The Will of the Many by James Islington

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Was the 28 hour audiobook worth it? Yes.
Will I read the second in the series as soon as it is released? Also, yes.

A fast-paced, original re-imagining of ancient Rome with elements of The Hunger Games and dark academia.

In this alternate reality of Ancient Rome, Will—an individual's energy, —can be voluntarily or by force “ceded” to someone else. A single recipient can accept ceded Will from multiple people, growing in power towards superhuman levels. The people in positions of power, are also ceded the most Will, and those at the bottom are required to provide it. Our MC Vis wants to take the whole system down.

We have found family, overcoming both intellectual and physical obstacles, twists and turns. The pacing never lets up and I was never sure what would happen next. I knew this book ended on a cliffhanger, and I thought I could guess what it would be, but no. I could not guess.

The audiobook narrator, Euan Morton, was good, but gave our main character a strange accent with hard 'Rs' in some words but not others. I got used to it, but I still don't understand it. He did a good job with pacing and differentiating the many characters.

This book is best read on an old college campus, while sitting against an old building made of stone and listening in to conversations of your peers and teachers without them knowing.