Review: The Strength of the Few by James Islington (Spoiler-Free)

My father once told me that men become their choices, not their intentions. I wonder what he would say to me now.

This is quite an ambitious sequel. I'll avoid spoilers in this review, but if you haven't read the first book, I'd read that first before continuing reading. It's kind of impossible to talk about this installment without spoiling the first one.

Following the trajectory of most fantasy series, the scope of the story in The Strength of the Few greatly expands. Diverging from the trajectory of most fantasy series, that is because our protagonist has been simultaneously split into three parallel worlds. Three books for the price of one!

This is a very fun concept, but as tends to happen with multi POV stories, some POVs are more exciting than others. I will commend Islington here because while I found the Luceum realm to drag for a lot of the story, it definitely picked up its pace and caught up with Obiteum and Res by the end (but then Res started dragging a little lol). This was especially noticeable because the first installment has the velocity of a cannon (perhaps even a Will-imbued one). Naturally, the middle book must slow things down, but I can see how the slower pace and departure from the school setting might cause some fans of the first to lose interest.

That definitely isn't the case with me though, as I was most interested in the ancient mystery behind all the school plot last time. So, I was very pleased to be thrust into that part of the story almost immediately.

I still don't connect with the characters a ton, but I'm so into the plot I'm not sure I care too much. That does mean this isn't gonna hit 4.5 or 5 stars though. Unless Islington does something truly mind-boggling in the finale. 🤞