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A review by justinh94
The Will of the Many by James Islington
5.0
I don’t typically read fantasy. When I do, it’s often because a book is “high-minded” enough in its concept (Babel, for example) that I can convince myself it’s more like magical realism. There’s a pretension in that, for sure, but there’s also just a preference; whether in Westeros or Middle Earth, I’m simply much more interested in the human (or at least humanoid) side of things than the fantastical.
All of that is to say: Will of the Many is neither high-minded in its concept nor unfantastical; this is true fantasy, with magic and lore and maps in the front. It’s also just plain good, good enough for my preference in story modes to become secondary to my preference for good stories. Islington has crafted a world that is recognizable (Gladiator, Dune, Babel, Harry Potter, Hunger Games—it’s all in there) and yet singular by nature of being both exhaustively thought-out and incredibly light on its feet. Every iota of his world is considered, but we only learn what we need to when we need to. The near-700 pages are near-perfectly paced, twisting so consistently that you can start to feel the rhythms of when a turn will come, but almost never what it will be. Not that that cheapens them; as with the world-building, every beat feels like it was thoroughly reasoned over until Islington settled on the most narratively satisfying choice, which is always the one that makes the most sense for his richly drawn characters.
If it sounds like I’m gushing, that’s just me trying to apply science to the kind of magic that made me, for the first time in a long time, stay up late to finish a book. Put plainly, it’s an excellent story, thrillingly told. Its themes are big and obvious, but in a classical sense; this is a book about loyalty and honor and justice, told as big as the movies. Or really bigger—it has the kind of epic scope that would make for an incredible film if it wouldn’t get made as a terrible film. Which is better, actually. That just means it gets to live here as a novel, with actual heft, and yellowed pages, and imagination run wild.
All of that is to say: Will of the Many is neither high-minded in its concept nor unfantastical; this is true fantasy, with magic and lore and maps in the front. It’s also just plain good, good enough for my preference in story modes to become secondary to my preference for good stories. Islington has crafted a world that is recognizable (Gladiator, Dune, Babel, Harry Potter, Hunger Games—it’s all in there) and yet singular by nature of being both exhaustively thought-out and incredibly light on its feet. Every iota of his world is considered, but we only learn what we need to when we need to. The near-700 pages are near-perfectly paced, twisting so consistently that you can start to feel the rhythms of when a turn will come, but almost never what it will be. Not that that cheapens them; as with the world-building, every beat feels like it was thoroughly reasoned over until Islington settled on the most narratively satisfying choice, which is always the one that makes the most sense for his richly drawn characters.
If it sounds like I’m gushing, that’s just me trying to apply science to the kind of magic that made me, for the first time in a long time, stay up late to finish a book. Put plainly, it’s an excellent story, thrillingly told. Its themes are big and obvious, but in a classical sense; this is a book about loyalty and honor and justice, told as big as the movies. Or really bigger—it has the kind of epic scope that would make for an incredible film if it wouldn’t get made as a terrible film. Which is better, actually. That just means it gets to live here as a novel, with actual heft, and yellowed pages, and imagination run wild.