REVIEW
This was so good! I went in with really high expectations as I'd heard great things about it, and I was not disappointed. So far, this is my favorite book of the year.
The magic system:
While this was fairly minimal, it also felt like a breath of fresh air. There was a mysterious aspect about how this worked since a lot was left to be discovered even by the people that use Will. I thought it was a very inventive as well. I'd never quite read a magic system like the Hierarchy where the strict rules weren't provided but I was still able to understand how it was used.
The worldbuilding:
Islington built this world so damn well. I was super intrigued right off the bat with his creation of a jail with sappers that just drain the will and energy from the people trapped there. It set up the world as savage, brutal, and strict. The Academy was also very interesting, with it not being set up by age groups, but rather having the students move to progressively harder classes based on how well they perform. It isn't only how they perform in the classes, but how well they are able to use the rules to their advantage. The society that Islington set up is first-class. It sucked me in and left me wanting to discover everything I could.
The characters:
This is some of the best character work that I've read all year. I've heard people complain that Vis is a Gary Stu, and I have to say I disagree somewhat. Is Vis hypercompetent in many areas? Yes, but due to his background, it makes sense that he would be good at certain things. I think his capabilities are well explained and make sense within this world. He also is shown as not the best at a lot of things. He is able to overtake competitors and other students not solely due to his skill, but because he is able to manipulate the rules to his advantage, and others disadvantage. He is shown to struggle, to fail, to overcome, and to work extremely hard to progress. He also has many personal flaws. He is envious, he has anger issues, he skirts the rules, and he is far from perfect.
Now, this book is EXTREMELY character driven. I happen to love character driven books, so this felt like it was written for me. The worldbuilding (my 2nd favorite piece of fantasy) got me hooked, but the characters kept me hooked. I have grown tired of the enemies-to-lovers trope, and I'm so glad this didn't have a huge romance focus. Instead, it had one of my all-time favorite tropes, enemies-to-friends. Books about strong friendships are some of the best in my opinion, and Islington hit the nail on the head with this one.
I won't spoil the ending but it was one of those that blew my mind. I was unable to start another book for a few days simply because I kept thinking about this one. I wish the series was finished, but I'm glad I get to reread this one before the next one.
If I had one complaint, it's that the font was so small I had to put on my bifocals. It was teeny tiny and I have no idea why.
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