The Will of the Many
Ratings389
Average rating4.5
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 was one of the craziest reading experiences i've ever had. i'll probably try to write an actual review in a few days but rn my vision is still partly obstructed by tears and my brain is scrambled and i'm literally sweating from that ending. so i'm gonna just say this may be one of my new all-time favorite fantasy books. maybe even books in general but i'd have to think on that a bit 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.
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
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.
Holy cow that was outstanding. This may be my favorite book of the year. I was really worried at first because it was just soooo slow but just good enough to keep me going and has lingering mystery to keep you engaged, but the last 1/4 of the book was just so amazing that it made all the build up worth it!!
The story honestly has some similarities to Red Rising. There is a hierarchy and everyone at the bottom gets the shit end of the stick. You have Vis Telimus, telling his story in first person, was a prince of an invaded island called Suss. His whole family was murdered but he escapes and then pretends to be one with the enemy. He gets adopted by a man in the Hierarchy who puts him in the academy where he's trained and desires to rise in the ranks to avenge his family and destroy the Republic. His adopted father has his uses for him as does the Academy as does the Aquerins, which are a Guerrilla group that may be even worse then the Republic. Vis doesn't know who's in the right and must choose his own path and find out who's really to blame for how evil his world is.
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!!
For more of my reviews, check out my blog.Thank you to Netgalley and Saga for providing an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.Wow. This is going to be a hard one to review, I think. If you've never read James Islington's work before, you're really missing out. The man is a master at manipulating the characters, at plotting something so tightly that you really can't see it coming, and dang is he good at twists. Like so much so that I didn't see one particular coming a mile away. I loved Islington's [b:The Shadow of What Was Lost 22878967 The Shadow of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy, #1) James Islington https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507308087l/22878967.SY75.jpg 42428433], and if you haven't read that one, please go do so. You will not regret it. But we're really not here to discuss his previous work, are we?The Will of the Many is just as tightly plotted as the aforementioned series, and wow, is it a stunner of a plot. There are a million moving pieces and it's almost impossible to keep track of them all in the best way. You think you see something coming, but then something else will rear its head and change direction of the plot. I honestly wasn't sure about this book just going off of the first synopsis that was released. It sounded boring. It sounded like something that had been done to death. (I see you Red Rising comparisons. I see you.) I can promise you right here right now that not only is it not boring, it's got some shine to it. However, the book starts extremely slowly. I wasn't really hooked until we got to the Academy, and that's around 30% of the way into the book. If you start reading, and find yourself slagging — push through. I promise you won't regret it.Our main character is a teenaged boy named Vis. Only that's not his real name. Nor is that one. Or that one. Vis is in hiding, you see. He was one a prince of a small kingdom that was invaded and taken over by the Hierarchy. He's hiding because the second the Hierarchy finds out he's still alive, they'll kill him. Or worse, put him in a Sapper (You'll find out what those are quite quickly into the book, but they're essentially worse than death or prison.) Vis is stubbornly good at everything. Seriously. I don't think we see him really struggle with anything, and if we do, he masters it quickly enough. It was bordering on frustrating, but not enough that it detracted any stars from my rating. Because of his upraising as a prince, a lot of Vis's mastery is hand-waved. Oh, he learned this growing up in the palace, or he was trained as a kid in sword fighting, etc etc. It's a neat way of making him knowledgeable without making it seem ridiculous. I liked Vis, and I wanted him to succeed in his goals almost immediately.The best part of The Will of the Many is that you can't trust anyone. Because of Vis's background, he has to lie to almost everyone he meets. You can't trust any of them to help without wanting something else in return. It was fascinating, and you'll be pulling your hair out trying to figure out if everyone is as dastardly as they seem, or if they really are trustworthy. In my opinion, the best characters are Callidus and Eidhin — Vis's best friends. Their friendship doesn't come easily, and is more than earned by the time the book wraps up. I was also strangely found of Veridius — he's intensely charming, and honestly kind of hard to hate. You'll see what I mean if you pick the book up.I can't talk enough about how mind-blowing the ending of this book was. The last few chapters! The epilogue! I can't say anything without spoiling, but just know that if you read Licanius, and loved how that ended, you will not be disappointed here. Everything that was amazing from Licanius is echoed in new, fascinating ways. Islington's prowess is showing here, and I am so glad. I was more than worried I was going to be disappointed after this one, but I am not. Oh my god, I am not. Five stars, and now I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one.