Book Release Calendar » The Will of the Many by James Islington Book Review

Author: James Islington
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Year of Publication: 2023
Date of Publication: May 23, 2023
Pages: 640
ISBN-10: 1982141174
ISBN-13: 978-1982141172

Summary of The Will of the Many by James Islington

The Will of the Many is the first book in the Hierarchy Series. The story follows Vis Telimus, a young man who at the start of the book is working in a prison and living in an orphanage. At the orphanage, Vis is the oldest of the children and really is only just trying to survive. But there is more to Vis’s story.

He lives in a place called the Catenan Republic, which is run by the Hierarchy. The way the Hierarchy is structed is that those at the bottom contribute or cede their power to those who seat above them in a pyramid. The pyramid is made up of various groups with Octavus or Octavi at the bottom and the Princeps at the top. But ceding this power comes at a cost and so does refusal to do so.

Almost all children are brought to something called the Aurora Columnae when they turn twelve years old to voluntarily cede. It is an ancient pillar that once they cede the first time, allows them to do so to anyone directly without going through the pillar. But if a person turns 16, then ceding becomes mandatory and they must cede their Will to someone above them in the Hierarchy. Vis has avoided the voluntary ceding.

When people cede their Will, it makes them weak and even worse reduces the number of years they have and their quality of life. Failure to cede once it becomes mandatory results in being sent to prison and strapped to a machine called a Sapper for many years. Let’s just say it’s a very unpleasant experience!

Vis, at the start of the book is living under the last name Solum. The name Solum usually signifies one who is an orphan. In addition to working at the prison, he also sometimes takes on additional work in a fight club.

About three and half years earlier, Vis was living a very different life and under a different name. He was living as a prince of an island called Suus. But the Hierarchy forcefully took over, killing his family, which is why his identity is hidden, as any discovery would mean instant death.

When an opportunity arises for Vis to go undercover into the Hierarchy’s most prestigious academic institution known as the Catenan Academy, he takes it. The Academy is reserved only for the children of those in power.

In addition to Vis’s story The Will of the Many also introduces us to a group known as the Anguis. They are a resistance group who object to everything the hierarchy stands for. We also learn that even within the Hierarchy, there is a senatorial pyramid made up of three groups i.e. Military, Religion and Governance. The Academy and the orphanage fall under Religion.

Main Plot & Characters

• Vis Telimus (Vis Solum, Diago) — He is the main character in this story. Vis is 17 years old at the start of the book and was once a prince of a place called Suus.
• Ulciscor Telimus —He is a senator who meets Vis at the Letens Prison at the start of the book. He goes to the prison and meets with a prisoner named Nateo.
• Veridius Julii — He is the Principalis of the Academy.
• Caeror — He was Ulciscor’s younger brother who died at the Academy.
• Nateo — At the start of the book he is imprisoned and connected to a device called a Sapper. Nateo, Caeror and Veridius were in the same year at the Academy.
• Relucia Telimus — She is Ulciscor’s wife and is a Sextus.
• Lanistia Scipio — She is a Sextus who is put in charge of Vis lessons by Ulciscor before he heads off to the Academy.
• Septimus Hrolf — He is the caretaker at Letens Prison.
• Sedotia — Not her real name. She is part of Anguis who are fighting the republic.
• Callidus — He is a student in Class Seven at the Academy. Callidus’ father is Magnus Tertius Ericius, the censor responsible for the management of the Hierarchy’s most important resource i.e. structuring, monitoring pyramids.
• Eidhin Breac — He is in Class Six at the Academy. His family was from the mountain areas.
• Emissa Corenius — She is Magnus Quintus Corenius daughter. Emissa is in Class Three.
• Indol — He is Dimidius’s son. Indol is in Class Three at the Academy. Indol is very brilliant and observant.
• Aequa Claudius — She is in Class Four at the Academy. Her father is Magnus Quartus Advenius Claudius.
• Nequis — Praeceptor Nequias is the teacher in Class Three at the Academy.
• Belli Volenis — She is a student at the Academy. At the start of the book she is in Class Three. She is viewed as the best player for the game known as Foundation. Belli is the daughter of Quintus Volenis.
• Ulnius Filo — He is the head of the infirmary at the Academy. He is a septimus.
• Kadmos — He is the steward/dispensator at Villa Telimus. He was once the youngest-ever head of the Azriat, which is the most respected learning institute in Sytrece but he was proscribed and all his possession confiscated.
• Melior — He is the leader of Angius.
• Scitus — Praeceptor Scitus is the teacher in Class Four at the Academy.
• Taedia — Praeceptor Taedia is the teacher in Class Five at the Academy.
• Dultatis — Praeceptor Dultatis is the teacher in Class Six at the Academy.
• Ferrea — Praeceptor Ferrea is the teacher in Class Seven at the Academy.
• Advenius Claudius — He is from Governance and is the senator in charge of economics. He is the father of Aequa.
• Ellanher — She runs a fight club as a side business at night in the Amphitheatre. She is a Septimus.
• Idonia — She is Ellanher’s younger cousin.
• Matron Atrox – She is the Septimus in charge of the orphanage at Letens.
• Gaufrid — He is the unofficial bookkeeper at the fight club run by Septimus Ellanher.
• Vermes — He is a 15 year old orphan who like Vis was staying at the orphanage in Letens
• Gaius Valerius — He is a physician who was sent by the Senate to test Vis blood after the naumachia.
• Magnus Tertius Servius — He is a senator who orders Vis blood and samples be collected by Gaius.
• Lerius sese Quintus Telimus — He is Ulciscor and Caeror’s father.
• Milena sese Sextus Telimus — She is Ulciscor and Caeror’s mother.
• Ianix — He is another student at the Academy. Ianix is very good at duelling.
• Quiscil – He is Indol’s father. Their family now occupy Suus. Quiscil is a Dimidius.
• Fadrique — He was one of Diago’s father’s trusted advisers. He now works for the Hierarchy and is a Sextus.
• Ysabel (Ysa) — She was Vis’s older sister and a princess of Suus.
• Carinza (Cari) — She was Vis’s younger sister and a princess of Suus.
• Quartus Latani (nickname Suusicus) — He led the assault on Suus and ordered the death of Diago’s family.
• Menendo — A bar keeper at Suus whose loyalty remains to Diago’s family even afterwards.

Writing Style

This book is absolutely fantastic! The story is told from the point of view of Vis Telimus. The book itself is written in three parts. Part I introduces us to Vis and we learn a little bit about his current situation and how he gets connected to one of the most powerful families in the Republic. We also learn a little bit out the Anguis and their resistance.

In Part II, the focus is around the Academy and it’s students and how they compete. Part III focuses on the Iudicium, which is the final test at the Academy for students who have made it into Class Three to determine their ranking and set them up for positions in the Senate.

First of all, the world-building in this book is solid. There are not many authors that can create a world so rich and detailed like James Islington. We remember having this same feeling while reading the Licanius Trilogy. By the time you get through his books you may find yourself so immersed in the world he has created. It’s not just about the characters but everything including the places, the gods (Mira, Arventis, Sere, Ocaria, Vorcian, Ferias), the pyramids, the senatorial divisions, the description of the various languages etc. We learn about places like Letens, Temple of Jovan, Tensia, Deditia, deserts of Nyripk and of course, Suus. We also learn concepts like the Aurora Columnae, what it means to cede and use Will, and about languages like Tensian, Cymrian, Sytrecian, Vetusian etc.

We absolutely loved the fact that you do not meet some of the characters until much later in the book but even those characters make such a great impression on you as a reader. Characters like Kadmos, Fadrique and even Menendo, who are not constant throughout the story make such a huge impression in so little time and that is not an easy thing for an author to achieve.

Just like you care for Vis, you become invested in other characters, even those you suspect may be “the enemy,” and you may find yourself conflicted and wondering if there are truly innocent or people caught in the middle of a situation that is just too difficult to unwind.

We also loved the friendships in this story especially that between Vis, Callidus and Eidhin.

The book leaves you trying to connect the dots and wondering what you would do if you were in Vis’s shoes. Some situations he finds himself are really impossible to imagine how one would handle it if faced with the same. And then there is the suspicion – Like just who can you trust!

If we had to give the book a “with that said,” feedback, it would be that there were certain situations Vis got into that he seemed to always be the best (i.e. dueling and Foundation). To be fair, the author backups that up with Vis’ background, his extensive training as a Prince, and sets a trail for the Foundation game with the earlier interactions with Hrolf in the prisons, so in a way it works but could come off too good to be true. Other than that we loved it all!

Memorable Quotes

• “Stronger together.” — The Hirerachy’s slogan and also common greeting.
• “Rotting gods.”— A way of cursing or expressing disbelieve
• “Vek. Idiot Vek.”— A way of cursing
• “This is the only place in the world where I don’t have to pretend to be friendly, Or dull. Or servile. Or weary. This is the one place where I don’t have to hold back.”— Vis’s reflections
• “Chain you anger in the dark.”— Vis remembering the words of his mother
• “They say young men know they will die but only old men believe it.”— Magnus Quintus Ulcisor
• “The power to protect is the highest of responsibilities, Diago. When a man is given it, his duty is not only to the people he thinks are worthy.”— Vis reflecting on his father’s words about leadership
• “Silence is a statement, Diago. Inaction picks a side. And when those lead to personal benefits, they are complicity.”— Estevan
• “But a broken blade can still cut, Diago.”— Estevan
• “There comes a point in every man’s life where he can rail against the unfairness of the world until he loses, or he can do his best in it. Remain a victim or become a survivor..”— Kadmos
• “There can be no love without honest.”— Vis’s reflections
• “The man who is never nervous, never does anything hard. The man who is never nervous, never grows.”— Vis’s reflecting on his father’s words
• “The Republic rewards people who take, not who deserve.”— Callidus quoting Thavius
• “There are those who see what should be, and complain that they do not get their due. And then there are those who see what is, and figure out how to use it to their advantage. Or at least overcome it.”— Magnus Quintus Ulcisor
• “That’s the problem with people though isn’t it. They always think that other people are the problem.”— Vis
• “You cannot be free if you are afraid to die.”— Relucia
• “Luceum. Obiteum. Res. Remember, but do not mourn.”— writing on an emblem
• “You will go through the gate to Obiteum and Luceum. But not be allowed to remain here. Synchronism is reserved for leadership alone.”— words repeated by Artemius
• “It is on the sea.” Indol beams. “A little island called Suus.” — Indol
• “…the Hierarchy’s true power was not in Will, but in their ability to distract those who gave it up.”— Vis remembering his father’s words
• “The decision may have been made by the few, Diago, but it’s the Will of the Many that killed your family.”— Relucia
• “Suspicion is easy to prevent, far harder to dispel.”— Vis
• “It doesn’t matter how good an actor you are. There’s something about coming home that you can’t hide.
• “Traveler, Traveler, stay with us….The other from your world will be coming— Man with a red beard

Final Thoughts on The Will of the Many by James Islington

The Will of the Many is the first entry in the Hierarchy Series and lays a strong foundation for what promises to be a powerful saga. James Islington gives us a book that captures your attention from the beginning to the end. The three-part structure works beautifully. We originally thought the entire book was going to be about the Academy alone, which was not the case and we really liked that fact.

What truly makes The Will of the Many stand out is the richness of its world-building. Islington doesn’t just tell you about the Catenan Republic, he makes you live in it. Many of the characters are very likeable especially Vis himself. He’s the kind of protagonist you root for instantly. Vis is conflicted, strong but vulnerable in ways that make him feel real.

All in all, The Will of the Many is a triumph of storytelling as it satisfies you but at the same time leaves you wanting more. The Strength of the Few, which is the second book in the Hierarchy Series is scheduled to be released on November 11, 2025 and we cannot wait to read it and watch the series become one of the greats.

Rating

Characters ★★★★★ (5/5)

Plot ★★★★★ (5/5)

Writing ★★★★★ (5/5)

Book Cover ★★★★★ (5/5)

Overall ★★★★★ (5/5)

Have you read this book? What did you think of the world-building and that ending. How do you think the rest of the series would unfold?

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