The Will of the Many by James Islington

   though I gave it the old college try, the first installment of
   Hierarchy didn’t grab me after almost 100 pages

   This text was dumped from starbreaker.org/reading/islington-james-will-many.html with lynx.
   cover for THE WILL OF THE MANY by James Islington abandoned on page 97

   I had wanted to like The Will of the Many by James Islington. Madam
   Catastrophy had read the jacket blurb and thought it would be up my
   alley. Her instincts regarding my tastes are usually pretty solid.

   But since I was currently reading Babel; or, The Necessity of Violence:
   an Arcane History by R. F. Kuang, which also deals with colonialism and
   features as its protagonist an outsider at Oxford, perhaps I didn’t
   have the bandwidth or the patience to spare a novel in a similar vein
   that was after almost a hundred pages still read like a prologue.
   Furthermore, Ms. Kuang’s The Poppy War — which I had read a year or two
   ago — also centered upon an outsider among the elite in a military
   acadamy, and felt meatier because she had been drawing upon real-world
   Chinese history, particularly the Sino-Japanese War and the Opium Wars
   with the [DEL: Dark Empire of Granbretan :DEL] Great Britain.

   The characteriation of Vis Telimus as an angry loner with a secret who
   did dirty work and fought in illegal underground cage matches in the
   first 100 pages did little to help. I kept asking myself questions
   like, "Haven’t I seen this anime before?" or "Haven’t I played this
   JRPG before?" No doubt fans of Islington will say that I am being
   unfair, and that I had stopped just before it really got going, and
   that the payoff at the end would make it all worthwhile. They might not
   even be wrong.

   However, I am under no obligation to be fair when reading for pleasure.
   If you’re looking for an epic fantasy that grabs you by the collar
   within the first ten pages, like Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner accosting
   a wedding guest because he must tell his story right now, this isn’t
   the book for you. If you’re OK with a slow burn as long as the writing
   holds your attention, this might not do it for you, either.

   I’m putting aside Will because it just wasn’t doing it for me; I’m OK
   with a slow burn if the writing is sufficiently compelling, but I can’t
   help but suspect that James Islington writes more in the windowpane
   tradition of Brandon Sanderson than I generally prefer. This being the
   case, Islington’s prose wasn’t rich enough to tide me over until the
   plot thickened and the characterization deepened. So, back to the
   public library Will goes, where it might get borrowed by somebody
   better able to appreciate it. And if it hasn’t been sold off in the
   meantime, I might pick it up again when I’ve reduced my pile of unread
   books.

about this book

     The Catenan Republic—the Hierarchy—may rule the world, but they do
     not know everything.

     I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned three
     years ago, and that only good fortune has got me into their most
     prestigious school. I tell them that, when I graduate, I will allow
     my strength and drive—what they call Will—to be leeched away and
     added to the power of those above me, as everyone must do.

     I tell them that I belong, and they believe me.

     But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to solve a
     murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may
     tear the Republic apart.

     And that I will never cede my Will to the empire that executed my
     family.

     To survive, though, I will have to rise through the Academy's ranks,
     and win. Because if I cannot, those 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.

   The Will of the Many by James Islington

   publication date
          23 May 2023

   edition
          hardcover

   publisher
          Saga Press

   language
          English

   length
          640 pages

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