Review: The Will of the Many by James Islington (Spoiler-Free)

Been off my review game lately but I'm baaaackkkkkk.

Admittedly, I am retroactively reviewing this after having finished the sequel. I've never done that before, but maybe it will unlock a fabulous new perspective.

I'd seen the whole world raving about The Will of the Many for around a year before picking it up. I saw it in a B&N and felt compelled to read it immediately despite not knowing a thing about the actual plot (my preferred method of approaching a book). And boy was I in for a ride!

The Will of the Many follows Vis, an orphan recruited to search for an ancient weapon at the continent's most elite academy. This first installment is quite contained, remaining mainly at the school and major cities. It definitely qualifies as a dark academia story full of duels, classroom rivalries, training sequences, etc. It's plotted well, alternating between very immediate, almost YA-feeling storytelling, and glimpses into a much larger age-old mystery.

One thing I noted throughout the story was that Vis is the best. And I don't say, "the best," meaning my favorite. I quite literally mean, "the best." There is not one moment where he fails. At every turn, he defies impossible odds. And he's always the only person who could have. I can see how this might bother some readers, how this could read like a "he's just that guy" self-insert fantasy. But sue me for saying... sometimes it's fun to follow the GOAT of the universe.

I gave this a 4 instead of a 5 because while I loved the plot and found the worldbuilding solid, I never quite got completely connected to the characters. They're not super distinct to me besides Vis's core friendships with Eidhin and Callidus (my faveeee). Like Aequa, Emissa, Iro, and basically all of the other students (and especially their parents) felt interchangeable and I didn't even have a solid image of them in my head.

But it's quite easy to forgive a flat character or two with that ending. Holyyyyy shit. Incredible stuff. Almost The Well of Ascension levels. And if you're wondering if the second installment lives up to the high expectations set by this twist, fret not! I've already read it, and it too was glorious. Maybe there's something to this retroactive review thing after all.