what i loved about the will of the many was how there was finally a clever protagonist. someone who takes all things into consideration and when smth is too dangerous, instead of being like "i'm the main character, nothing's gonna happen to me so i'm just gonna go do this thing and succeed," he just leaves because it's not worth the risk and comes back better prepared. i was also pleasantly surprised by how certain characters were portrayed (A BIT OF A SPOILER) - like veridius who is described as the principal at the academy and so you probably imagine him as this middle-aged/old dude who holds lots of power and will be a nuisance (at least i did) but instead you get this young charismatic guy who gets on well with the students and has you questioning whether he's actually as bad as you were told. also the setting being inspired by ancient rome is just a great bonus to it all.
I loved how Vis gave zero fucks in the chess-like game against that one girl and the duel where he busted the guy for cheating. Eidhin also subverted expectations when you thought he was gonna be the Neville long bottom bully of the story but ends but befriending Vis, I loved their friendship
You can’t tell that best moment in this book was not when Belli offered Vis the chance to remove a piece from the board to make it easier for him but he ends up removing one of his own pieces. Like bro… what a guy. Seems like something Darrow would do and I love it.
This book was fantastic. Even my wife liked it and she usually sticks to Sarah J. Maas type books. Part 3 was god tier level stuff when Vis goes back "home."
It’s been MONTHS since I read it. Yet hearing you guys talk about specific scenes brought me right back to the feels I had reading it as though I’d just read it yesterday. This book was insane in the best way possible.
20:45 absolutely my fav scene. Chapter XLV, I read the last few pages multiple times, total badass scene. And he didn't say he is moving to next class to the shitty professor, he just said "It seems you need to check the equpment again" He didnt need to say he won or is moving to next class, everyone just silently knew and accepted that.
Been waiting for this one!! I also read The Licanius Trilogy years back and thought it was really underrated. But by the first chapter alone I have never seen such a dramatic improvement in a writers ability to prose, dialogue, style, etc. such a great book!
The Brothers Gwynne described it as a mix between the Roman Empire and Knights of the Old Republic. That's when I knew I had to read it. I saw, I read, I enjoyed :)
Enjoy the content guys! Richard one complaint is that your worldbuilding criticisms are usually that if the book wasnt a history textbook spelling everything out, then it wasnt world building. Suggestions and implications and mysteries are part of worldbuilding imo. Sometimes i feel that you only rate worldbuilding highly if it comes at the detriment of plot and characters because the book didnt spend all its page real estate in world description
Not sure I have the same critique because I haven't watched enough of their videos. But I really liked the fact that Islington didn't info dump. It treats the reader as intelligent and let's them figure it out over the course of the book. It annoys me when books explain too much or characters have conversations that are too simplistic just for the reader's benefit.
Curious what Richard thinks on this - ill have to bring this up to see if he agrees with the criticism! (Also thanks for watching and not criticising me, austin, fragile ego)
I think this novel is the perfect segway for king killer fans. It shares many of the same tropes with a school setting, climbing the ladder of a hierarchy of sorts. Imo the prose of Name of the wind didn't wow me as it did many others, so I don't think fans will be disappointed with the prose by Islington (which is heavily improved since the licanius trilogy). I think the characters are way more plentiful and interesting than the king killer though, the side characters both in the school, and in other factions have lots of great dynamics with the main character, as well as a whole lot of political intrigue with the overall world. What I do think both books share is a bit of an "OP" main character, who imo are both a bit of blank slates. But imo Vis in Will of the Many is a little bit more interesting and at least has better dynamics than Kvothe. I actually thought Kvothe was at his most interesting in the recount chapters. I do think both books have a bit of a "down" segment to them. I really really disliked the dragon hunting section of name of the wind, it took way too long, wasn't really exciting and just went on for too long. I think with Will of the Many, during the climax, there was a long section where Vis is doing another mission to uncover a secret, it gets a bit jumbled there for me and the revelation takes a bit of time to get going. I think with the Will of the Many tho that part has a bigger role in the 2nd book, where as the dragon hunting in Name of the wind was just a bit of time dragging that doesn't necessarily drive the story forward.
Just for clarification on Gary Stew or Mary Sue. The important part is that they have all these skills out of no where without any training on the page and or screen. They are just magically the best ever at everything.
Love your videos. Can you guys pls do a top 10 favorite books or something similar. If you talked 2-3 minutes about every book. Woud be a really fun watch.
I couldn't get into Red Rising, but THIS book??? I was completely obsessed!! Waiting for the sequel has been so painful, but it'll be worth the wait for sure.
So glad you guys finally reviewed this one! I can't wait for the second book 🙂 SPOILERS: Quick note about characters: Islington’s dialogue is sparingly used. But when he does use it it’s very well done. The scene where Vis and Eidhin are making fun of the teacher had me laughing out loud, and did more to develop their friendship than any of the other descriptions. My opinion with the Gary Stu thing is that the book is told in first person, so of course Vis is going to get out of any issues that arise. The question is how. The fact is that Vis is not actually better than everyone at everything. There are characters who are more intelligent, or at least better educated (Indol, Emissa). And Belli is better at him in running the maze and about equal to him at the chess game. He’s not particularly good at getting people to like him (as established in class 7, 6, and 5) because political maneuvering is not something he enjoys even though he’s trained at it. He only starts being successful at it in the upper classes when the classmates themselves are also prioritizing politicking. The thing that he consistently does is not overextend his hand. No one had seen him play chess, so no one knew he was good at it. But we as an audience know he’s good because it was literally on the first page. And the fact that he speaks Eidhin’s language is not surprising because it’s established from chapter one that his family prioritized knowing languages so that you could read ancient texts without Hierarchy biases. All of that said I do wish that they used the side characters’ expertise more to solve the issues. I’m hoping that becomes more prevalent in the second book when he is (I assume) going to have to do more politics maneuvering.
Rich and I both agree he leans more gary stuff but definitely not using that term in a negative way, at least for me, because it didnt detract. I like your point tho!
I'm pretty sure James islington mentioned that vis is based on kvothe from name of the wind. It was interesting to hear how your opinion on the 2 characters were similar.
I've been just as excited as Austin about this book lol. I got Red Rising vibes from it in terms of the writing it just felt really good, dying waiting for the next one. (I wrote this comment before Richard mentioned it also being similar to Red Rising glad we got the same vibes from it lol.)
Stopped after the spoiler free. I'm currently reading the first Licanus book and you guys have convinced me to try this one out too. I super duper appreciate that you guys told us it just follows the one character perspective. I wish that sort of info was easier to find about a book, along with whether or not it's dual timeline.
Great vids, boys. Seems like we are all in the same boat on this one: give me a great story and I’ll be flexible on many other issues. Give me a reason to trust an author, and I’ll hang on through even self-perceived lulls or bad points.
Seeing this drop while in the middle of the book made me so happy to know I’ll have something to watch about it after finishing. Islington’s other stuff definitely is moving up on the TBR
Literally finished the book today! Really enjoyed it, the final scene with Calidous (if you know, you know) really got me shook. So many unanswered questions, glad it shouldn’t be too long a wait for book 2 :)
This entire video just had me wanting to pump my fists in the air because of Austin's unbridled enthusiasm lol. HECK YES, I needed the sequel like yesterday!! And I think it's going to be 4 books, which I am super happy about because the more the better 🤩
Finished this book last night. WOW!! It was fantastic!! Having only Vis’s POV was a great idea. With how every single person is out for themselves, or at least it seems this way, you never know what the others are plotting. Now I don’t know what to read next. I could use some help deciding from the following: Elantris Warbreaker Shadows of Self The Sunlit Man The Blade Itself Heaven Breaker IT Any suggestions, and yes I have read the Stormlight Archive including Dawnshard and Edgedancer.
I’ve had this saved in my watch later, and have been listening to this on my runs and hikes since you guys uploaded this. Aside from the butchering of the names, you guys are spot on! Funny enough. I’ve adopted your ratting metric and this was mine: a 4.25 😂 Emotional Impact: 4.5 Thought Provoking: 3.5 Characters: 4.5 Plot: 4.25 World Building: 4.75 Prose: 4
35:32 - Haven’t finished the video and maybe I’m the one misremembering, but I swear that they mentioned Vis’ skill at Swordplay & Foundation significantly earlier in the book and not just at the moment he needed to be good at it.
They did. We learn about the foundation skill basically right at the state when he's playing against the man he worked with. And we learn about his sword skill when he's practicing again lanistia
Perfect timing! I finished this book last night after starting it on Friday. I went into this book expecting some similarities to Red Rising. Immediately after reaching Ch 1 I knew I was going to love the book. Red Rising-ish plot with Warbreaker-ish magic system? Count me IN. I was glued to the book the entire time. I would have given it a perfect 5/5 but there were was 1 scene/interaction that almost felt forced, and a couple of scenes that felt repetitive. Still enjoyable, but those took me out just a tad. Solid 4.5/5
Given how excited Austin is about both this book and Red Rising, and especially given how he's generally OK with the Mary Sue aspects of Vis's personality, I'd be really interested to see how he feels about Name of the Wind.
haven’t watched this all yet but interested to hear your guys’ thoughts! personally I wasn’t a huge fan, or at least I wasn’t for the first like 50% of the book lol. I think where it really failed for me was the characters; I didn’t really care for anyone and so much of their progression seemed to happen off page? I also think it could’ve done with some more editing, but book 2 could be really great based on that ending. I think this was like a 3.5 for me
I'm the same way with this book. I almost DNF'd it, but pushed through. I thought the world building, magic system, and characters were all dull. I just couldn't find a personal connection with any of them and the whole book felt like it was just about the students running the labryinth over and over again. I loved the beginning where Vis was exploring things and uncovering secrets, but then that vibe just stopped dead in it's tracks. I couldn't stand this book to be blunt lol but that's what makes reading great. We all enjoy different things :)
@@Gooby12337 I almost dnf’d too but kept going because everyone was raving about it 😅 definitely agree with you. especially since characters are so important for me in a story; I’m honestly surprised to see people praise that aspect of the book lol. but you’re right, different strokes for different folks!
One of my favorite books last year, and maybe in a long time. My wife and mom also read it and loved it. It seems to reach a large audience. Although - if I had one complaint, the print in the actual physical book is so tiny. What is this, a book for ants?? Come on James.
Excellent book! I initially borrowed it from the library, finished it and immediately ordered a copy because I want this book on my shelves and I’m definitely carrying on with it as soon as book 2 is out. I read The Shadow of What Was Lost yesterday and I really enjoyed it and I’m upset that it’ll take a week for the next book to get to my library for me 😭😂 Also boo Levy (I say with love)
I'm 2 thirds of the way through the book and Literally look up if you guys had done a review on it yesterday!!! It's soo good so far! Can't wait to finish the book
Cutting out before spoilers. But nice to see such high regards for this book. I'm looking forward to getting to this. Wow Austin, 4.5☆? It must be golden
Yaaaaaas! I loved this book. All hype for me. Definitely Red Rising vibes, but also a better book one since he's a more experienced author than Pierce Brown was when he wrote RR.
Mike from Mike's book review interviewed James, and he asked him the biggest question we all had... It's Islington, like island. 🤣 And I agree Richard, Austin would be super pumped reading Rage of Dragons!
Yes I have been waiting for this one ! I didn't love it as much as some people it was a 4 stars for me but still, great great book !! If you liked some of the thematics here : the survivor of a fallen kingdom, the critic of democracy etc. you should read The Aurelian Cycle ! It's a complete trilogy with great themes and... it has dragons ! It is categorised as YA, and the first half of the first book reads a bit like that but overall it really doesn't take the expected YA tropes and I've seen youtube reviewers who are used to reading only Adult fantasy LOVING this series !
I’m not the finishing the book until the sequel comes out, so I can just go right into the next one. I hate cliffhangers (I spoiled the ending for myself, but I do that with most books/movies anyways. It doesn’t really bother me personally).
Also if you don’t like name of the wind I’d recommend the first binding. People criticise it for being too like NOTW but I found it veered away. I adore it (and didn’t like NOTW)
Saw your video. Had this book on my TBR. Watched up until the spoiler section. Read the book. Came back and watched the rest of the video. I’m so glad I did cause I loved this book. Kinda annoyed I have to wait until 2025 to get my answers to that cliffhanger of an ending but damn. ‘‘Twas worth it 😅❤
Now this is a review I’ve been waiting for…. Before watching: curious to see how Austin reacts to a better Red Rising book 1. (The rest of RR is obviously goated, but book 1 vs will of the many is just not close)
@@2ToRamble in defense of pierce, his book 1 is like half the length of WotM and James also had an entire trilogy of experience. Plus I’m pretty sure islington credits RR as a source of inspo.
I feel like this does more than book 1 of Red Rising, but isn't executed as well. They are both roughly 4/5 for me, but for different reasons. I'd call TWOTM a 3.75 and RR is a solid 4.
I just read the first three books in Red Rising because everyone kept comparing them and I loved this one so much... and I understand why people are making the comparison because they both have the 17 year old from the "lower class" integrating into an elite school. But when you're comparing book one to book one they weren't really in the same category for me. Part of it happens to take place at a school, but that's not really integral to the story as a whole in The Will of the Many. This is definitely more of a political intrigue book. And despite the fact that magic system is not well described it's very clear that the magic system makes the economics of the world go round. Which makes the morality questions of technological advances vs subjugation of the populus all the more interesting. Exploring the politics and letting the world build naturally in a way that wasn't just info dumping were my favorite parts. Red Rising, especially book one, doesn't have that level of intricacy. And since everyone was comparing them I went into it expecting political intrigue and so it was a let down for me. Maybe books 4-6 have more of it but even if they do it took 3 books to get there. This one did all of it in book one, and book 2 is set up to expand passed what we've already seen.
Best book I read last year, I'm so excited to read it again before the next one comes out! Spoilery part of the comment: I absolutely love stories where a character has a secret that could be the end of them if someone found out so they can't really trust anyone. And that is the whole book! And most of the characters! And that secret makes the protagonist the underdog to the whole oppressive system (who doesn't root for the underdog)! I was really at the edge of my seat the whole time reading this book because this whole card house of secrets that is the plot was build so precariously that it could crumble at any moment and I wanted to know how the characters would make sure it didn't. As an added bonus I got a lot of really smart characters, which are typically the ones that end up as my favourites. And I absolutely agree, the plotting that went into this book was insanely good! I also really like your theories about where the second book will go after that epilogue, they make a lot of sense and would make for an amazing story. If I remember correctly (its been a few months), when I finished the book I got the feeling that maybe one of the alternate Vis' might go down a darker route and have a character change for the worse since he got pushed into these directions a few times already in book one (again, if I remember correctly). I am really excited to find out where the story will go from here.
The first book of the licanius trilogy is not rough, i think the second one is the roughest. I loved the series but i feel it should have been more books.
Just finished the book and I didn't love it. It felt like with every character and scenario their only purpose was to progress the plot. I also found Vis super unlikeable with how mary sue he was.
@@2ToRamble I loved the Red Rising series which I'd say mirrors Will of the Many in a lot of ways. Best thing I've read this year was probably Artificial Wisdom. Also really enjoying The First Law series of books. I'm currently on Red Country.
Read this a few months ago, besides The Sword of Kaigen, this is easily one of the best fantasy novels I've read in a long time. Ironically, I thought James Islington's first book The Shadow of What Was Lost was far too cliche-ridden to continue the Licanius trilogy, time-travel shenanigans non-withstanding, He's definitely improved a lot as a writer between the two series.
@@2ToRamble Thank you. I am madly jealous of your bookshelf though lol. I also love Discworld and the Farseer series, loved them both for 20+ years. I hope you cover both series in the future. I know you covered Mort already, but I can't wait till you guys read Guards! Guards! Wyrd Sisters, Moving Pictures, The Truth, Reaper Man and Interesting Times. These are among Pratchett's absolute best in the series
Last two times he got stoked like this was Red Rising & Stormlight Archive.... and those are both two of the best underdog feel good series I've gotten sucked into. Not that wheel of time 🧀🧀🧀🧀
I wasn't a big fan of Licanius either - to be honest, I don't even remember much of it. But I really liked The Will of the Many, I think it's a big step up. I'd give it a try!
I haven't read this one yet, but just realize that Licanious was first released 10 years ago and was his debut...so a couple of good reasons to give him a second chance at this point...especially since everyone seems to love it. : )
Weirdly the colosseum scene didn't work for me : I think it was the way the magic worked and the way it was written that just didn't make me feel what I was supposed to feel, I don't know. I remember thinking that the author visibly wanted me to feel a lot more but it fell flat for me. It was one of the reasons why this book was "just" a four stars for me ; there's several moments that didn't hit me as they should have. But the labyrinths scenes and others did work for me, I remember getting more invested when he got into the school.
@@2ToRamble I guess the fact that I didn't really understand the magic at play distracted me and the way it was written was too detached for me to feel as horrified as I should have
I haven’t read it (so I’m obviously not going to watch past the spoiler-free part) but I’m not convinced. Mike’s Book Reviews said it was just “good” not 5/5 and also not like Red Rising. I’ll see if I can make space on the schedule for it, but I’m not too hopeful
Exactly. I absolutely hated this book. I could barely finish it. Nothing was interesting to me. The world building, magic system, characters, plot, etc... It was all just so dull and lifeless in my opinion. Not to mention the ending was bizarre and very out there. Just not my taste
The book was really good while reading it but once you finished it and look back to see what makes this book good, you find out that this book is nothing special. I only read it because a lot of people who loved red rising recommended this but it's nothing like red rising. I'll still read the next book though.
Maybe fantasy isn’t for me. I enjoyed this book. Especially towards the end. But red rising is still above this for me. Not even too sure why I feel that way
Loved this book. The ending was so good. The audiobook just as amazing. Vis is a little bit of Gary Stu and too good at everything but he’s interesting which matters. 4.25/5 for me. Honestly, least favorite part, the tiny ass font size!
@@lukasa6374 Fair -- if the book wasn't raved about so much maybe you'd think more highly of it? Happens to me a bunch where Im like 'wait this is what ppl are fawning over?' -- totally get it
I hate this book. The magic system wasn't explained properly. The main character was too unbelievable. He was just 17 and he knows all the languages and everything there is to know. There were no real obstacles for him to face. Everyone in the academy was helping him instead of focusing on their own ranking. 200 pages too long and didn't feel like it was an adult fantasy.
Magic system was explained properly, most people seemed to understand it. Sounds like reader error. Main character definitely too good at some things, but he knows 3 languages, not "all". There were many obstacles for him to face, what do you even mean? Just because he accomplishes things doesn't mean there were no obstacles. This is an extremely lazy critique, do better. And no, in fact most in the academy were against him, he had only 3 or 4 people helping him throughout his journey. I can name multiple points at which people were out to get him. Or do those not count? Most of his progress came from people outside the academy cheating to get him through, not from his friends in the Academy. Did you even read this? Womp womp, colosseum and ending scenes are not scenes you get in YA. It has some adult themes, but its not grimdark so it's not "adult enough" for you I guess. Given the setting, of course a bunch of adult things aren't going to happen. But given the trajectory, its an apt label even if the first book doesn't delve as much into these themes. I always hear people say they didn't like this book, but their critiques are always half assed, never elaborated upon, and easily debunked. You are being a contrarian for the sake of it.
@jackruth4406 Oh really then pls enlighten me on how the magic system works. What is conditional imbuing of will? How can someone who has never taken someone's will can use it? And what obstacles ? The ones that were conveniently shoved aside? How many times did the main character lose? He git trained for two months before joining the academy, and that training led him to know all the answers and everything. Isn't it funny that none of the other kids were trained by their parents? lol He even fought a combat that he had no training for. His friend helped him, and with that one day of training, he was able to beat the most dangerous fighter lol lol lol 3 languages hahahah 17 year old boy 😂 Everyone was focused on helping him for no good reason 😂 didn't they know only a few could go on top. They didn't focus on their own progress 😂 I mean, in normal academies, there is too much competition. No one shares their assignments and all. This book is so bad that it makes twilight look good.
what i loved about the will of the many was how there was finally a clever protagonist. someone who takes all things into consideration and when smth is too dangerous, instead of being like "i'm the main character, nothing's gonna happen to me so i'm just gonna go do this thing and succeed," he just leaves because it's not worth the risk and comes back better prepared. i was also pleasantly surprised by how certain characters were portrayed (A BIT OF A SPOILER) - like veridius who is described as the principal at the academy and so you probably imagine him as this middle-aged/old dude who holds lots of power and will be a nuisance (at least i did) but instead you get this young charismatic guy who gets on well with the students and has you questioning whether he's actually as bad as you were told.
also the setting being inspired by ancient rome is just a great bonus to it all.
I loved how Vis gave zero fucks in the chess-like game against that one girl and the duel where he busted the guy for cheating. Eidhin also subverted expectations when you thought he was gonna be the Neville long bottom bully of the story but ends but befriending Vis, I loved their friendship
You can’t tell that best moment in this book was not when Belli offered Vis the chance to remove a piece from the board to make it easier for him but he ends up removing one of his own pieces. Like bro… what a guy. Seems like something Darrow would do and I love it.
The chess match was one of my fav scenes. Badass and cathartic. Chapter 20 is the highlight of the book for me though, what a chapter
i like seeing Austin excited, it’s been a while
This book is a masterpiece, I still haven’t stopped recommending it to anyone who will listen
This book was fantastic. Even my wife liked it and she usually sticks to Sarah J. Maas type books. Part 3 was god tier level stuff when Vis goes back "home."
Great scenes all around
It’s been MONTHS since I read it. Yet hearing you guys talk about specific scenes brought me right back to the feels I had reading it as though I’d just read it yesterday.
This book was insane in the best way possible.
👊👊
20:45 absolutely my fav scene. Chapter XLV, I read the last few pages multiple times, total badass scene. And he didn't say he is moving to next class to the shitty professor, he just said "It seems you need to check the equpment again" He didnt need to say he won or is moving to next class, everyone just silently knew and accepted that.
100%
I've read it one year ago and I still think about it. One of my favorite books
Been waiting for this one!!
I also read The Licanius Trilogy years back and thought it was really underrated. But by the first chapter alone I have never seen such a dramatic improvement in a writers ability to prose, dialogue, style, etc. such a great book!
The Brothers Gwynne described it as a mix between the Roman Empire and Knights of the Old Republic. That's when I knew I had to read it. I saw, I read, I enjoyed :)
Enjoy the content guys!
Richard one complaint is that your worldbuilding criticisms are usually that if the book wasnt a history textbook spelling everything out, then it wasnt world building. Suggestions and implications and mysteries are part of worldbuilding imo. Sometimes i feel that you only rate worldbuilding highly if it comes at the detriment of plot and characters because the book didnt spend all its page real estate in world description
Not sure I have the same critique because I haven't watched enough of their videos. But I really liked the fact that Islington didn't info dump. It treats the reader as intelligent and let's them figure it out over the course of the book. It annoys me when books explain too much or characters have conversations that are too simplistic just for the reader's benefit.
Curious what Richard thinks on this - ill have to bring this up to see if he agrees with the criticism! (Also thanks for watching and not criticising me, austin, fragile ego)
I think this novel is the perfect segway for king killer fans. It shares many of the same tropes with a school setting, climbing the ladder of a hierarchy of sorts. Imo the prose of Name of the wind didn't wow me as it did many others, so I don't think fans will be disappointed with the prose by Islington (which is heavily improved since the licanius trilogy). I think the characters are way more plentiful and interesting than the king killer though, the side characters both in the school, and in other factions have lots of great dynamics with the main character, as well as a whole lot of political intrigue with the overall world.
What I do think both books share is a bit of an "OP" main character, who imo are both a bit of blank slates. But imo Vis in Will of the Many is a little bit more interesting and at least has better dynamics than Kvothe. I actually thought Kvothe was at his most interesting in the recount chapters.
I do think both books have a bit of a "down" segment to them. I really really disliked the dragon hunting section of name of the wind, it took way too long, wasn't really exciting and just went on for too long. I think with Will of the Many, during the climax, there was a long section where Vis is doing another mission to uncover a secret, it gets a bit jumbled there for me and the revelation takes a bit of time to get going. I think with the Will of the Many tho that part has a bigger role in the 2nd book, where as the dragon hunting in Name of the wind was just a bit of time dragging that doesn't necessarily drive the story forward.
Just for clarification on Gary Stew or Mary Sue. The important part is that they have all these skills out of no where without any training on the page and or screen. They are just magically the best ever at everything.
Love your videos. Can you guys pls do a top 10 favorite books or something similar. If you talked 2-3 minutes about every book. Woud be a really fun watch.
Maybe we can do an update at the end of each year like other Booktubers do of our top 10!
@@2ToRamble That woud be awesome. The Will of the many went to number 1 of my tbt after watching the spoiler free section. Love from Sweden🇸🇪
The will of the many is THE Roman Empire book. Read it twice and loved it more each time
I couldn't get into Red Rising, but THIS book??? I was completely obsessed!! Waiting for the sequel has been so painful, but it'll be worth the wait for sure.
So glad you guys finally reviewed this one! I can't wait for the second book 🙂
SPOILERS:
Quick note about characters: Islington’s dialogue is sparingly used. But when he does use it it’s very well done. The scene where Vis and Eidhin are making fun of the teacher had me laughing out loud, and did more to develop their friendship than any of the other descriptions.
My opinion with the Gary Stu thing is that the book is told in first person, so of course Vis is going to get out of any issues that arise. The question is how. The fact is that Vis is not actually better than everyone at everything. There are characters who are more intelligent, or at least better educated (Indol, Emissa). And Belli is better at him in running the maze and about equal to him at the chess game. He’s not particularly good at getting people to like him (as established in class 7, 6, and 5) because political maneuvering is not something he enjoys even though he’s trained at it. He only starts being successful at it in the upper classes when the classmates themselves are also prioritizing politicking.
The thing that he consistently does is not overextend his hand. No one had seen him play chess, so no one knew he was good at it. But we as an audience know he’s good because it was literally on the first page. And the fact that he speaks Eidhin’s language is not surprising because it’s established from chapter one that his family prioritized knowing languages so that you could read ancient texts without Hierarchy biases.
All of that said I do wish that they used the side characters’ expertise more to solve the issues. I’m hoping that becomes more prevalent in the second book when he is (I assume) going to have to do more politics maneuvering.
Rich and I both agree he leans more gary stuff but definitely not using that term in a negative way, at least for me, because it didnt detract. I like your point tho!
I'm pretty sure James islington mentioned that vis is based on kvothe from name of the wind. It was interesting to hear how your opinion on the 2 characters were similar.
God I want to reread this book now. I read it during a trying time and I was just obsessed after I passed page 200.
I wish I enjoyed this as much as you guys! I liked it and will definitely continue the series. Love seeing the excitement!
😁
I've been just as excited as Austin about this book lol. I got Red Rising vibes from it in terms of the writing it just felt really good, dying waiting for the next one. (I wrote this comment before Richard mentioned it also being similar to Red Rising glad we got the same vibes from it lol.)
Stopped after the spoiler free. I'm currently reading the first Licanus book and you guys have convinced me to try this one out too.
I super duper appreciate that you guys told us it just follows the one character perspective. I wish that sort of info was easier to find about a book, along with whether or not it's dual timeline.
We will make sure to include that info more in our reviews!
Great vids, boys. Seems like we are all in the same boat on this one: give me a great story and I’ll be flexible on many other issues. Give me a reason to trust an author, and I’ll hang on through even self-perceived lulls or bad points.
Seeing this drop while in the middle of the book made me so happy to know I’ll have something to watch about it after finishing. Islington’s other stuff definitely is moving up on the TBR
🙏
I remmeber i made comment about this book back in October im so happy that yall made vid on this
Top 3 reads from me that I read last year, along with Empire of the Vampire and Legends & Lattes
Literally finished the book today! Really enjoyed it, the final scene with Calidous (if you know, you know) really got me shook. So many unanswered questions, glad it shouldn’t be too long a wait for book 2 :)
This entire video just had me wanting to pump my fists in the air because of Austin's unbridled enthusiasm lol. HECK YES, I needed the sequel like yesterday!! And I think it's going to be 4 books, which I am super happy about because the more the better 🤩
Finished this book last night. WOW!! It was fantastic!! Having only Vis’s POV was a great idea. With how every single person is out for themselves, or at least it seems this way, you never know what the others are plotting.
Now I don’t know what to read next. I could use some help deciding from the following:
Elantris
Warbreaker
Shadows of Self
The Sunlit Man
The Blade Itself
Heaven Breaker
IT
Any suggestions, and yes I have read the Stormlight Archive including Dawnshard and Edgedancer.
I (Austin) equally love Warbreaker and Will of the Many! I think you’d really enjoy since it seems we’re similar kind of readers
@@2ToRamble sounds like that is my next book then. As I always say, the more Brando Sando, the better! Thanks!
I literally just finished this last night, and was like "what the fuuuuuuuuuuuu". Can only agree on this book getting me out of my reading slump.
Right???
Loved this book!! Just finished it last week. Second book please❤
Never thought I would see Austin cheat on Peirce Brown so hard.
Dont worry, Pierce doesnt have to know
I’ve had this saved in my watch later, and have been listening to this on my runs and hikes since you guys uploaded this.
Aside from the butchering of the names, you guys are spot on!
Funny enough. I’ve adopted your ratting metric and this was mine: a 4.25 😂
Emotional Impact: 4.5
Thought Provoking: 3.5
Characters: 4.5
Plot: 4.25
World Building: 4.75
Prose: 4
Great score!
35:32 - Haven’t finished the video and maybe I’m the one misremembering, but I swear that they mentioned Vis’ skill at Swordplay & Foundation significantly earlier in the book and not just at the moment he needed to be good at it.
I (believe) they did?
They did. We learn about the foundation skill basically right at the state when he's playing against the man he worked with.
And we learn about his sword skill when he's practicing again lanistia
Perfect timing! I finished this book last night after starting it on Friday. I went into this book expecting some similarities to Red Rising. Immediately after reaching Ch 1 I knew I was going to love the book. Red Rising-ish plot with Warbreaker-ish magic system? Count me IN. I was glued to the book the entire time. I would have given it a perfect 5/5 but there were was 1 scene/interaction that almost felt forced, and a couple of scenes that felt repetitive. Still enjoyable, but those took me out just a tad. Solid 4.5/5
Given how excited Austin is about both this book and Red Rising, and especially given how he's generally OK with the Mary Sue aspects of Vis's personality, I'd be really interested to see how he feels about Name of the Wind.
haven’t watched this all yet but interested to hear your guys’ thoughts! personally I wasn’t a huge fan, or at least I wasn’t for the first like 50% of the book lol. I think where it really failed for me was the characters; I didn’t really care for anyone and so much of their progression seemed to happen off page?
I also think it could’ve done with some more editing, but book 2 could be really great based on that ending. I think this was like a 3.5 for me
Fair - seems like youll still give book 2 a shot?
@@2ToRamble yeah i’ll definitely give it a shot! I’d be interested to see where the story goes
I'm the same way with this book. I almost DNF'd it, but pushed through. I thought the world building, magic system, and characters were all dull. I just couldn't find a personal connection with any of them and the whole book felt like it was just about the students running the labryinth over and over again. I loved the beginning where Vis was exploring things and uncovering secrets, but then that vibe just stopped dead in it's tracks. I couldn't stand this book to be blunt lol but that's what makes reading great. We all enjoy different things :)
@@Gooby12337 I almost dnf’d too but kept going because everyone was raving about it 😅 definitely agree with you. especially since characters are so important for me in a story; I’m honestly surprised to see people praise that aspect of the book lol. but you’re right, different strokes for different folks!
One of my favorite books last year, and maybe in a long time. My wife and mom also read it and loved it. It seems to reach a large audience. Although - if I had one complaint, the print in the actual physical book is so tiny. What is this, a book for ants?? Come on James.
To be fair, in an interview he says he was surprised by how small the font was too. Apparently it has something to do with the cost of paper going up.
@@Emily-vk8gw didnt know that! Figured it was around hitting a shorter overall page count to sell. But cost makes more sense.
Oh dang we didnt know that!
i read this book in january back-to-back and am still insane about it
Excellent book! I initially borrowed it from the library, finished it and immediately ordered a copy because I want this book on my shelves and I’m definitely carrying on with it as soon as book 2 is out.
I read The Shadow of What Was Lost yesterday and I really enjoyed it and I’m upset that it’ll take a week for the next book to get to my library for me 😭😂
Also boo Levy (I say with love)
Poor Levy lol
So happy about this review, was waiting for this one!
Long time subscriber, first time commenter - You guys are what reignited my spark for reading!
Thanks so much for watching our stuff! What a conpliment - glad youre back into reading
Towards the end of it now and REALLLLLLY enjoying it
I'm 2 thirds of the way through the book and Literally look up if you guys had done a review on it yesterday!!! It's soo good so far! Can't wait to finish the book
Great timing!!
@@2ToRamble I'm going to finish the book today and then geek out about it while watching you guys do the same haha
Cutting out before spoilers. But nice to see such high regards for this book. I'm looking forward to getting to this. Wow Austin, 4.5☆? It must be golden
Loved it! Hope you give it a try and let us know what you think
Wow! This is moving up my TBR.
🙏
Yaaaaaas! I loved this book. All hype for me. Definitely Red Rising vibes, but also a better book one since he's a more experienced author than Pierce Brown was when he wrote RR.
Went and picked up the book. You guys have me very excited.
Lets gooo!
Mike from Mike's book review interviewed James, and he asked him the biggest question we all had... It's Islington, like island. 🤣 And I agree Richard, Austin would be super pumped reading Rage of Dragons!
I love how character is the longest portion like it was for the book club.. and mainly about Vis being a Gary Stu xD
Had to do it 😂
The main thing this book taught me was to wait until a series is completed before starting. The wait for the second book is agonizing.
Lol very true
I loved the audiobook. I'm really looking forward to book 2
Yes I have been waiting for this one ! I didn't love it as much as some people it was a 4 stars for me but still, great great book !! If you liked some of the thematics here : the survivor of a fallen kingdom, the critic of democracy etc. you should read The Aurelian Cycle ! It's a complete trilogy with great themes and... it has dragons ! It is categorised as YA, and the first half of the first book reads a bit like that but overall it really doesn't take the expected YA tropes and I've seen youtube reviewers who are used to reading only Adult fantasy LOVING this series !
I recommend Aurelian Cycle any chance I can. It’s such a great trilogy.
@@SImba87719 It IS !!!!
I’m not the finishing the book until the sequel comes out, so I can just go right into the next one. I hate cliffhangers (I spoiled the ending for myself, but I do that with most books/movies anyways. It doesn’t really bother me personally).
You had me at "fantasy version of red rising,", I am starting today lol
Also if you don’t like name of the wind I’d recommend the first binding. People criticise it for being too like NOTW but I found it veered away. I adore it (and didn’t like NOTW)
I haven’t had this serious post-book depression since finishing Mistborn, which Austin NEEDS to read btw
I am as we speak 🤓
Look, I thought this book was fine. But it really shouldn't be compared to Red Rising. Red Rising series is next level.
Bro I literally thought I was the only one who didn’t fall in love with this book! Glad to see a new member of the club
Saw your video. Had this book on my TBR. Watched up until the spoiler section. Read the book. Came back and watched the rest of the video. I’m so glad I did cause I loved this book. Kinda annoyed I have to wait until 2025 to get my answers to that cliffhanger of an ending but damn. ‘‘Twas worth it 😅❤
Sorry for making you wait, that’s the biggest negative about this book 😭
If it weren’t for Lonesome Dove and Pillars of the Earth this would be my favorite book I’ve read this year
Want to read this but got to do Licanius first :)
Now this is a review I’ve been waiting for…. Before watching: curious to see how Austin reacts to a better Red Rising book 1. (The rest of RR is obviously goated, but book 1 vs will of the many is just not close)
I thought red rising book 1 was better 😭 or at least it did better at grabbing my attention
It’s close but RR is just one of my favorites!
@@2ToRamble in defense of pierce, his book 1 is like half the length of WotM and James also had an entire trilogy of experience. Plus I’m pretty sure islington credits RR as a source of inspo.
I feel like this does more than book 1 of Red Rising, but isn't executed as well. They are both roughly 4/5 for me, but for different reasons. I'd call TWOTM a 3.75 and RR is a solid 4.
I just read the first three books in Red Rising because everyone kept comparing them and I loved this one so much... and I understand why people are making the comparison because they both have the 17 year old from the "lower class" integrating into an elite school. But when you're comparing book one to book one they weren't really in the same category for me. Part of it happens to take place at a school, but that's not really integral to the story as a whole in The Will of the Many.
This is definitely more of a political intrigue book. And despite the fact that magic system is not well described it's very clear that the magic system makes the economics of the world go round. Which makes the morality questions of technological advances vs subjugation of the populus all the more interesting. Exploring the politics and letting the world build naturally in a way that wasn't just info dumping were my favorite parts.
Red Rising, especially book one, doesn't have that level of intricacy. And since everyone was comparing them I went into it expecting political intrigue and so it was a let down for me. Maybe books 4-6 have more of it but even if they do it took 3 books to get there. This one did all of it in book one, and book 2 is set up to expand passed what we've already seen.
Is it possible to listen to the patreon discussion about this book after you sign up? Was it recorded?
It was and is on our patreon
Have yal played the red rising board game?? I just got it, would be cool to play it on stream lol
We havent but do own it!
Oh, I’ve been waiting for this one
Have you guys read the prequels:
The Will of the One, and The Will of the Two?
The epilogue was where it’s at. The epilogue is why I understand people have this book 5 stars.
Soso good
Best book I read last year, I'm so excited to read it again before the next one comes out!
Spoilery part of the comment:
I absolutely love stories where a character has a secret that could be the end of them if someone found out so they can't really trust anyone. And that is the whole book! And most of the characters! And that secret makes the protagonist the underdog to the whole oppressive system (who doesn't root for the underdog)! I was really at the edge of my seat the whole time reading this book because this whole card house of secrets that is the plot was build so precariously that it could crumble at any moment and I wanted to know how the characters would make sure it didn't. As an added bonus I got a lot of really smart characters, which are typically the ones that end up as my favourites.
And I absolutely agree, the plotting that went into this book was insanely good!
I also really like your theories about where the second book will go after that epilogue, they make a lot of sense and would make for an amazing story. If I remember correctly (its been a few months), when I finished the book I got the feeling that maybe one of the alternate Vis' might go down a darker route and have a character change for the worse since he got pushed into these directions a few times already in book one (again, if I remember correctly).
I am really excited to find out where the story will go from here.
Oh yes - the tension of “i cant be found out is awesome - another one of my (austin) favorite books does that 😁
@@2ToRamble ooh, which one? I probably should add it to my tbr list if I haven't read it yet!
@@seeschwalbe golden son :D
@@seeschwalbe Golden Son :D
The first book of the licanius trilogy is not rough, i think the second one is the roughest. I loved the series but i feel it should have been more books.
Why did you change from rating out of 10 to the 5 stars rating?
We released an episode (#126) explaining in depth the changes to the 5 star scale!
Ok CONVINCED ME TO BUY!
🤝🤝
1:07:25 is the prose similar to Brandon Sanderson?
Not super similar, mainly the difference of first vs third person narration
Just finished the book and I didn't love it. It felt like with every character and scenario their only purpose was to progress the plot. I also found Vis super unlikeable with how mary sue he was.
Ahh fair enough, what are books more up your alley? Anything similar to Will of the Many?
@@2ToRamble I loved the Red Rising series which I'd say mirrors Will of the Many in a lot of ways. Best thing I've read this year was probably Artificial Wisdom. Also really enjoying The First Law series of books. I'm currently on Red Country.
I tried reading Rage of Dragons, but couldn’t get into it.
I really liked this book too! That end though! Mind blown 🤯
...😎 4.75 for me.
📚🥰📖
🤝
Read this a few months ago, besides The Sword of Kaigen, this is easily one of the best fantasy novels I've read in a long time.
Ironically, I thought James Islington's first book The Shadow of What Was Lost was far too cliche-ridden to continue the Licanius trilogy, time-travel shenanigans non-withstanding, He's definitely improved a lot as a writer between the two series.
This book and Sword of Kaigen - impeccable taste 🤌
@@2ToRamble Thank you. I am madly jealous of your bookshelf though lol. I also love Discworld and the Farseer series, loved them both for 20+ years. I hope you cover both series in the future. I know you covered Mort already, but I can't wait till you guys read Guards! Guards! Wyrd Sisters, Moving Pictures, The Truth, Reaper Man and Interesting Times. These are among Pratchett's absolute best in the series
@@thomasciuffreda8783 We will absolutely cover all of Pratchett's books one day and one book at a time!
Last two times he got stoked like this was Red Rising & Stormlight Archive.... and those are both two of the best underdog feel good series I've gotten sucked into. Not that wheel of time 🧀🧀🧀🧀
Exactly 😂
Everybodys highly reccomending this book...but... i hated Lycanius. Pretty scared to read another one by him
I wasn't a big fan of Licanius either - to be honest, I don't even remember much of it. But I really liked The Will of the Many, I think it's a big step up. I'd give it a try!
I haven't read this one yet, but just realize that Licanious was first released 10 years ago and was his debut...so a couple of good reasons to give him a second chance at this point...especially since everyone seems to love it. : )
Austin Please read Rage of Dragons!!!!!
8:21 it’s going to be 4 books in this series not 3
This is right, thank you for the correction!
Just waiting for yall to start the suneater series.
We reviewed book 1, just havent reviewed book 2 yet
Weirdly the colosseum scene didn't work for me : I think it was the way the magic worked and the way it was written that just didn't make me feel what I was supposed to feel, I don't know. I remember thinking that the author visibly wanted me to feel a lot more but it fell flat for me. It was one of the reasons why this book was "just" a four stars for me ; there's several moments that didn't hit me as they should have.
But the labyrinths scenes and others did work for me, I remember getting more invested when he got into the school.
Ahh I see what you mean - was it tough to visualize or just tough to care that early in the book that was the issue?
@@2ToRamble I guess the fact that I didn't really understand the magic at play distracted me and the way it was written was too detached for me to feel as horrified as I should have
I didn’t care for the first book of the Licanius trilogy, so that put me off from reading this one. Now that I’ve got time I’ll have to check it out.
I haven’t read it (so I’m obviously not going to watch past the spoiler-free part) but I’m not convinced. Mike’s Book Reviews said it was just “good” not 5/5 and also not like Red Rising. I’ll see if I can make space on the schedule for it, but I’m not too hopeful
Let us know if you ever get to it!
Is this book anything better and any books in the stormlight series?
Personally (austin here) not better than Stormlight first 3 books. I would say it’s better than Rhythm of War
I was overhyped for this book.
The only issue was that it didn't live upto the expectation.
Exactly. I absolutely hated this book. I could barely finish it. Nothing was interesting to me. The world building, magic system, characters, plot, etc... It was all just so dull and lifeless in my opinion. Not to mention the ending was bizarre and very out there. Just not my taste
Ahh damn, unfortunate - did you read/enjoy Licanius?
@@2ToRamble Nah, this was my first Islington. I would try if you recommend it but I am not sure anymore.😔
Good morning
Morning!
Goats 🐐
The one I’ve waited for
The book was really good while reading it but once you finished it and look back to see what makes this book good, you find out that this book is nothing special. I only read it because a lot of people who loved red rising recommended this but it's nothing like red rising. I'll still read the next book though.
Glad youll still read on!
Sorry this book wasn’t for me… thanks for the review!! 😊
Thanks for watching!
You should read one piece!
Maybe fantasy isn’t for me. I enjoyed this book. Especially towards the end. But red rising is still above this for me. Not even too sure why I feel that way
Loved this book. The ending was so good. The audiobook just as amazing. Vis is a little bit of Gary Stu and too good at everything but he’s interesting which matters. 4.25/5 for me. Honestly, least favorite part, the tiny ass font size!
I mean....Democracy is cringe.
I just don’t get it. Didn’t like this book at all.
Its a good book but widely overrated, come on... it does have one of the GOAT book titles though
It is a sick title
Weird, feel like im the only one who thought it was pretty overrated
What would you rate it?
@@2ToRamble 3.5/5. Still a solid book, just didnt find it great. I thought the writing was a little janky and some of the dialogue felt forced/unreal
@@lukasa6374 Fair -- if the book wasn't raved about so much maybe you'd think more highly of it? Happens to me a bunch where Im like 'wait this is what ppl are fawning over?' -- totally get it
@@2ToRamble yeah that's true, goes both ways too, if i find a hidden gem i probably find it better than i would have if it was more mainstream
I hate this book. The magic system wasn't explained properly. The main character was too unbelievable. He was just 17 and he knows all the languages and everything there is to know. There were no real obstacles for him to face.
Everyone in the academy was helping him instead of focusing on their own ranking.
200 pages too long and didn't feel like it was an adult fantasy.
Ah darn - did you ever read Licanius and have thoughts on that as well?
@@2ToRamble no I didn't read that one. But I am sure it's better than will of the many. Any thing is better than that book even twilight.
Magic system was explained properly, most people seemed to understand it. Sounds like reader error. Main character definitely too good at some things, but he knows 3 languages, not "all". There were many obstacles for him to face, what do you even mean? Just because he accomplishes things doesn't mean there were no obstacles. This is an extremely lazy critique, do better.
And no, in fact most in the academy were against him, he had only 3 or 4 people helping him throughout his journey. I can name multiple points at which people were out to get him. Or do those not count? Most of his progress came from people outside the academy cheating to get him through, not from his friends in the Academy. Did you even read this?
Womp womp, colosseum and ending scenes are not scenes you get in YA. It has some adult themes, but its not grimdark so it's not "adult enough" for you I guess. Given the setting, of course a bunch of adult things aren't going to happen. But given the trajectory, its an apt label even if the first book doesn't delve as much into these themes.
I always hear people say they didn't like this book, but their critiques are always half assed, never elaborated upon, and easily debunked. You are being a contrarian for the sake of it.
@jackruth4406 Oh really then pls enlighten me on how the magic system works. What is conditional imbuing of will? How can someone who has never taken someone's will can use it?
And what obstacles ? The ones that were conveniently shoved aside? How many times did the main character lose? He git trained for two months before joining the academy, and that training led him to know all the answers and everything. Isn't it funny that none of the other kids were trained by their parents? lol
He even fought a combat that he had no training for. His friend helped him, and with that one day of training, he was able to beat the most dangerous fighter lol lol lol
3 languages hahahah 17 year old boy 😂
Everyone was focused on helping him for no good reason 😂 didn't they know only a few could go on top. They didn't focus on their own progress 😂
I mean, in normal academies, there is too much competition. No one shares their assignments and all.
This book is so bad that it makes twilight look good.