Book Release Calendar » The Strength of the Few by James Islington – Book Review

Author: James Islington
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Year of Publication: 2025
Date of Publication: November 11, 2025
Pages: 707
ISBN (ebook): 978-1982141257
ISBN-13: 978-1982141233

Summary of The Strength of the Few by James Islington

The Strength of the Few is the second book in the Hierarchy Series. The story picks up from the events in The Will of the Many. 

At the start of Hierarchy Book II, Vis is in Obiteum and is with Caeror (Ulciscor’s brother). Vis learns from Caeror that there is an enemy called the Concurrence who is viewed as a god in Obiteum. Many years ago, to prevent the Concurrence from enslaving everyone, there was a war, which the concurrence was winning. In order to combat him, the world was split into three near-identical copies i.e. Res, Obiteum and Luceum.

We learn that there is s something called synchronism, which only Ka i.e. the Concurrence has been able to achieve, meaning he is able to exist in all three worlds at the same time. He is the only person who has been able to achieve this until the recent arrival of Vis in Obiteum.

A lot of the story follows Vis (or versions of Vis if you like) in Obiteum (where Caeror is), in Res (where the Academy is), and in Luceum (where he meets a man named Cian). In Obiteum, Vis is trying to find Ka, in Res, he is dealing with politics and shifting alliances, and in Luceum, he is caught between a looming war.

In Res, the structure of ceding Will has not changed from what we were introduced to in Book 1.

Main Plot & Characters

• Vis Telimus (Diago) — He is the main character in this story. Vis was once a prince of a place called Suus. In one the world’s he is nicknamed Leathfhear and also goes by other fake names like Deaglán and Siamun.
• Ulciscor Telimus — He is a senator and Vis’s adopted father. Ulciscor is Caeror’s brother.
• Veridius Julii — He is the Principalis of the Academy.
• Caeror — He is Ulciscor’s younger brother who died at the Catenan Academy during the Iudicium many years ago.
• Relucia Telimus — She is Ulciscor’s wife and is a Sextus. Relucia is also an Anguis spy.
• Lanistia Scipio — She is a Sextus who was put in charge of Vis lessons by Ulciscor before he was sent off to the Academy. Like Ulciscor, Lanistia is trying find out what actually led to Caeror’s death.
• Callidus Ericius — He was a student in Class Seven at the Academy and one of Vis’s closest friends. Callidus’ father is Magnus Tertius Ericius, the censor responsible for the management of the Hierarchy’s most important resource i.e. structuring, monitoring pyramids.
• Livia Ericius — She is Callidus sister and the daughter of Magnus Tertius Ericius.
• Eidhin Breac — He is Vis’s friend from the Academy.
• Emissa Corenius — She is Magnus Quintus Corenius daughter. Emissa is Vis’s friend from the Academy. She was in a relationship with Vis while they were at the Academy.
• Indol Quiscil — He is Dimidius Quiscil’s son and a former classmate of Vis from the Academy.
• Irol Decimus— He is Magnus Tertius Decimus’s son and a former classmate of Vis from the Academy.
• Aequa Claudius — She is a former classmate of Vis from the Academy. Her father is Magnus Quartus Advenius Claudius. Aequa and Vis were at the Naumachia in Book 1.
• Belli Volenis — She attended the Academy with Vis. Belli’s father is Proconsul Aemilius Volenis.
• Cristoval — Vis’s father. He was the King of Suus.
• 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.
• Estevan/Melior — He was the former leader of the Angius. Estevan was also a former trusted advisor to King Cristoval.
• Ostius — He is part of the Anguis. Ostius can jump between Res and Luceum but not Obiteum.
• Advenius Claudius — He is from Governance and is the senator in charge of economics. He is the father of Aequa.
• Quiscil — He is Indol’s father. Their family now occupy Suus. Quiscil is a Dimidius.
• Aemilius Volenis — Father to Belli’s Volenis. He is the Proconsul in Sytrece and is military like Ulciscor but has ties to Governance.
• Amercus Decimus — He is Irol’s father and a Magnus Tertius. His daughter was also at Naumachia in Book 1.
• Corenius — He is Emissa’s father and is a Magnus Quartus.
• Exesius — He is the Princeps of Military
• Ericius — Father to Callidus and Livia. He is the Censor of the Republic.
• Ellanher — She runs a fight club as a side business at night in the Amphitheatre. She is a Septimus.
• Matron Atrox – She is the Septimus in charge of the orphanage at Letens.
• Ianix — He attended the Academy with Vis.
• 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.
• Cian —He is a man who Vis meets on Luceum. Cian is a druid.
• Ruarc — He is a druid who is connected to the Grove. He is one of King Fiachra’s men.
• Djedef — An iunctus on Obiteum who Caeror imbues.
• Ahmose — He is iunctii who Vis meets in Duat. An Iunctii is someone who dies but is brought back from the dead.
• Netiqiet — A woman who Vis seeks help from while in Duat.
• Ka — He is the man in control in Obiteum. Caeror tells Vis that Ka is the Concurrence. Most people on Obiteun believe he is a god as he has completely command of the iunctii.
• Gleaners — A kind of iunctus controlled by the Concurrence. They are all connected and can share information with each other.
• King Fiachra — He is a regional king in Luceum. He is a rival to King Ronan.
• King Ronán — He is the regional king where Granine’s father resides. His actual residence is Caer Áras. He is Tara’s father.
• King Ùrthuile — He is the high king in Luceum. Ùrthuile rules over King Fiachra, King Ronán and a few other regional kings but he is dying.
• Yusef — He was Caeror’s mentor. He rescued Caeror from Solivagus when he first came through the gate.
• Gránine — She is a mother to two children Roisin and Tadgh. She and her family call Vis Deaglán. Gránine is a daughter to Onchu.
• Onchu — He is Granine’s father. His land is called Tiroedd Ryydd.
• Vulferam — He leads a group who escaped from the attack at the Naumachia in Book 1. The group have parted ways with the Anguis and have pledged allegiance to Melior’s memory.
• Quaestor — The man who questions Vis based and conducts his placement tests.
• Lir, Kegan and Aodh — Men who picked Vis from Gránine’s father’s house.
• Donnán — He is one of King Ronán’s druid. Donnán is a senior Druid in Caer Áras.
• Gallchobhar — He is King Ronán’s champion.
• Udar Pádraig — One of the trainers at Loch Traenala (where students are sent to become warriors in Luceum).
• Conor, Seanna, Micah, Fearghus — Students at Loch Traenala.
• Tara — She is also a student at Loch Traenala. Tara wields a spear and is the daughter of King Ronán.
• Diago — Vis’s real name and also the name he gives the alupi.
• Neasa — She is the captain of the ship to Loch Traenala.
• Baine Breac — He is Eidhin’s father.
• 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.
• Revidius — He is part of Military and commands a single region. Baine Breac serves under him.
• Laurentius — He is also part of Military.

Writing Style

James Islington tells the story using a different structure. As we mentioned earlier, there are three versions of Vis in Res, Obiteum and Luceum. We really loved the fact that the author uses symbols at the top of each chapter as a way to let you as a reader know which version of Vis you are reading about. In Obiteum, he uses the Ankh symbol (☥), in Res, the Classic Greek-Style building 🏛️, and in Luceum, he uses the triskele symbol.

We drew our own little map to help us remember what each symbol stands for but once we got further into the story, naturally we adjusted and didn’t need to reference anything as soon as we saw the symbol.

One thing that really stood out to us is the fact that we were holding our breath for a substantial portion of this book and that’s not an easy fit for a author to achieve, especially in this era where a lot of stories are so similar and bleed into each other.

Just like in Book 1, the world building and character development is fantastic. Even if you only scroll up to the character sections, you can definitely see that there are a whole lot of characters in this book, yet many, if not all of them, are extremely memorable.

We learn about so many locations in the three different worlds including Duat, Qabr, Fornax, Lock Traenala, Didean, Caer Aras, Suus, Solivagus, and of course Caten itself. Each location means something and adds to the story. There is a part of the story when Islington is describing a particular landscape in Luceum and comparing it to Suus. We could completely visualize the subtle differences he was trying to depict and it made us realize just how well he had described Suus in the previous book.

“…the landscapes here have a tranquil beauty to them, one that lends itself to long periods where it feels almost sacrilegious to speak into the calm….Not joyful like the natural wonders of Suus, but a true, imperturbable peace.”

We like that there were parts of the story where Vis did not understand the language. We remember one of the criticism some people had about The Will of the Many, was that Vis was good at almost everything. In Hierarchy Book II, we get versions of Vis (pun somewhat intended), who are not experts in everything.

We read the book in the order it was written but at some point we plan on re-reading it but reading each world as a single story. Curious to see if that would impact our reading experience.

The book includes a glossary, list of major characters, maps, and locations. We love when books do this!

Memorable Quotes

• “Obiteum is lost. Do not open the gate.”— Vis remembering the chant from the ruins
• “Complete the journey warrior.”— Lanistia
• “You are my brother. My kin.”— Eidhin
• “The needs of the many will always be loud…But in the end, it is only the strength of the few that matters.” — Decimus
• “Death is a doorway.” — An inscription
• “And I know I am home.” — Vis’s reflections
• “Cerbyd nawr.” — Crymrian that translates as carriage now
• “A society cannot make a man a monster, Diago. But it can give him the excuse to become one.” — Vis’s father, Cristoval
• “The oldest argument for doing something wrong, is that everyone is doing it.” —”A society cannot make a man a monster, Diago. But it can give him the excuse to become one.” — Vis’s father, Cristoval
• “I am the gods-damned crocodile.” — Vis’s reflections
• “Can you truly love someone you don’t trust.” — Vis
• “Civil war is always about personal gain, no matter what the mob thinks as they die.” — Baine Breac
• “The passage to Luceum requires a toll to ensure validity.” —Ruarc quoting the words written on the Labyrinth
• “Men sometimes confide in those they trust, but they only truly unburden themselves on the ones they love.” —Princeps Exesius

Final Thoughts on The Strength of the Few by James Islington

The Strength of the Few is definitely the best book we have read this year. The only other reading experiences that have come close to this was when we re-read the books from Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive, which are older publications. At this point, we are convinced that James Islington is a literary genius. The way he tells this story is mind-blowing. Sometimes, we read books and wonder how the human mind can create remarkable works of art and this is one of those cases. We remember reading the Licanius Trilogy and thinking, how is this author ever going to top that type of world-building? And yet, he has.

The ending of the book hints at a continuation and we are excited to see how this story continues to unfold.

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 this book series would unfold?

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