Author: James Islington
Published: May 23, 2023 by Gallery / Saga Press
Format: Kindle, 639 Pages
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Hierarchy #1
Blurb: 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.
My Opinion: I went into The Will of the Many, genuinely curious why so many readers swear by it. I understand this is only the first installment in a planned four book series, and big fantasy worlds often need time to stretch their legs. Still, a hundred pages in, I was bored. By page three hundred, I wasn’t any less bored, though the plot finally started to show signs of life.
Vis Telimus, our orphaned protagonist, is positioned as clever and capable, but he survives more by luck than skill, and that imbalance wore thin. The world itself runs on a rigid hierarchy where the lower classes must surrender portions of their physical and mental energy—“Will”—to those above them. There’s even a chart at the front of the book explaining who cedes to whom, which tells you exactly how central this system is meant to be. The themes are the usual suspects: power, political maneuvering, class inequality, and a brutal social order that keeps everyone in their place.
And then come the tropes. The elite, dangerous school. The infiltration plot. The competitions and exams that might as well be death traps. The dark history. The hidden heritage. I kept flashing to the familiar beats of Disney stories, only without the comforting promise of a happily ever after. It’s not that these tropes can’t work; they absolutely can, but here they felt predictable rather than invigorating.
I know many readers loved this book, and by the final chapters, I could see the glimmers of what hooked them. There’s momentum, and there’s clearly a long game being set up. But for me, this novel was a reminder that some corners of fantasy simply aren’t my corner. I finished it, but I won’t be continuing the series.
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.
My Opinion: I went into The Will of the Many, genuinely curious why so many readers swear by it. I understand this is only the first installment in a planned four book series, and big fantasy worlds often need time to stretch their legs. Still, a hundred pages in, I was bored. By page three hundred, I wasn’t any less bored, though the plot finally started to show signs of life.
Vis Telimus, our orphaned protagonist, is positioned as clever and capable, but he survives more by luck than skill, and that imbalance wore thin. The world itself runs on a rigid hierarchy where the lower classes must surrender portions of their physical and mental energy—“Will”—to those above them. There’s even a chart at the front of the book explaining who cedes to whom, which tells you exactly how central this system is meant to be. The themes are the usual suspects: power, political maneuvering, class inequality, and a brutal social order that keeps everyone in their place.
And then come the tropes. The elite, dangerous school. The infiltration plot. The competitions and exams that might as well be death traps. The dark history. The hidden heritage. I kept flashing to the familiar beats of Disney stories, only without the comforting promise of a happily ever after. It’s not that these tropes can’t work; they absolutely can, but here they felt predictable rather than invigorating.
I know many readers loved this book, and by the final chapters, I could see the glimmers of what hooked them. There’s momentum, and there’s clearly a long game being set up. But for me, this novel was a reminder that some corners of fantasy simply aren’t my corner. I finished it, but I won’t be continuing the series.
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