The Will of the Many

Author: James Islington

Who Picked the Book: Dara

One-sentence summary: An orphaned prince who is hiding his identity gets taken up in high stakes secret missions for both sides of the new regime's conflict, making a discovery that completely changes his understanding of his world.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: Good balance of dialogue to action.

Our least favorite thing about it: Hard to get into. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Ethics of Resistance, Friendship, Loyalty, Survival

Our favorite quote: “There comes a point in every man’s life where he can rail against the unfairness of the world until he loses, or he can do his best in it. Remain a victim, or become a survivor.”

Notes: The start of this book gave us the most trouble. Because it's an entirely new world, it (like other books of this genre) was confusing at first. And the plot took a while to ramp up, so it took us a while to care about the characters and what was going on. We actually felt that the first quarter of the book could have been shortened quite a bit without losing any of the history of the character. And the author makes no attempt - even later in the book - to really flesh out what "using people's wills" really is and how it works. That's not that important to the plot, but it kind of sits in the background, unknown. Most of us were able to just ignore this looming question. 

Distinguishing between the characters was hard for some of us as well. Those that listened had a harder time remembering who everyone was. Those that read (or did a combo of reading and listening) did not have as hard of a time. The names of the characters were unusual so that probably contributed to the overall confusion. In addition to this, it took us a while to care about the characters and some of us never quite got there. 

One of the best parts of the book as far as emotional weight and character development was when Vis is forced to travel back to Suus, his former home that was violently taken over by the current regime (who also killed his entire family). Wrestling with hiding his identity in this place, coupled with a budding relationship, and encountering his father's former advisor working for the Hierarchy - all of it carried such high stakes and emotional weight that this part of the book was one of the most interesting for us. 

And the ethical discussion of the resistance's (Anguis) tactics was both interesting and gave the book some depth. Likewise, Vis's discussion and revelations about his father's former advisor and the reality of life in Suus was insightful and nuanced as well. 

Overall, we enjoyed the story and thought it was interesting even though there were aspects that either took us out of the reading experience, made it harder, or just didn't interest us. Our next book club pick is the second book in this series, so we'll see how we like it!

Memorable Meeting Moments: This was our Christmas meeting and we painted Christmas paint by number canvases at Dara's house, played our Jeopardy game, opened gifts from each other, and discussed the book.

What We Ate: Melon, Prosciutto, and Balsamic Vinegar bites along with Fig Jam and Goat Cheese Crostini for appetizers. A festive and refreshing cocktail. Spinach salad, Steak with Asparagus and Butternut Squash Risotto. Pumpkin Dump Cake AND Brownies with Ice Cream for dessert.