The Will of the Many

I thoroughly enjoy epic fantasy novels, so coming off the heels of the Mistborn trilogy, I had high hopes that The Will of the Many by James Islington would deliver. And boy, did it. In the 30 some odd hours it took me to feverishly read this tome, I felt a range of emotions: amazement at its grandeur, enamored by its complexity, and delighted by the sheer energy of the character journeys. But more than anything, I was in almost constant amazement at its world-building—from the many exciting locations, the scope of the framework, the sparse but extremely effective action sequences, and the way the book rewards you for its seemingly endless setup of the first 30% or so. It will probably come as no surprise that this is probably one of my favorite reads of 2023, and I cannot wait until the next book in the series releases.

Our reticent hero is a teenager who resides in an orphanage and earns his mettle by battling foes in an arena and by keeping a watchful eye over prisoners in a dark, dank prison. (do not touch those sappers!)

After a seemingly positive interaction with a Quintus, Vis is plucked from the orphanage and enrolled in a prestigious, albeit infamous, academy. But before he embarks on his epic quest, he must endure the training of Lanistia. A quick-witted and even-tempered character that is tasked with helping Vis go from zero to hero in a few short weeks.

The training consists of all the regular superfluous studies you come to expect, including fighting, book smarts, magical concepts, passion, socialization, and immense puzzle solving. It's all here, and Vis will need to channel all these teachings in order to succeed at Hogwarts the Academy.

At its heart, the book is a coming-of-age story, and I applaud the minimalistic approach to the actual ‘scene setting'—think broad brush strokes instead of illimitable detail. Typically, I usually champion equal parts detail and substance, but this book gives you just enough to flesh out the blueprints for yourself.

The plot deepens and the extensive amount of setup begins to come to light when Vis enrolls in the academy and begins to uncover some of the murky truths surrounding the institution.

But he does not go at it alone. The tone quickly changes from a fish-out-of-water scenario to being thrown into the deep end of the pool. As Vis moves up the class ranks, acquires more knowledge, and gains more friends, he learns that the tense puzzle games the students play may not be operating ‘above board' and that the staff members might not be all that trustworthy.

From here on out, it's a cohesive collection of Enders Game sensibilities, anime puzzler-like twists, a tad bit of Battle Royal, a dash of Red Rising, a pinch of Maze-Runner, and last but certainly not least, a whole lot of fun!

Bottom line is that it's engaging, and the characters are deep and well-rounded. The groundwork is set for more clever bits of story telling, and I will be first in line to get my eyes on the sequel.