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jdasilva's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It’s Stuart Little meets Divergent meets Hunger Games. I was holding my breath most of the book having no idea what was going to happen next. The world building was effective, the attention to detail, background, and side characters help build it all out. I almost took off 0.25 stars because I just want to know MORE but that’s the sign of a great book. I’ll be frozen and pondering until the next one comes out. Don’t read any spoilers or even the description, just buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Genocide, Death of parent, Child death, Gore, Body horror, War, Blood, Death, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Torture and Child abuse
Minor: Suicide, Physical abuse, and Grief
badbadwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Medical trauma, Death, Body horror, Bullying, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Slavery, Vomit, War, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Murder, Blood, Classism, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide
jalexpulliamkepler's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Amazing! The best fantasy book I’ve read in a long time!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Torture, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Genocide, War, Slavery, Classism, Suicide, and Sexism
Minor: Animal death
ernis's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Something I really enjoyed about this novel was all the different settings it took place in. As readers we were given the chance to explore cities, academies, islands, and go on many trips. I was also surprised and impressed with how clean this novel is- usually there's lots of swearing, sex and violence in these types of fantasy novels and I found this one to be rare in not needing any of that (except some brief violence) to tell a fascinating story. I did struggle to get into the story for the first third, but then couldn't stop reading after that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Violence and War
ganagav's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I have been in an absolutely vicious reading slump, but when I say that this book whole-heartedly renewed my love for reading, I mean it. The only reason why I hesitate to give it a full 5/5 is because I want to acquaint myself with other fantasy novels and see how they compare, but there’s a strong chance I’ll come back to this review and update it to just that. Off the jump this book grabs you by the collar and ensconces you in the world Vis walks through. There was genuinely no dull moment, which for me, is one of the most important things a book can offer. Before you know it, you find yourself rooting on the side of this mysterious MC and twisting with worry at everything and everyone that may slight him. Islington set this book up perfectly for the sequel, and I deadass can’t wait till it drops. Absolutely recommend this book if you’re looking for something new to sit in your top favorites.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Blood, Vomit, Gore, and Suicide
jennanaps's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Murder, Death, Body horror, Medical content, War, Child abuse, Colonisation, Gore, Grief, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
xlaraxk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
What I liked
- innovative magic system and world-building
- interesting characters
- dynamics between the characters
- Ancient Roman setting
- interesting ending
What I did not like
- very slow, especially in the beginning; I only really liked the last 200 pages or so
- writing sometimes felt a bit repetitive to me
- unlikeable main character: generally I don't mind an unlikable character but for some reason, Vis/Diago really annoyed me sometimes. He is, ultimately, just a teenage boy who thinks he is smarter than everybody else
The ending is suspenseful but the book felt like a drag to me. I am not sure if I will continue the series. It just felt like an incredibly long exposition.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, and Blood
Minor: War
andrew_corduroy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Yeah I’m gonna need the sequel now please and thank you
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Grief, and Physical abuse
Minor: Vomit, Torture, and War
cody_crumley's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"Greed is by definition the moral ruler of the Hierarchy, Diago. All decisions are based upon it. It is not the strong who benefit in their system, no matter what they say it is the weak. It is the ones willing to do anything, sacrifice anything, to rise. It rewards avarice and is so steeped in a wrong way of thinking that those within it cannot even see it."
There is always a nervous feeling when I decide to tackle one of BookTok’s darlings that is popping up on my FYP pretty much every video. You can’t help but have your expectations set extremely high when people whose opinions you trust when it comes to books almost universally give something 5/5. Thankfully the nervous feeling with “The Will of the Many” was completely unfounded, leading me into an early contender for my favorite book for 2024.
“The Will of the Many” follows Vis, a war orphan from the island nation of Suus, who was supposed to follow in his father’s footsteps as the next in line to rule. That all changed when the Catan Hierarchy conquered and murdered his family. What follows his Vis’ journey of avenging what happened to his family while balancing the asks of his adoptive “family” to discover the mystery at the Hierarchy academy.
Something that I think is the major standout from author James Islington is how amazing of a main character POV that Vis is. From his internal first person internal monologues to him working out and problem solving, he comes across as one of the most natural characters I have read. The fine line of making him not feel perfect but also not feel ignorant is walked perfectly. His interactions and intentions align incredibly well with his internal motivations. Vis really is one of the best written characters I have read in a long time.
Islington does not waste all of his great writing on Vis, it is spread around to the supporting cast as well. There are some many great supporting characters that I am not going to name all of them, but once the story gets to the academy and becomes a “school” setting, they all really shine.
Another major tent pole in the start of this new serious is the political climate and maneuvering that serves as the looming backdrop to Vis’ narrative. As I have seen with other books that have similar narrative beats (Red Rising for example) sometimes world building that comes with establishing a new universe can sometimes take more than the first book to really establish itself. Islington does not need that, he really sets the tone early on with what has happened and the continued fallout of the Hierarchy’s conquest. He smartly uses the Hierarchy’s real world counterpart (The Roman Empire) to help establish his in-world history, so even as the reader it’s a new world, there still is a familiar feeling that helps you follow along. As a history minor, this really scratched a certain itch that fictional books rarely due.
I also listened to the audiobook in different stages and it is solid listen. The narrator handles Vis and the others well and I actually found it to be helpful with the pronouncing of the really hard Roman-style naming conventions.
The story is broken up into three distinct parts, and while I found the first two parts to be stronger than the third, the ending of this story with a epilogue cliffhanger that had me wide-eyed at 1AM when I finally finished has me craving the follow up immediately. If you think you might be interested in this book, please don’t look up anything and just delve right in.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Classism, War, Torture, and Gaslighting
Minor: Death of parent
karwc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
One of my favorite books I’ve ever read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Child death
Minor: War, Vomit, Colonisation, Suicide, and Classism