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A review by soulofkhal
The Will of the Many by James Islington
adventurous
emotional
fast-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
4.0
Still giving this one an 8/10 because I do still enjoy most of its parts but honestly this book is overrated as hell, at least from what I see in the booktube (apparently booktok too but I don't have tiktok so idk). My guess is that people yearn for another "chosen one orphaned boy who get sent to a boarding school and inadvertently discovers a conspiracy theory that could change the society at large while being in there" premise
World-building
It's probably a nitpick or not a big deal for other but my biggest criticism I had for the book is the lack of original terms. I understand this is supposed to be an ancient roman-inspired fantasy but we really can't come up with another term for a hierarchal system other than..Hierarchy? Same thing can be said of the name of each level which is basically just one to eight but in Latin lmao. It might not be a big deal but it just felt boring to me and took me out of the fantasy quite a bit.
That being said, I do like the direction of where the mystery of the academy is going
Characters
I've seen some reviews calling Vis as a Gary Sue and I both agree and disagree. I do think that Vis manage to solve his own crisis flawlessly most of the time but I think his background makes it believable. He's clearly been trained by his parents to be a capable diplomat so his booksmart/streetsmart feats doesn't feel unnatural to me though I can see why people get bothered by it.
My issue lays more on the rest of the characters. Callidus, Relucia, and Lanistia are the only characters beside Vis that I found to be interesting. The rest either just doesn't do it for me or have very minimum screentime.
(this is why it's confusing to me as to why Islington decides to kill Callidus. I understand it from a sentimental standpoint but he was literally one of the only characters that have enough presence and is interesting enough. I get that we can get a new batch of character in the next book but I still think his death was premature and not necessarily needed)
(Emissa's character also felt underdeveloped that for a while I simply think of her as Vis's love interest and nothing more and because of this, I think her betrayal doesn't have that much of an impact. I suspect Islington will shift the love interest to Aquea but who knows)
I might pick up the next book because I'm curious to seeVis working in the Census and meeting Callidus's dad potentially but it's certainly not high on the priority list
World-building
It's probably a nitpick or not a big deal for other but my biggest criticism I had for the book is the lack of original terms. I understand this is supposed to be an ancient roman-inspired fantasy but we really can't come up with another term for a hierarchal system other than..Hierarchy? Same thing can be said of the name of each level which is basically just one to eight but in Latin lmao. It might not be a big deal but it just felt boring to me and took me out of the fantasy quite a bit.
That being said, I do like the direction of where the mystery of the academy is going
Characters
I've seen some reviews calling Vis as a Gary Sue and I both agree and disagree. I do think that Vis manage to solve his own crisis flawlessly most of the time but I think his background makes it believable. He's clearly been trained by his parents to be a capable diplomat so his booksmart/streetsmart feats doesn't feel unnatural to me though I can see why people get bothered by it.
My issue lays more on the rest of the characters. Callidus, Relucia, and Lanistia are the only characters beside Vis that I found to be interesting. The rest either just doesn't do it for me or have very minimum screentime.
I might pick up the next book because I'm curious to see
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse