The Will of the Many: Hierarchy, Book 1
4.7 | 18,739 ratings
Price: 34.96
Last update: 12-02-2025
Top reviews from the United States
- C. ManninoExcellent and cant wait for book2!Just finished The Will of the Many (Islington) and damnnnn the book is amazing. Without spoilers, the ending clearly sets up a longer series, and book2 releases in Nov.
Overall:
World: fantasy version of Imperial Rome. The worldbuilding was perfect, and easy to dive right into. The "pyramids" of the magic system are integral to the world, character, and plot, and were also definitely social commentary on class structures. I loved the world and found it easy to picture. The magic system of Will was really unique. It was interesting that he had to sort of go to places without magic for more than half the book though, making me wonder how different future books might feel.
Pacing:
Perfection. It is intense, but with pauses... thats something a lot of new authors miss, and the variance between both is needed. Twists were very surprising. There was one moment near the end where I was like... thats IT? And no... it was not it.
Characters:
The main character is really great and is compelling. His homeland is Suus. I kept reading it as "sus" which is what my kids say, quoting Among Us. The other chatacters are mostly well developed with great motivations... but it is clear Islington prefers writing male characters. The females all felt a bit...less developed. But hoping to see that change in future books. The book straddles ya and adult, with the mc turning 18 at the books end. Quite a bit of violence. No on the page sex, and barely a hint of romance.
Highlights: the shift in book styles throughout was refreshing. I consistently had no clue where it was going. Theres a magic school part, a hunger games part, a Gladiator part... but the interweaving of these elements, with other completely new parts, left the book feeling exciting and unpredictable. Prose and mcs voice were spot on always.
Overall rating: 5 out of 5 easily. Cant wait for the next one. - Gabriella.booksBought this impulsively—zero regrets!The Will of the Many showed up on my suggested books on Kindle yesterday evening, and after reading the sample in record time (even for me), I decided to buy the full book. I’m so glad I did! The characters were well-developed, the worldbuilding was solid and detailed without overwhelming info-dumps, the themes were thought-provoking, the general imagery was fascinating, and the plot was twisty enough to surprise me. (And as a writer myself, that’s fairly rare!)
Go figure I mostly want to talk about the characters, but Vis is amazing! I really enjoyed having a competent—if slightly inexperienced at times—protagonist going into a new series. He’s intelligent, intriguing, courageous, and generally manages to avoid the stupid mistakes that most teenage protagonists tend to fall into so easily. He’s definitely not perfect, but I was rooting for him almost immediately.
Briefly described, the setting is a “Post-Cataclysmic,” Roman-Empire-reminiscent world with a strict hierarchy that is rather caste-like. Everyone in the empire “cedes” a portion of their “Will” to the levels above them in a pyramid-like structure, leaving the highest levels with tremendous power and influence. This raises interesting questions of autonomy, as well as leading readers to consider the impact (and tacit complicity) of staying silent and complying with “the system.” As one character says in the first quarter of the book, “—should we not hold others to the standards to which we hold ourselves? Anyone who does not resist them… is lending them their strength. Is complicit in all that they do.” Granted, we are not ceding actual tangible power in our daily lives, but the concept still made me think more deeply about how many things we lend our silent support to, simply because of our unwillingness to take a stand and risk the loss of our comfort zones and social popularity.
The last characteristic of this book that I enjoyed was its length. I strongly appreciate long fantasy books (when done well). At no point when reading The Will of the Many was I bored and wanting the story to end. On the contrary, my only fear while reading was that it would end before I was ready. As it was, the ending was satisfying and certainly a cliff-hanger, but not as bad a one as I’d feared. I will certainly be on the lookout for the sequel!
If you’re looking for an adventurous fantasy with fascinating, multi-dimensional characters, thought-provoking themes, and dark political academia vibes with fierce competition between individuals and classes, this book might just thrill you as much as it did me :) - MLGood but flawedThroughout most of the book I couldn't put it down. The Will of the Many's first person perspective, violent and detailed action sequences, great world building, layered political plots and exceptional protagonist make this an enjoyable read.
There are flaws, though. (No spoilers.)
The setting of Ancient Rome with magic might not work for some. Latin words and neologisms throughout.
You *really* have to suspend your disbelief at times, especially in the second half of the book. Some characters willingly believe something when they would have relentlessly questioned it a few chapters before. Or an act of compassion becomes a predictable but essential plot point. At times I was shaking my head at the apparent laziness of the plot devices.
The biggest flaw, though, is that our hero cannot fail. At all. Failure is always death or worse. This leads to a lot of false tension and belabored conflict since you know he will succeed.
The influences of Dune, Mistborn, Kingkiller and Count of Monte Cristo or Demolished Man are quite apparent. I was unpleasantly surprised at the similarities to Harry Potter in the middle of the book.
Pacing suffers at times while the author details what it's like to trudge through a thick forest. Again. And again.
Ignore other reviewers' accusations of it being a romantasy. While there's some of that it's by no means dominant nor detailed. This is adult fiction not some YA romantasy trash.
All that said, I recommend it. I can't wait for the next book.