The Strength of the Few

Hierarchy, Book 2

By: James Islington

Narrated by: Euan Morton

This highly anticipated follow-up to The Will of the Many—one of 2023’s most lauded and best-selling fantasy novels—follows Vis as he grapples with a dangerous secret that could unravel history across alternate dimensions.

Omne trium perfectum

The Hierarchy still call me Vis Telimus. Still hail me as Catenicus. They still, as one, believe they know who I am.

But with all that has happened—with what I fear is coming—I am not sure it matters anymore.

I am no longer one. I won the Iudicium and lost everything—and now, impossibly, the ancient device beyond the Labyrinth has replicated me across three separate worlds. A different version of myself in each of Obiteum, Luceum, and Res. Three different bodies, three different lives. I have to hide; fight; play politics. I have to train; trust; lie. I have to kill; heal; prove myself again, and again, and again.

I am loved, and hated, and entirely alone.

Above all, though, I need to find answers before it’s too late. To understand the nature of what has happened to me and why.

I need to find a way to stop the coming Cataclysm, because if all I have learned is true, I may be the only one who can.

©2025 James Islington (P)2025 Audible Inc.

Excellent continuation but…

… unfortunately I won’t be continuing the series. The world building and character growth are both master class. I was deeply invested in trying to analyze each of the worlds and how each has impacted our hero as he journeys through them. However, very near the end of this installment something happens that was so sudden and feels so arbitrary that I was just angry at myself for having gotten invested. My immersion was shattered and I couldn’t recover it. I advise caution to any for whom constant immersion is a core to enjoyment. I’m certain the story will otherwise impress completely.

Just amazing!

Wow! What a wild ride and so many pieces to put together. Probably my favorite book of the year and the audiobook was just as good.

Incredible

One of the best authors of all time. I devoured this audiobook and cannot wait for the next installment

A Good Story - Not What I Expected

I’ve never anticipated a sequel as much as this one. It was good and I recommend reading it, but I think my expectations may have been too high. I admit to being a little disappointed, it feels like a missed opportunity at a truly amazing series.

Part of the storyline went in a direction I didn’t care for and took some bad turns in my opinion, The meta narrative is solid and I’m still looking forward to the next book.

Enjoyable, fast-paced, but didn’t quite live up to book 1.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It was an ambitious book tackling the adventures of three Vis’ and three worlds. I think I came in with a little bit too much hope and excitement, and so I have some mixed feelings coming out of the book. The major issue I had was you spent so long caring and hating the hierarchy and then the stakes get bigger and then the stakes get bigger again. The enemy is no longer our enemy in the way that they are so small compared to the greater problem starting with Ka but leading to the concurrence. The world building took some time but following the three Vis’ and how they react to those world was interesting. I was hoping for a bit more around how each world would shape Vis and his personality and his dynamics. We definitely got this but it didn’t hit quite the way I would’ve liked and I think maybe that’s just because we didn’t get to spend enough time in the right places and some of these stories. I liked it but I didn’t love it in the same way that I loved the world of the many. Lastly, I know zombies are a part of the will of the many, but I wish it didn’t become the major plot point in the books. It just kind of feels like a bit of a cop out as a trope in my opinion, especially with characters coming back to life.