The Will of the Many

Kid Sent Off to Magical Fantasy School could be a genre all its own, and The Will of the Many struggles from that trope and from that same kid being coincidentally good at all the things, but the writing and characters are interesting enough that you can forgive it for it's similarities to other works.

My largest criticism is that the whole Magic system of this world is kind of hand-wavey and poorly explained, but it's also explained enough that it works in the broader sense even if it's confusing if you think about it too long.

Regardless, the book works. I am left dying to know when the sequel will come out and I am excited to see where things go and perhaps most importantly I am rooting for the main character. All in all a really thrilling fantasy adventure. That the culture is modeled on the Roman Empire is only icing on the cake, since men think about it every day anyway. Looking forward to more from Islington.