A review by nightshade_novels
The Will of the Many by James Islington

dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I went into this book knowing nothing about it, but it was chosen in two of my bookclubs, and I'd heard it was popular so I was intrigued.

It initially did a good job with hooking my interest and making me want to read on, but a third of the way in I found that I was enjoying it while reading it, but also not feeling drawn to pick it up otherwise. This changed when nearing the halfway point, where I became hooked and wanted to know more about the
bodies/people in the building off campus.
This interest only increased with the shocking reveal that
Ulciscor is married to Sedotia.


One thing that I noticed was that
Vis had far too much success throughout out the book, meaning I felt like I was just waiting for something to go drastically wrong for him.
But there were also some really well written scenes, particularly when Vis was
exploring the second set of ruins and the fight with Ianix. It was fascinating to see the reason behind the labyrinth.


While I wasn't overly fussed about the majority of the characters, and even the protagonist wasn't that lovable, Eidhin did grow on me. I guessed pretty easily that
Callidus wasn't going to survive the finale
so that didn't come as a shock.

The world building was pretty cool throughout the book. A lot of thought has clearly gone into designing this society and its past and the way that Will can be used. It was all very interesting.

Overall, while there were some things that I disliked about this book, it kept me entertained and intrigued throughout and I enjoyed the story. I would be interesting to see where the story goes next.