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A review by toggle_fow
The Will of the Many by James Islington
5.0
Accidental last read of 2023/first read of 2024 because I started reading this on New Year's Eve and finished at 3AM New Year's Day morning. I HAD planned to go to bed before the ball dropped, but that did not end up happening.
No regrets.
So. This is a book where Vis, a youth from a conquered and oppressed people, is chosen to go undercover at the Elite Magic Military School for the heirs apparent to a Roman-inspired empire. He is full of suppressed fury and has to play his part as one of the enemy in order to one day have a future free of them.
I know what you're thinking: Red Rising. And you're not wrong.
There are several similarities in the Roman-adjacent nature of the empire and in Vis's character. The one vital difference is that I barely tolerated Red Rising and I LOVED this. I ADORED this. I was tense and invested and biting my nails the entire time and I want the sequel immediately.
Vis starts out as an orphan working a menial prison guard job, doing everything he can to evade the inevitable, looming point in his future where he will be forced to cede his "Will" to the empire. It's a magical function where many people can give away part of their vitality to another person, thereby creating one super strong person. Then several super strong people cede to yet another person to create a super SUPER strong person, etc. A pyramid scheme of mana, if you will.
Everything changes when Vis is noticed one day by a powerful man and offered a deal: go undercover at the elite Catenan Academy where he believes a political rival is scheming, and after Vis has graduated his future (and all the riches and influence of an Academy graduate) will be his own. It's not really a deal, because Vis has no choice.
There's so much more than that, but I can't explain it. Vis has a secret past that he can't allow his new patron to discover. His new patron has an agenda, but there's a third faction scheming for Vis's help as well. There's political intrigue. Terroism. Betrayal among families. Skills and a Labyrinth game Vis has to master to get ahead in the Academy. Secrets from a prehistorical time nobody can remember. Murder mystery. Alliances and friendships formed and broken at the school. It's action-packed. I felt like I had read three different entire books by the time I got to the end.
Vis is great. He's got a mix of so many qualities that should make him annoying, but it's just the right balance that he seems flawed yet likeable. Even though, and I cannot stress this enough, he is good at EVERY. THING.
He knows almost every language. He's an incredible swordsman. A champion chess player. Wickedly smart. A cage fighter and pugilist. This gives us incredible moments where Vis is constantly set up to extremely high-stakes showdowns where it SEEMS like he might lose, but he's always victorious. You guys know I love that kind of thing. He also gets beat up and injured a LOT.
The finale is the end-of-year wargames at the school, where everything comes to an intense, shrieking climax. Action. Betrayal. Questions are answered. More questions are posed. Genuinely, I'm not sure we learned ANYTHING about the mystery behind the school/the pre-historical cataclysm from this ending. Instead, what Vis discovered made everything just that much more baffling. There's so much going on and I need to know more!
Can't wait for the next book.
No regrets.
So. This is a book where Vis, a youth from a conquered and oppressed people, is chosen to go undercover at the Elite Magic Military School for the heirs apparent to a Roman-inspired empire. He is full of suppressed fury and has to play his part as one of the enemy in order to one day have a future free of them.
I know what you're thinking: Red Rising. And you're not wrong.
There are several similarities in the Roman-adjacent nature of the empire and in Vis's character. The one vital difference is that I barely tolerated Red Rising and I LOVED this. I ADORED this. I was tense and invested and biting my nails the entire time and I want the sequel immediately.
Vis starts out as an orphan working a menial prison guard job, doing everything he can to evade the inevitable, looming point in his future where he will be forced to cede his "Will" to the empire. It's a magical function where many people can give away part of their vitality to another person, thereby creating one super strong person. Then several super strong people cede to yet another person to create a super SUPER strong person, etc. A pyramid scheme of mana, if you will.
Everything changes when Vis is noticed one day by a powerful man and offered a deal: go undercover at the elite Catenan Academy where he believes a political rival is scheming, and after Vis has graduated his future (and all the riches and influence of an Academy graduate) will be his own. It's not really a deal, because Vis has no choice.
There's so much more than that, but I can't explain it. Vis has a secret past that he can't allow his new patron to discover. His new patron has an agenda, but there's a third faction scheming for Vis's help as well. There's political intrigue. Terroism. Betrayal among families. Skills and a Labyrinth game Vis has to master to get ahead in the Academy. Secrets from a prehistorical time nobody can remember. Murder mystery. Alliances and friendships formed and broken at the school. It's action-packed. I felt like I had read three different entire books by the time I got to the end.
Vis is great. He's got a mix of so many qualities that should make him annoying, but it's just the right balance that he seems flawed yet likeable. Even though, and I cannot stress this enough, he is good at EVERY. THING.
He knows almost every language. He's an incredible swordsman. A champion chess player. Wickedly smart. A cage fighter and pugilist. This gives us incredible moments where Vis is constantly set up to extremely high-stakes showdowns where it SEEMS like he might lose, but he's always victorious. You guys know I love that kind of thing. He also gets beat up and injured a LOT.
The finale is the end-of-year wargames at the school, where everything comes to an intense, shrieking climax. Action. Betrayal. Questions are answered. More questions are posed. Genuinely, I'm not sure we learned ANYTHING about the mystery behind the school/the pre-historical cataclysm from this ending. Instead, what Vis discovered made everything just that much more baffling. There's so much going on and I need to know more!
Can't wait for the next book.