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 Licanius Trilogy, 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.

Holy moly. 5 stars. Let's get that out of the way. Loved it and 5 stars.

This book started out rough. 1st person present POV. The world felt simple (with castes that reminded me of YA dystopia from the 2010s). And I didn't like the MC for a long time. He was very arrogant and not in a charming way. He also made several choices that I couldn't relate to or understand and that felt too noble given his circumstances. I was annoyed for the first 25%.

But I was curious where things would go and had some suspicions that I wanted confirmed (spoiler alert: I was wrong about everything lol). Once you get to the academy, everything starts to get GOOD. And in hindsight, I see that everything in the early part of the book was 100% necessary.

Overall, it was a fun, gripping read. All of the good parts greatly outweighed the meh parts for me. I loved it, and I highly recommend it if you like Robert Jackson Bennett, Brandon Sanderson, and/or the author's Licanius trilogy. (If you loved Licanius, you almost certainly will love this too. It's a worthy spiritual successor!)

Highlights
- Meticulous plotting on par with Licanius
- Dark academia setting (after a lot of setup—be patient), and all the tropes that come with the setting done to perfection
- Fun, well-earned friendship dynamic. I loved the friends that the MC made at the academy and how he eventually made friends with them all!
- Heroic optimistic tone. This is not to say everything's peachy keen or that there's no darkness—but you have a hope that good might just have a chance at prevailing over evil once all this is over.
- Solid, steady pacing that ebbs and flows naturally.
- The worldbuilding is WAY more complex and interesting than what it first appears
- You have this sense of not knowing entirely what's going on, but also full confidence that it'll all make sense eventually
- Excellent twists and turns, and excellent payoff throughout the book. You don't have to wait to the very end for every single reveal or development. There were lots of jaw dropping moments sprinkled throughout the book.
- THAT FREAKING EPILOGUE. This is becoming a classic James Islington move, y'all. So well done!

Downsides:
- Most of the characters felt a little flat and under-developed (similar to Licanius imo)
- Prose was very tell-y. This is what annoyed me in the first 25% so much—being constantly told by the MC what everyone was thinking and feeling, whether they believe his lies, etc. Also, everybody grinned way too much, and I was told way too many times that friends were jabbing each other in jest. I KNOW THEY'RE JOKING. They're friends! Friends joke with each other!
- We didn't actually learn anything about the magic (how it works or what it can do), despite 75% of this book taking place in the academy for magic! lol The story worked perfectly as is, but it was very surprising.

All in all, the good parts GREATLY outweighted the meh parts and little quirks in the writing style for me, so I'm extremely happy with this book. If any of these downsides are major downsides for you, your mileage may vary.

I'm dying for the next one and I won't even mind rereading this before book 2 comes out someday. Even the beginning part that I didn't like so much, I'm sure will have little gems hidden that I missed the first time!

5 stars. Highly recommend, especially if you enjoyed Licanius.

WOW. Absolutely epic. show-stopping. jaw-dropping. I had zero expectations but then left satisfied.

What would happen if the things that hold the government system together were greed & social injustice?

This is a Roman inspired high-fantasy academia about an orphan (Vis) who suddenly adopted by a high-ranked senator of the Hierarchy (Ulciscor) to study on the most elite academy in the republic. Not only Vis had to compete with the most brilliant children of the most important figures across the republic, Ulciscor tasked him to investigate the truth behind her brother's "accident" death years ago.

To be honest, the start was rough. I had no Idea about the system on the first 35% of the book since there's no clear descriptive information about it, but after I pased 35% mark, I couldn't stop reading.

The tension was thrilling, I loved the academia setting where everybody actually competent. Vis was an interesting character who succeeded to snatch people's attention by unintentionally became hero despite constantly trying to hide his past & secrets. I loved the slow-built solid friendship between Vis and Callidus and eventually Eidhin. I loved the little romance to spice up things a bit.

The character's personality were solid enough and easy to distinguish even though I can't spell their name correctly without looking at the book. This book also accompanied with major characters list, glossary, and locations list to help readers who struggled to remember them, but I feel like I still need a map to locate places since the story happened in a lot of different locations.

Even though the plot was intriguing, by the end of the book there's still a lot of unresolved stuffs and I still have a lot of question but I hope it will be settled in the next book and I'm SO looking forward to it!!!

5/5 stars! Holy Crap! What did I just read!?!?! In the BEST POSSIBLE WAY! I read James Islington's premiere trilogy and adored it. So I shouldn't be shocked at what a phenomenal story he wove in "The Will of the Many." This book is dark academia meets epic fantasy. This is the kind of book that you can't put down; one where, despite its length, you lose sleep to finish it without pause. My only issue is that now I have to wait for the sequel. Amazing work from an amazing author and I can't wait to see what's next.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

I applied for this ARC because I'd seen the author's books being frequently reccomended on tiktok with good reviews. While I usually read Romantasy over the grittier Fantasy books, this cover and blurb had me intrigued.

I am SO glad I got this ARC because this book had me hooked from the first sentence:

"I am dangling, and it is only my father’s blood-slicked grip around my wrist that stops me from falling."

So, my palms are already sweating now, thank you. This adrenaline-fueled feeling does not fade. This book is action-packed, immersive, and creative. I found myself invested the characters and truly concerned about their well-being. Islington's writing style and the pacing of the book make for an enjoyable & bingable experience.

Sometimes you just read a book and think 'Oh this one is going do well!' & I truly think that will be the case for this book.
This was my first book by this author and certainly won't be my last.
No pressure, but please release the next book asap as I need to know what happens next.

Ps- I do weekly book giveaways on my tiktok (@hauntedhousebooks) and will definitely be giving away a copy of this book close to release time in May to help promote it.

TYSM for the opportunity to be an ARC reader.

The Will of the Many was a wild ride of fast paced action-filled events from beginning to end. That's impressive considering its length. The story was often ridiculous and sometimes unbelievable, though that's what made it so fun. I was expecting it to be somewhat more serious, but it was enjoyable enough to where I could overlook my concerns.

Three-hundred years ago the Cataclysm wiped out 95% of the world population. Over time technologies were rediscovered from the ruins, the foremost among them being the Aurora Columnae, which allow for the usage of Will. I wouldn't describe Will as magic or psionics, but rather more like a technological substitute that also grants the same set of superhuman enhancements. The Catenan Republic, an Ancient Rome stand-in, uses Will to form a world government, or close enough anyway. Their rule, and Will itself, is literally powered by the subjugation and oppression of its citizenry. To me this book had much to say about our times, though I felt there was a mixed message between its statements and actions, so I'll reserve judgment until the series has concluded.

Vis, the seventeen year old protagonist, was a prince whose nation was conquered and family was slaughtered three years ago. He's overcome by rage and usually solves his problems through berserk violence, but not always. He refuses Will and therefore society in general, as his dream is to one day escape Hierarchy and live where exploitation isn't omnipresent. Multiple parties have his life planned out for him and he doesn't have a say in the matter, which made it feel more plot than character driven.

If you've read the synopsis, you may be thinking this is an Academy Novel, so it may surprise you that Vis doesn't enroll into the Academy until later than you may expect. A lot happens before that, and I felt that the academy was more where he was much of the time, rather than necessarily what it was about. Vis does interact with many of his classmates, though mostly only a few in-depth, there's a bit of romance, and there are various activities both on and off campus. Personal Will usage isn't allowed on campus, so there's less of it throughout the book than you might think there'd be.

This book has a scene that may become infamous and memorable and that could get a lot of people talking about it, but I don't know in what way. I thought an early fight scene would be as outrageous as it gets, but I was wrong. I considered not mentioning it, but it's probably what I'll remember the book the most for, and I don't know how to feel about that.

I will definitely be reading the next book, especially considering the astounding ending that if the author manages to do well, will be awesome, and also divisive. I may end up retroactively rating this five stars if the series overall delivers this level of sheer enjoyment. I await the glorious absurdities to come.