The Strength of the Few - James Islington

Published by The Text Publishing Company: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2025.
Book 2 in 'The Hierarchy.' Preceded by 'The Will of the Many.'

The sequel to one of my top books from last year, The Strength of the Few picks up immediately from where the previous entry ended, without even bothering to give the sort of recaps and reminders that many sequels do. Motivations, loyalties and betrayals must therefore be recalled from Book 1, which, fortunately, do come back to mind as the book progresses.

Book 1 also ended in a very unusual situation, and one which made me curious as to how this second book could work. Mild spoilers for Book 1's ending fill the remaining review...

So, our main character, Vis, ended Book 1 by being split into three distinct individuals in three distinct worlds! In two of the worlds - the Egyptian-inspired Luceum and the Celtic-inspired Obiteum - he has lost an arm, while in the original Roman-inspired world he is from - Res - he has been gravely wounded and has lost one of his closest friends. Each version of Vis starts off with the same memories, but no idea what the next step in his journey is, or even what has happened to him; we only learn because one of the Vis's is befriended by Caeror - the long-thought-dead brother of his adopted father on Res - and Caeror understands.

As the book progresses, (at least one version of) Vis comes to understand that the state of being he now finds himself in is one called 'Synchronous,' and that this could conceivably give him abilities not available to individuals existing on only one of the worlds - particularly the three different types of Will-inspired magic that currently exist solely on one world each. He may also be able to free the three worlds from the influence of another Synchronous individual whom, it is believed, has been ruling from the shadows for centuries.

With so many parallel lives going on, I was worried that this entry would feel disjointed; I needn't have worried. As with Book 1, author James Islington manages to create a page-turning and intriguing entry that rises above the obvious tropes that it plays with. There are unexpected moments, including some violent and tragic deaths that I wish hadn't happened. The three version of Vis slowly become more unique, with their own friend groups, experiences, and possibly love interests, and each of them responds appropriately to the world they find themselves in.

Book 1 managed to leave things nicely tied up, but with room for a sequel. This book leaves each version of Vis in more of a 'cliffhanger', meaning that I hope the third book in the series comes about quickly.

With the first book arriving in 2023 at 600+ pages, and this book arriving last year at 707 pages, I am prepared to read the next in 2027.

Bring it on.

Completed 29 July 2026.

Previous Book ~ Next Book


('The Hierarchy' Series)

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