Cassie Rief

Cassie Rief asked James Islington:

What's the best thing you've read so far this year? P.S. Thank you for bringing Will of the Many into existence. It's one of my top five favorite books of all time, and I cannot WAIT to see where the series goes!! Cheers!

James Islington I've actually, unfortunately, read very little to start this year! Largely because I've been doing a lot of copyediting and proofreading for The Strength of the Few, which means that by the end of the day, my brain has been kind of just done with words. But towards the end of last year I read Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang, and really enjoyed it - that's probably the first thing that comes to mind of my recent reads.

(And, as for what's next, I'm really looking forward to The Devils by Joe Abercrombie... only a couple of weeks away now!)

And, thank you!!

More Answered Questions

Laurel Ellis

Laurel Ellis asked James Islington:

Hi James! I got into Licanius through Michael Kramer audiobook, and WotM is currently my all-time fave book. I have two (slightly silly) questions: 1) There's a lot less 'acceding', 'inclined their head', 'companionable silence', and 'wry smiles' in WotM. How much of that is your natural growth as a writer vs the editor forcing you to change it? 2) Do you consider the name Dioggo (for Diago the Alupi) to be canon?

Caroline

Caroline asked James Islington:

This question contains spoilers… (view spoiler)

justMANGO

justMANGO asked James Islington:

When Licanius got as big as it did, did it come as a surprise to you? Did it create any pressure on the writing of Hierarchy, and do you have any tips for alleviating the daunting fear that readers won't like the next one as much as the last? (Asking from the perspective of a little-known fantasy author debuting in '26.) Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!

All answers from James Islington…

James Islington

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