The Will of the Many

Hardcover, 640 pages

English language

Published May 23, 2023 by Saga Press Publishing.

ISBN:: 978-1-9821-4119-6

The Catenan Republic – the Hierarchy – may rule the world now, but they do not know everything.

I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilised society in allowing my strength, my drive and my focus – what they call Will – to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.

I tell them that I belong, and they believe me.

But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to find answers. To solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may …

The Catenan Republic – the Hierarchy – may rule the world now, but they do not know everything.

I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilised society in allowing my strength, my drive and my focus – what they call Will – to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.

I tell them that I belong, and they believe me.

But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to find answers. To solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may tear the Republic apart.

And that I will never, ever cede my Will to the empire that executed my family.

To survive, though, I will still have to rise through the Academy’s ranks. I will have to smile, and make friends, and pretend to be one of them and win. Because if I cannot, then those who want to control me, who know my real name, will no longer have any use for me.

And if the Hierarchy finds out who I truly am, they will kill me.

3 editions

enne📚 reviewed The Will of the Many by James Islington (The Hierarchy, #1)

4 stars

joke tagline: a secret former prince struggles to move up the ladder at magic school for future senators in post-apocalyptic fantasy Rome

It's grippy. It's bloody and violent at times. The fantasy worldbuilding was fun. I wouldn't quite say it's YA, but it is also a young protagonist in a school setting where some moments resonate with the Hunger Games. It was enjoyable in a childhood need for fantasy book with a young protagonist in a capitalist-metaphor magic dystopia sort of way.

What this book does especially well for me is how many different directions it pulls the main character in. He's keeping his past a secret and trying to follow his own goals while simultaneously investigating a mystery, being suborned by rebels, and trying to succeed at school. There's a lot of lying and sneaking that's delicious. Being overconstrained by external forces helps balance out the plot …

joke tagline: a secret former prince struggles to move up the ladder at magic school for future senators in post-apocalyptic fantasy Rome

It's grippy. It's bloody and violent at times. The fantasy worldbuilding was fun. I wouldn't quite say it's YA, but it is also a young protagonist in a school setting where some moments resonate with the Hunger Games. It was enjoyable in a childhood need for fantasy book with a young protagonist in a capitalist-metaphor magic dystopia sort of way.

What this book does especially well for me is how many different directions it pulls the main character in. He's keeping his past a secret and trying to follow his own goals while simultaneously investigating a mystery, being suborned by rebels, and trying to succeed at school. There's a lot of lying and sneaking that's delicious. Being overconstrained by external forces helps balance out the plot elements of Vis being too capable across multiple disciplines.

It's also got some excellent plot twists (more like twist of the knife for Vis) as well as some wild worldbuilding at the end setting up for who knows what book two (or three or four) will look like.

Subjects

Fantasy