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The Will of the Many
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IBR - The Will of the Many by James Islington
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It struck me on my first read that this book has some truly excellent worldbuilding. It doesn't seem any less so on a re-read.I'm liking the idea of how the use of Will is structured. I'm guessing the author was probably influenced by similar uses of mana, and tweaked it to suit his ideas.
It's funny really, because there is actually nothing at all original about this book, but it does everything it has borrowed exceedingly well, and I'm really enjoying the read! Again.
Also, props to audio narrator Euan Morton. He does an excellent job with this!(Just found out he's Young Sheldon's real life dad. This tickled me for some reason...)
Who said there are no more original ideas to be had? Isn't it funny how sometimes when you recognize the source code (so to speak) it bothers you, and sometimes it doesn't? It didn't bother me on my first read of this, if I remember correctly. I am going to listen to the audio this time, starting today. I am looking forward to Mr. Morton's dulcet tones in my ears.
I guess it all depends on how closely the story follows another book, or if the author made it their own.I read The Sword of Shannara not so long ago, which was just about a carbon copy of the story of The Lord of the Rings. I prefer a smidge more originality than that! borrow elements from another author by all means, but do something different with them!
It's one of the reasons I'm not a big romance fan. They seem to ALL be the same!
I'm not very far into the story but have enjoyed what I've listened to so far.I'm not surprised about the world building. I've read Islington's other series which is great. It's certainly world and plot driven so I am expecting the same here.
I'm really enjoying my re-read. Probably even more than the first time!I guess already being familiar with how everything works helps with knowing what's going on from the beginning (there's so much info being imparted it can be tricky, especially as an audio), so therefore less taxing to follow.
A very annoying thing with books like these on audio though, is having absolutely NO idea how to spell character's names! Besides Vis, they're all a bit fuzzy, which doesn't help with listing options for UNO 😆
Well between it working for 7 (Vis) and 5 (Islington) I’m not worried much about other options 😂
true, but I like it when they have AAALLLLLLL the options 😆
Sammy wrote: "true, but I like it when they have AAALLLLLLL the options 😆"Same!
And done!I definitely found this one more exciting on a re-read, which as I mentioned I think is due to already being familiar with the world and not having to try and figure stuff out.
I know some people have complained about Vis being a Gary Stu, but I actually like having an MC who doesn't constantly make stupid decisions for once!
And now impatiently waiting for book 2!
Who is Gary Stu? I hate not knowing a reference.I have about an hour left on audio, but got distracted last night by other stuff.
I am enjoying the reread as well. I do like the narrator on the audio.
I keep wanting to have Vis catch a break. Absolutely everyone wants something from him, or expects something from him. I think he does an admirable job of navigating all of the crap thrown his way.
And, that labyrinth. Having gone to public school, with no "will" or magic, or stuff like that. I wonder what adding something like that would be like.
Having to use the skills one has learned in school to get through a scary place. Maybe escape rooms should be part of school curricula in classes these days. Critical thinking doesn't seem to be part of the lesson plans anymore, so maybe this would get people thinking.
Not sure why I just went down that rabbit hole.
Anyway, if I remember from the first read, the ending of this book is a puzzler. I am looking forward to the next one as well.
Gary Stu is the male version of a Mary Sue. i.e. Impossibly perfect at everything.
Remembering what I do of my school days, I think Hunger Games was probably closer 😆
Damn girl. You went to a rough school!
You could say that! 😆Anyone else having trouble accessing book pages? GR is being a pain again!
A bit, but seems to be working okay now
Sammy wrote: "I'm really enjoying my re-read. Probably even more than the first time!I guess already being familiar with how everything works helps with knowing what's going on from the beginning (there's so m..."
probably moot at this point, but here's at least a short list of character names:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wil...
That's very useful, thanks!I have a column for character names in my book tracker SS, so I'll have them for future reads 😁
Damn, that sounds like organization. I wish I had that gene.
It helps to have someone who knows what they are doing set up the SS. After that it's just data input whenever you read a book. I'm also adding for my read library, but just a few a day. it'll take me a couple of years, but that's ok. When I'm done I'll be able to search my entire library quickly for names (I even highlight dog names, because those tasks keep popping up in the maze! 😆), cover items/colours, whether it's a good book for food, defenestration...I've even got 2 page count columns, for edition and default counts. I know they do change, but few enough of them do and it's a start for turf 😁
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Once you get the hang of how stuff works it should get easier. 😁
I've gotten to the part where he's at the school and went into the ruins for the first time.I'm really enjoying the read and the narrator is doing a great job on the audio.
Yes, I think he's pretty excellent!I'm looking forward to book 2, which was supposedly coming out later this year, but so far there is no peep yet, not even a cover!
I just listened to the part with the wolf pup. I hope they meet again in future. Vis could use a loyal companion
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The labyrinth is interesting!
I finished it yesterday, that ending was wild. Book 2 please! Right now, thanks 😊
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Books mentioned in this topic
The Sword of Shannara (other topics)The Lord of the Rings (other topics)
The Will of the Many (other topics)
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