A review by purnuhja
The Will of the Many by James Islington

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-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? Yes

3.75

An interesting read that tries to ask important questions on what it means to exist within and resist an imperialist system. I wasn't too wowed by the premise, it felt like a new take on a standard fantasy setup, but I became more interested as the story progressed. The story is tight and the action keeps you on the edge of your seat. Sometimes I struggled with the writing; it was easy for me to get confused by the details of the mystery or worldbuilding and other times it just felt like more telling than showing. Because of this the story lost me sometimes and I'm having a hard time deciding how I feel about the ending (and understanding what happened lol). During the entire reading process, I teetered between "this is cool" and "this is silly." Outside of that, Vis is an easy character to listen to and root for. The unique characters and their relationship dynamics were definitely a plus.

Overall though, I thought this was a gripping story and I'm excited to see what's to come in the second book! I think Islington approaches some fascinating themes more seriously than other fantasy novels, and I'm interested to see how he explores them further in the rest of the trilogy.
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