Liya

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Liya’s Bookshelves

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Liya is Currently Reading

Liya is currently reading

Dread Nation (Dread Nation, #1)

by Justina Ireland (Goodreads Author)

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Aug 31, 2026 01:45PM

Liya is currently reading

The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1)

by James Islington (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in July 2024

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Liya said: " Rating to the book will change (higher or lower) depending on how the rets of the series work out.

I don't read a lot of "big books" so when I do devour one in a week, the credit is due.

This fantasy book inspired by the roman empire put my mind thro Rating to the book will change (higher or lower) depending on how the rets of the series work out.

I don't read a lot of "big books" so when I do devour one in a week, the credit is due.

This fantasy book inspired by the roman empire put my mind through a paper shredder with the plot developments and especially the ending. The urge to study Islington's brain under a microscope for the extensive depth of the word building and 'magic' (reluctant as I am to call it that) system is manic.

The protagonist Vis is a bit of a mary sue but it's hard to hold it against him when he is put in such a strenuous spot by the plot point and world building; it's one of cases where you can visible see the lack but because of so much of everything else that is going around, it almost becomes irrelevant.

In hindsight, I can see that most of this book is a set up for the rest of the series. You end the book with more questions than you began and half your original questions still unanswered (I do not say this as praise). But it's got me way too invested in the world and scenario to ever end my journey halfway.

The way the 'will' and the society works is reminiscent of Ursula K's the ones who walk away from from Omelas, except... there is no where to walk away to, so the society is arrested in the cycle despite knowing the price they have to pay.

There are a lot of themes discussed in the book and for a lot of them it's not explored in the potential it deserves. It'd be a concept mentioned in one chapter to never appear again until someone wants to establish their moral superiority later on. There is no expansion on things you'd assume to be the central theme of the story (ethics of resistance, class disparity, the nature of rise and fall of empires, how society doesn't experience guilt when evil is normalized) given that it is a roman empire-esque setting. But wherever I do see the theme being built upon (survival vs pride, human loneliness, achievements in a corrupt system), I absolutely eat that shit up because it's so wonderfully done. The execution is subtle and thought out and you can see glimpses of it throughout the book as it builds on top of each chapter.

tldr: I loved a lot of things about the book and plot is #1. The characters and relationships aren't anything remarkable but I enjoyed it enough and given the setting, it would make sense why it is the way it is. But I wish there was more depth in the narrative and hopefully will get SOME ANSWERS in the next book. ...more "

Jul 04, 2024 08:34AM · see review