Genres: Epic Fantasy
Pages: 639
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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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.
I can see why this has been making so many top ten lists over the past couple of years! The Will of the Many is a fun, fast paced fantasy book which follows Vis, an orphan who joins a posh academy to figure out its secrets. It’s got all the things that fantasy readers tend to love. I ended up really enjoying it, and because I had heard wild things about the ending, I was hyped to get there.
That said, I don’t think The Will of the Many is doing anything original. It’s a Roman-inspired setting following an super special orphan boy who is good at everything he tries. My friend keeps calling Vis a Gary Stu and that is 100% accurate. And that’s okay! It doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the book, because I very much did.
I felt awful for Vis throughout a lot of the book, partly because of him being an orphan and all the circumstances surrounding that, but also because of the situation he found himself in later on in the book. He just couldn’t catch a break, and being good at everything wasn’t enough to get people to leave him alone. They actually wanted to use him more. Which makes sense, I suppose, but it’s all very sad. I just want him to go and live on an island somewhere, possibly with Eidhann, and be at peace.
Islington handled the cliche and generic themes very well and kept me hooked the entire time. I read the last half of the book in one day because I wanted to steam ahead. The pace didn’t let off in the last three hundred pages or so, and I think that speaks to Islington’s talent as a writer.
As for the ending, everyone is right, it’s pretty epic. I’m glad I didn’t have long to wait before I could read The Strength of the Few because holy CLIFFHANGER. Very few books do this any more, but I think they should. Bring back the cliffhangers! It’s the kind of ending that can spark so many fan theories and discussions, and I just know that readers and the fandom have been having a brilliant time over the past few years discussing what could possibly be going on.
As I’m writing this I’m currently getting stuck into the sequel, The Strength of the Few, and I’m having a grand old time. I’m really looking forward to trying out Islington’s debut fantasy series to see what I think. I’ve heard the world building in that and the twists and turns are wonderful.
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