Did I intentionally choose to read a sort of "overthrow the school/overthrow the government" as I finish up my semester? No...But I'm kind of glad that my hold came in at this time.

The Will of the Many is an epic SFF novel that's part dark academia, part revolution story. It reminded me of Babel if Babel was more sci-fi and focused on Roman structures/fighting instead of Orientalism and language. I put it on hold a few months ago because I was in the mood for something "revolution-y," and I think now that I've read it, I want more.
Vis has a secret: the Empire killed his family, and he wants revenge. After becoming embroiled in a plot to uncover a murder at the prestigious Academy, he assumes the role of an undercover spy and starts working his way up through the ranks of the school. The plot was a bit slow at times, with the main "academia" section not even starting until over 1/3 of the way through the book. I've seen some complaints saying that Vis was a bit too overpowered, and I agree that the stakes felt a bit low at times because Vis rarely seemed to struggle with anything. That being said, I did really enjoy the plot (for some reason, super competitive academia like this and Babel is my favorite kind) and the ending has me already searching Netgalley for book 2. The academia and revolution plots balanced pretty well; there was so much amazing commentary that I highlighted. The only things I didn't love were the pacing (like I said, it was kind of slow and dense) and the random romantic subplot. I kind of understand the point of it, but I didn't find it to be well-developed, and I didn't really enjoy it.
I was smart and found the dramatis personae at the end of the book before I started reading, which was immensely helpful while reading. A lot of the student side characters felt kind of vague and unimportant to me, including some that I probably should have known more about. As a protagonist, I really liked Vis because I tend to enjoy the perspectives of characters who are constantly hiding secrets. His narration style was also just generally enjoyable. I loved Callidus and Eidhin and their growing trio of friendship. They were probably my favorites overall, and I just really like their backstories and how their motivations complement Vis's. Aequa was another favorite of mine (she kind of reminded me of Aurelia from Mark of the Thief for some reason), and I'm hoping she gets more page-time in the future. I didn't really know most of the other Threes, but Emissa was pretty relevant, and I didn't like her at all. She felt manipulative to me and didn't have enough development for me to like her. I also have mixed feelings on Ulcisor (though I thought Lanistia was pretty cool). Overall, I just really like the characters, and I think they made the book even more fun to read.
Will of the Many is going to be living in my mind rent-free for the next few days, so if you're a fan of academia stories, revolution stories, or just super cool SFF concepts in general, it's definitely something to check out.

4.5/5