In 2023, James Islington’s The Will Of The Many (Saga Press) became one of the years best-selling fantasy novels. Between it’s pages, readers were introduced to the world of The Heirarchy, where people cede and manipulate the Will of others to achieve feats of magical engineering. It is a world of empire, subjugation, and exploitation, which was lauded for it’s exploration of compliance, multi-faceted characters, and mind-bending cliff-hanger ending.
Now, Islington has returned with the series’ sophomore entry, The Strength of the Few, which picks up with series protagonist, Vis Telimus — the orphaned prince of a conquered kingdom adopted into a powerful Catenan family — mere moments after the heart-breaking climax of The Will of the Many.
After graduating from the academy, winning the Iudicium and claiming the title of Domitor, Vis has given up his chance to flee the Hierarchy to instead dive deeper into it’s dark recesses of exploitation and corruption. He has one goal, to seek vengeance on those who have manipulated him, and justice for the death of a dear friend.
The Strength of the Few bares all the hallmarks that readers have come to expect from James Islington: complex characters, intricate worlds, and twisty plots. We are immersed back into a growing roster of characters, each vying for their own interests in a world that only values strength. And it’s through diving deeper into this world, that we begin to find answers — and even bigger questions — to the mysteries that have plagued Vis throughout the first instalment. Except this time, we are not dealing with a single protagonist, but three.
It is difficult to explain what makes The Strength of the Few special without spoiling the major twist in the epilogue of The Will of the Many. It’s a seismic event that pushes Islington’s new novel into unprecedented narrative territory. It truly is one of the best Fantasy plot twists in recent years, one that recontextualises everything following it and shaking up a well-executed — if somewhat familiar — plot of fantasy intrigue to set up one of the most unique sequels in recent memory.
Spoiler Warning for The Will Of The Many.
(You have been warned.)
In The Strength of the Few, we are no longer following one Vis Telimus, but three. Unbeknownst to him, our put-upon protagonist achieved Synchronism when he successfully ran the Labyrinth, and now copies of him exist across three different worlds: Res, Luceum, and Obiteum. Now the first person narrative jumps between each version of Vis on their own separate branching path towards the same end goal: to use his new found power to stop the coming Cataclysm.
This creates a unique viewpoint, and an interesting sense of disorientation that fades as the novel progresses. At first it is difficult to acclimatise to the new status quo, but I found myself appreciating the dramatic differences between the three worlds and the ways in which they introduced new elements to the world building. The structure is used to expand our understanding of Will, and to answer burning questions regarding the mysteries heaped upon young Vis. It’s an ambitious swing that succeeds thanks to Islington’s diligent execution.
The Strength of the Few is an ambitious novel, that dives deeper into the complex world of The Heirarchy and provides some much-needed answers, and even more interesting questions. New mysteries and more shocking twists will keep you hooked until the very last page. It’s darker, twistier, and riskier than it’s predecessor, and it’s all the better for it.
