The sequel to The Will of the Many, Islington continues the series with some serious heat. School is out and the world is reeling from the events of the Iudicium. Well I should say worlds because our main man has been copied to two other worlds. Luceum and Obiteum. The Vis we know on Res has to deal with the lack of trust throughout the Hierarchy while the other two have to learn to survive in strange lands. While three separate stories featuring the same main character could be confusing, especially since Vis has literally 5 different names, the small icons at the start of each chapter help the reader differentiate them from the beginning. Not to mention how drastically different each world is.

Res features the Hierarchy so politics are at the forefront at first, while Obiteum features some stealthy espionage and Luceum finds Vis in a land that seems tribal in nature. Each land also has different utilization of Will, which further differentiates each scenario. At first I was skeptical if these three narratives would each be interesting in their own right, but Islington paces them all very well. If nothing’s happening in one world, he focuses on one (or both) of the others and when we get to see the world that was out of focus for a bit, time has passed. It keeps them all linked on the timeline with a steady progression that cuts out the boring parts. There were times where it cuts away from an important moment in one story to check in on another, which could be frustrating to some, however, if the scenario is especially dire, it gets back to it quickly. Sometimes chapters in a world will be short, and they're never too long that you forget what the other Vis are doing, which I find to be masterful in the crafting of the multilayered narrative here.

This entry has some heavy moments and I found myself getting really emotional at certain moments. The dynamics of each Vis’ situation was weighing on different parts of my mind throughout the story. I was worried, frustrated and excited along with each of them throughout their journeys. I would have liked to see more overlap in the events of the worlds, but I have a feeling that’s going to be a big part of the next book, so I can wait. This novel completely encompassed my mind while reading and in my daily life. Each world was so different from the rest that I really wanted to figure out what was going on. It takes strong worldbuilding for me to become this invested and I’m in this for the long haul now. If you read this and haven’t read the first novel, shame, but also go pick it up and dive into this world (these worlds?) with me!