The Will of the Many by James Islington

Published 2023 · 237,405 words · about 17 hours at an average pace · Fantasy

How hard is The Will of the Many to read?

The Will of the Many scores 54 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it quite demanding. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.

Vocabulary: 48 out of 100
The vocabulary is relatively straightforward, with some invented terms related to the world's hierarchy (Princeps, Dimidius, Tertius, Quartus, Quintus, Sextus, Septimus, Octavus, Catenan). There are also some archaic words like 'matron' but the language is generally accessible and doesn't require specialized knowledge.
Sentence structure: 55 out of 100
The sentences vary in length and complexity, with some longer descriptive passages and dialogue. While there are some instances of nested clauses, the syntax is generally navigable and doesn't present significant challenges to understanding. The writing is more complex than The Great Gatsby but less complex than 2666.
Abstraction: 52 out of 100
The narrative balances concrete descriptions of the world and events with some exploration of themes like power, control, and identity. While the story is grounded in the protagonist's experiences, there are moments of reflection and social observation. The level of abstraction is similar to The Great Gatsby.
Information density: 58 out of 100
The book presents a moderate amount of information per page, requiring attention to the world-building and character relationships. The plot unfolds at a steady pace, with reveals and details that contribute to the overall understanding of the story. The information density is similar to The Great Gatsby.
Narrative indirection: 68 out of 100
The narrative requires some inference, particularly regarding the protagonist's past and motivations. The reader must piece together information from dialogue and actions to understand the full context of events. This is similar to Midnight's Children.
Symbolic density: 60 out of 100
There are some symbolic elements, such as the Sappers representing the exploitation of the many by the few, and the protagonist's scars representing past trauma. However, the symbolism is not overly dense or abstract, and the narrative remains relatively grounded in literal events. This is similar to The Great Gatsby.
Ironic distance: 40 out of 100
There is some ironic distance, particularly in the protagonist's observations of the Hierarchy and its members. However, the narrative is generally sincere in its portrayal of the protagonist's struggles and motivations. This is similar to War and Peace.
Resolution withholding: 62 out of 100
The ending leaves several questions unanswered, such as the true nature of Hospius's mission and the protagonist's ultimate fate. While the immediate conflict is resolved, the overall narrative arc remains open-ended, functioning as the first installment in a series. This is similar to The Great Gatsby.
Structural complexity: 45 out of 100
The structure is relatively straightforward, with a linear timeline and a single point of view. There are some flashbacks and shifts in setting, but the overall structure is easy to follow. This is similar to War and Peace.

How The Will of the Many is regarded

The Will of the Many holds a literary regard score of 23 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.

Where The Will of the Many sits in Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism

Placed by a full reading of the text (443 passages), not from reputation. Each verdict quotes the passage that earned it. On the axis from myth to irony, The Will of the Many scores 42 out of 100. A second mythos, irony, pulls at it with a weight of 0.3. About the map of stories.

Mode: High Mimetic
You just killed the leader of the Anguis and single-handedly stopped the most deadly attack on Caten in its history.
Symbol: Formal
It’s the great lie of the Hierarchy, proclaimed generation after generation by an ever-growing mob in thrall to the concept.
Mythos: Romance III (the quest) (romance iii)
Complete the journey, Warrior.
Genre: Romance + Novel + Confession
I’ve never ceded before—never once allowed my Will to be taken at one of the Aurora Columnae scattered around the Republic.

Where the story of The Will of the Many takes place

  • Catenan Academy, Solivagus island, 300+ years after the Cataclysm, the main setting
  • Letens Prison, theatre and orphanage, Tensia (southern Catenan province)
  • Caten, the capital, and Villa Telimus in Sarcinia
  • Suus, conquered island kingdom of Vis's childhood, trimester break
  • Obiteum, the copied world beyond the dome's gate

5 things that are true of The Will of the Many, with the passage for each

  1. The opening table ranks Catenan society by eight ranks, giving the Princeps 40,320 people ceding to him.

    40,320 PEOPLE

  2. Vis is secretly seventeen, two months older than the Hierarchy's records say.

    I’m seventeen years old in truth, as of two months ago

  3. Vis's fight against a Sextus in the Letens theatre lasts two minutes and thirty-seven seconds, though he bet on a shorter time.

    Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds.

  4. Estevan, the Anguis leader Melior, ends his own life with Vis's stylus by driving it into his brain.

    he’s twisting and thrusting the stylus upward, through his neck and deep into his brain.

  5. Vis wakes after the Iudicium to find his left arm amputated.

    There’s nothing attached to it.

Scenes in The Will of the Many that Frye would name

53 sightings of Frye's terms in the text. The strongest:

Anagnorisis, untitled
“Estevan?” He’s older, more grizzled and worse-dressed, and the beard is new. But it’s Estevan. Vis recognises the Anguis leader as his father's adviser and learns Sedotia knows who he is.
Sparagmos, untitled
And every person in that section—four, maybe five thousand people—explodes as one into a sickening, violent haze of crimson mist. Melior's weapon tears thousands apart in the stands.
Anagnorisis, untitled
It’s Sedotia. The woman who crashed the Transvect and shot Ulciscor. Ulciscor's wife is revealed to be the Anguis agent who controls Vis.
Katabasis, untitled
When I recover enough to scramble to my feet again, the platform has started to follow it down into the darkness. The platform carries Vis down beneath the red dome into the hall of the test.
Pathos, untitled
that I realise there’s no rise and fall to his chest Callidus dies in Vis's arms, the sacrificial death of the innocent ally.
Masque, untitled
It’s all choreographed, gaudy decoration for the screams and blood and desperation that will follow. The naumachia is a staged pageant of lanterns and ships before a crowd.

Books that share these scenes with The Will of the Many

About the author

James Islington