Hurts to say this, but this is kind of Red Rising but better?

Reading the first books of both series back to back was probably not the best idea because it made the similarities impossible to ignore. It also felt like The Will of the Many improves on many of the ideas Red Rising explores. That feels a little unfair to say since RR came out much earlier, but it doesn't change my reading experience. I should also clarify that only the first books are somewhat similar, as the second books take the two series in completely different directions. To be fair, TWOTM is also about twice as long as RR, giving it much more time to develop its characters, world, and central conflicts, which I think was necessary. I can also see why some people would think it's too long. I initially had the motivation to compare these two on a more detailed level, but since I DNFed the second book of RR, I sadly don't have the motivation to do that anymore.

Both books follow a young man who adopts a false identity to infiltrate an elite academy run by the very people responsible for destroying his life. Much of the tension comes from maintaining that disguise while navigating a world built by his enemies.

Because the two books are built around such a similar premise, they also share many of the same weaknesses, but I felt that TWOTM handled almost all of them better. Vis's intelligence and talent felt much more believable to me than Darrow's. Female characters don't play a particularly large role in either book, but at least TWOTM avoids the unnecessary sexual violence that bothered me in RR.

It is definitely a long book, but I was engaged the entire time. It takes a while before Vis even arrives at the academy, but I never found myself getting bored. The ending left me with one giant question mark, and I have a feeling book two is going to get very weird. I'm definitely excited to continue the series.

My hatred for this book is indescribable. I already went into it knowing the first 80% would drag, and I tried to keep an open mind. Ironically, while reading this book, I had no strong emotions whatsoever. My hatred for it actually grew over the following weeks because I wasn't able to write down my thoughts. I read reviews. I watched YouTube videos about it. Everyone told me this book destroyed them because of how sad it was. That it's the best modern Greek retelling out there. Even when I tried to step away from this book, the name Achilles randomly popped up in other contexts. This book truly haunted me like an arch-nemesis or some shit.

Now I can finally say it: I don't get it. THIS is supposed to be the big queer representation of a tragic love story in modern books? I don't even know where to start.

Calling the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus a relationship at all is already ambitious. Calling it a romance is borderline delusional. THESE TWO CHARACTERS BARELY TALK TO EACH OTHER. Why does Achilles choose Patroclus? Why does Patroclus like Achilles besides the fact that he is the warrior his father always wanted him to be? How is a romance supposed to work when they are not even interesting characters on their own? Why does the back of the book talk about a sexy romance when these two characters are children for most of the book?

I think my main issue is the fact that a lot of what this book is doing would not be an issue in a short story, but for some reason, this is a 300-page book. The actual plot could unironically have been cut by 50%, maybe even more. I would even go as far as to say that the last 20% of this book could work on its own. I don't think all the pages before that enhanced my experience of the ending in any way.

I do not care about these characters. Therefore, I do not care about the ending or how we got there. I was actually kind of surprised that, in this epic Greek retelling, the way some of these characters die is kind of anticlimactic and random. Welp, maybe that was supposed to subvert expectations or something.

If I wanted to be even meaner, I would say there is some sort of psychological effect going on, because how are so many of you already scared of a character dying that you were just introduced to? I feel like the overall reputation this book has for being incredibly sad evokes feelings in people that the book doesn't earn on its own.

Don't even get me started on how this book treats the female characters. They are either despicable, hateful characters who want Achilles and Patroclus apart, or they are slaves with Stockholm syndrome that the book tries to sell as natural romantic development.

I have not read the Iliad, but some of the changes this book made that I have read about also seem kind of weird to me. I won't go into detail about that here. Maybe later, when I actually read the original.

If you liked this book, good for you. I despised it and will never touch a Greek retelling again.

Never in my life has a book helped me through a bad time more than this one. This book was much easier to follow than the first one, since we already know the terminology and how the world works. Ana is such a fun character. Although she can be an asshole, Dean perfectly balances that out. I had so many different theories while reading. Even though the case becomes increasingly complex as the story goes on, I never felt lost. I also liked how the mystery is almost split into two parts after a major discovery around the halfway point.

One criticism I kept seeing in reviews was that the Empire is portrayed too positively. The Empire presents itself as orderly and civilized, but beneath that façade, it is deeply controlling, classist, and willing to sacrifice people for its own interests. Our two main characters are among those who suffer because of the system, and the ending especially makes that clear. The Empire offers a form of stability, but that stability comes at a tremendous cost. If anything, I feel like the series is building toward exposing just how dark the Empire really is, rather than arguing that it is morally superior. Just because the two main characters don't openly criticize the Empire doesn't mean the story endorses it or suggests it's better than Yarrow.

That aside, I can't wait to read the next book and I think this is very close to being the perfect fantasy murder mystery. My only real criticism is that I wish the characters had more personal struggles outside of the case. I really like them, but the story is so focused on solving the mystery that there aren't many opportunities for quieter, character-driven moments.

Ein wirklich seltsames Buch und das meine ich im besten Sinne. Ich bin komplett blind reingegangen und konnte bis ungefähr zur Hälfte überhaupt nicht greifen, worauf die Geschichte eigentlich hinauswill.

Ich hatte außerdem das ganz seltsame Erlebnis, dass das Buch immer wieder höchst detailliert die Atmosphäre und die Einrichtung von Räumen beschreibt, ich aber trotzdem überhaupt kein klares Bild davon im Kopf hatte. Je mehr Informationen ich bekam, desto verwirrter wurde ich. Die Lore dieser Welt hat mich am Ende dann aber richtig abgeholt, gerade weil sie nicht übererklärt wird und man sich vieles selbst erschließen muss.

Das Highlight des Buches sind ganz klar Gideon und Harrow. Vor allem Gideon als Hauptprotagonistin macht einfach Spaß und hilft einem definitiv dabei, durch den sehr mysteriösen Anfang zu kommen. Selten habe ich ein Verhältnis gesehen, das gleichzeitig so eng miteinander verwoben und so abgefuckt ist.

Das Ende ist wirklich stark und bietet sehr viel Potenzial für Band zwei, den ich auf jeden Fall lesen werde.

I really liked the writing in this, although I could definitely feel that some of it got lost in the German translation. I enjoyed the atmosphere, and the book also doesn't overstay its welcome. That said, I'd be lying if I said it made me feel anything extraordinary. I honestly can't even pinpoint what kept this from being a better book for me. Maybe it should have been longer? Or maybe it just left me with too many unanswered questions? I'm not sure.

Why did nobody tell me this was written by a man? :(

Okay, jokes aside, it is still remarkable that a story like this was written in that time period. I'm not entirely sure if the author intended it to become the iconic sapphic vampire book that people make it out to be, though.

I also felt like the ending was kind of anticlimactic. Well, I don't really know what else to say. Maybe I'm just an uncultured bitch who's not able to appreciate this book for what it is. 😭

Ach ja, und täglich grüßt die gleiche Romantasy.

Den Anfang und die Prämisse fand ich wirklich nicht schlecht. Leider musste ich nach 15% feststellen, dass man die gesamte Story schon erahnen kann, weil das Buch wirklich nach dem gleichen Schema F arbeitet wie die meisten Bücher dieses Genres. Die Romance war überhaupt nicht organisch und es gab ebenfalls keine wirklich interessanten Figuren.

Ich habe das Hörbuch auch nur gehört, weil es von meiner Lieblingserzählerin gelesen wurde. Sonst wäre die Bewertung vielleicht sogar noch schlechter ausgefallen.

Truly delightful reading experience.

I heard that this book is marketed as a thriller in some countries, which honestly makes no sense to me. Thankfully, I went into it without that expectation and had a great time. It's a slow, quiet novel, yet I found myself reading it pretty quickly.

I loved the interactions between all the characters. They are not always kind to one another, but that's exactly what made them feel so authentic. Isabel is admittedly a little irritating at the beginning, but in a way that kept me engaged rather than frustrated. As the story unfolded, I found myself understanding her more and more, which made her character arc especially rewarding. The house itself almost feels like another character. Its detailed descriptions add so much atmosphere and depth to the story, making it impossible to separate the setting from the narrative.