The Will of the Many

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.