The Will of the Many
Ratings275
Average rating4.5
4.5⭐s. The Will of the Many was a fantastic start to the Hierarchy series.
I really enjoyed the world building, academy setting, and magic system. Fun action scenes with humor and mystery intermixed within plots upon plots upon plots.
From my previous read of the Licanious Trilogy, I know Islington is preparing us for some mind bending twists down the line. I'm here for it and ready for the next installment.
Stronger Together
I was enraptured by the beginning, bored in the middle, and maybe drawn back in towards the end. The last chapter may make me read the sequel. I wavered between giving 3 or 4 stars, but this is a high 3 point rating, so i left it at 4 stars. Does read similar to YA.
this book was really good! I especially liked the pacing. Even though the book is long it didn’t feel like it dragged in many areas. The magic system is easy to understand but interesting, and the character development is very strong. Looking forward to the next book!
4.5
I'll come back to this once I've gathered my thoughts, but damn, I can't wait for the next one.
Reminds me of Red Rising inasmuch as it is YAish eminently readable fantasy tale. Fast, no frills plot.
This book has caused a major reading slump- nothing has compared since I've read it and I still think about this book every day...
What is this!? A huge contender to my favourite fantasy read this year, is what it is! Rotting gods, the build-up! And the plot twist right in the middle!! And that ending!!!?
Vek!
I honestly don't know what to do without myself today. I finished it last night and I'm still sad I turned the final page. I have questions, Mr. Islington!
When is the sequel...
Mystery and magic in a ancient Roman Setting.
This books takes troupes that fantasy book fans love and executes them brilliantly, it even manages to breath life into a magic school. The book then adds a unique setting and magic system to the mix. However the thing that makes this book brilliant is the complex political situation our main character finds himself in. One wrong move could mean his own or others death, who can he trust? How can he keep his promises and protect himself and his friends? Can he get out of this and keep his morality? These questions make every page tense even when slice of life action is happening. I hope Will is busy writing the sequel because I will eat that thing up!
I loved this book so much!! A lot of people compare it to Red Rising, and even though I can see the similarities, this was so much better in terms of writing, characters and world building (they are really different from each other in this aspect).
I haven't stopped thinking about this book since I finished it, I think it might be now one of my favorite books ever :D
This god damned book!
Islington dove into my heart, carved out what I most like in and a book, spit out the will of the many,
This book is incredible! I can find no faults with this book. I was put under a spell and couldn't put it down.
I love Vis as a mc, he is comeplling, reminds me a lot of fitzchilarly Farseer,
The plot look some turns I loved and didn't always expect. The friendships in this l adored! Its not quite found family but close!
And the magic system! People can take will from others.
everything about this book is fascinating and perfect. Need book 2!
This has elements of the farseer trilogy, critical role calamity triwizad tournament, and Brandon Sanderson
A definite must read!
WOW! This was probably my favorite fantasy book since Jade Legacy. You can't really go wrong with the magic school trope, and it was a lot of fun here. The plot is intricately written as you can expect from Islington, but now all the characters are unique and compelling too, which makes The Will of the Many Islington's best book yet. The world building is fantastic, and the bonkers implication of the ending hints we've barely scratched the surface!!
Really easy to love this book. It's packed with tropes but they're handled so well that they feel fresh. The main character is easy to root for but also flawed enough to be interesting. The rest of the characters were intriguing, and delightfully grey with their own distinct goals and trajectories. The first person perspective keeps you guessing at everyone's motives the whole way through and just like the MC you never know who to trust. It Reminded me of a mix between Name of the Wind and Red Rising in all the best ways. There are a few ridiculously convenient moments near the end (woof woof) that you'll need to suspend disbelief a bit to accept but that doesn't mean you won't be cheering inside. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a book this much. Highly recommend. Can't wait for book 2!
TITLE The Will of the Many
AUTHOR James Islington
Genre Fantasy
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Emotional Impact 8.5
Characters 8.25
Plot 8.25
Worldbuilding / Magic System 8.5
Dialogue / Prose 7.75
Official Rating 8.29
Goodreads Rating 4
Date Started 2/3/2024
Date Finished 2/19/2024
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NOTES Beginning was a bit slow but the 2nd half picked up immensely, very excited for the next book in the series!!!
Suffers a teensy bit from “Gary Stu Chosen One” syndrome but man that last 1/3rd was incredible! EXCELLENT use of foreshadowing and callbacks to scenes that happened waaaayyy at the beginning of the book. Annoyed I've got to wait probably at least a year for the second one
There comes a point in every man's life where he can rail against the unfairness of the world until he loses, or he can do his best in it. Remain a victim, or become a survivor.
I honestly picked up this book because I was simply captivated by the cover and the title. Even went ahead to get the audiobook. No regrets!! The entire storyline was paced well and captured my attention with every event and Vis's action as he climbed up the Academy and encountered various situations. And that ending!! Can't wait for the next book to find out more!!
Will definitely pick up Islington's Licanius Trilogy soon!
Without a doubt my favorite book of the year so far. This is absolutely fantastic!
Vis hates the Heirarchy and everything they stand for. He wants to tear them apart. Maybe the best way to do that is from within.
He tells them he's an orphan which is true, but everything else he tells them is a lie. If he reveals his true identity, they will kill him.
So far his story is working. He's adopted and sent to an elite academy. All he has to do is move through the ranks quickly, and be at the top of his class to get a high ranking position in the Heirarchy. Then he can make them pay for what they've done to him.
He needs to survive the academy first, and that is looking more difficult every day.
I cannot say enough great things about this book. This is a must read for anyone who likes fantasy.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an e-arc.
So gripping I didn't want to put it down. Smartly written. Plot points that in a lesser novel would be the focus of the entire book get subverted, and there are plenty of twists.
I'm a huge fan of protagonists like Diagi that get ahead because they're smart and read something obscure. More!
Excellent story. Plot twists. A bit Dark Academia, a bit of a rebellion against an Empire, this story has some familiar tropes–but the execution is flawless and the prose,plot, and characters are excellent. I look forward to continueing the series.
4.75 Stars.
I finished this book a few weeks ago and I still cannot stop thinking about it... Wow!
What I liked:
- Pacing: It is fairly long but it kept my attention the whole time.
- Magic system: I think it's a fascinating concept that we just got a glimpse of in book 1.
- Ending: I need book 2 now, I keep thinking of the possibilities of what happened at the end.
Minor complaint: There are times when it feels like the MC can do no wrong. I would love to see a little more character flaw in the books to come.
Overall, I would recommend this book to any SFF reader. Really well done and I can't wait for the rest of the series!
This was good. Don't get me wrong: I enjoyed it. I thought the world-building was carried out agilely and the fantasy elements were intriguing. I found the plot to be well-constructed and well-paced.
But. This was not a great book for me and in spite of the many comparisons, I did not find it reached the level of The Name of the Wind, neither narratively nor artistically. I did not feel it brought anything innovative to the crowded boarding school fantasy sub-genre. And there were some awkward sentences that pulled me out of the reading experience.
The most interesting part of this world for me was the system of Will. I was fascinated by the moral ramifications surrounding the use of Will and I was eager to learn more about the practical workings of this system. But Vis, the protagonist, spends most of the book in a place where the use of Will is forbidden and so that element of the story remained insufficiently explored.
The other frustrating element for me was that although Vis faces many dangerous and difficult obstacles, after the first couple of these, I never felt any tension that he might fail. He seemed invincible and able to best his opponents with little difficulty, even when the odds were stacked against him. I feel Vis would have been a much more compelling character if he had only been a little lass perfect.
There were definitely parts I did like, though. In particular, I loved reading about the friendships that Vis formed and loved watching those friendships grow. I also felt great empathy for Vis when he was forced to confront his past and come to terms with both who he had been in the past and who he was now. The book was also great at keeping me guessing about the true motivations of the different characters and the different factions. I was never sure of anyone's true allegiances and really enjoyed the tense and mysterious ambience that uncertainty produced. Finally, I was completely caught off guard by the epilogue, in the very best way.
In the end, this was a good book, that I enjoyed reading, but was not a mind-blowing read for me. I am curious to know what happens next but will probably not rush to buy the next installment when it is published. Very solid 3 stars.
5/5. What a book. I was worried that this book would fall short for me because of all the hype surrounding it... But it was truly amazing. I found myself engaged while reading it, but the magic for me was after I stopped reading each night. I just kept thinking about the concepts and characters and I really loved it. And what an ending... Really sets up the rest of the series. Can't wait to see where it goes
