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A Conversation with James Islington (Author of The Licanius Trilogy and The Will of the Many)

Hi everyone! Today's video will be a conversation with one of my favorite authors, James Islington. A few days ago, I chatted with James Islington about his soon-to-be-released novel, The Will of the Many. I will assume some of you know how much I loved The Licanius Trilogy and The Will of the Many.
Not gonna lie, The Will of the Many is still my favorite book of the year! You can check out my spoiler-free review of the novel on my channel. In the meantime, in today's video, Islington will discuss some aspects, inspirations, and the differences in writing The Will of the Many compared to The Licanius trilogy. We also discuss the benefits of self-publishing vs traditional publishing, and how much we love The Kingkiller Chronicle and Red Rising Saga.
My review of The Will of the Many: • The Will of the Many b...
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Пікірлер: 99

  • @BooksRebound
    @BooksRebound Жыл бұрын

    I'm dying to know how long it'll be before book 2 comes out. Will of the Many was sooo mindblowingly incredible.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    I'm dying for the sequel, too! James said 2024 will be when Strength of the Few comes out! 😁

  • @Antonio-wd3ok

    @Antonio-wd3ok

    5 ай бұрын

    @@PetrikLeo Do you know if early, mid or late 2024?

  • @migg201204

    @migg201204

    4 ай бұрын

    ​@@Antonio-wd3okBook 1 was May 23 and he has confirmed recently that book 2 is done and sent to publish so I would imagine a release date will be coming soon. My guess would be between Nov 24 - Jan 25

  • @Nathan-vt1jz

    @Nathan-vt1jz

    28 күн бұрын

    Same. I’ve never been so excited for a sequel in a series.

  • @JARHuygebaert
    @JARHuygebaert Жыл бұрын

    I just finished The Will of the Many and it's gonna be my favorite book of the year, no doubt

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Yessss! It will be hard to find a new release to top this one this year!

  • @Nathan-vt1jz
    @Nathan-vt1jz28 күн бұрын

    It’s incredible that the Licanius Trilogy were literally his first three novels!

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    28 күн бұрын

    @@Nathan-vt1jz i know right!?? And The Will of the Many is even better!

  • @Nathan-vt1jz

    @Nathan-vt1jz

    28 күн бұрын

    @@PetrikLeo agreed!

  • @teddited9682
    @teddited968212 күн бұрын

    Loved, loved, loved The Will of the Many!!!

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    12 күн бұрын

    Such an AMAZING book!!

  • @ferraghost
    @ferraghost7 ай бұрын

    The Will of the Many is definitely the book of the year for me and the year had just begun, can't imagine anything topping it. I will "patiently" wait for book 2 while I dive into The Licanius Trilogy for the first time. Thank you for doing this interview! had a blast watching it.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    7 ай бұрын

    You're welcome! Well, book 2 is slated to come out this year, so it might end up topping The Will of the Many. So exciting! :)

  • @Syko1985
    @Syko1985 Жыл бұрын

    That story about Patrick Rothfuss giving James a ton of help on his book before he even got published was brilliant, Patrick is such a great guy and that fact he dedicated so much of his own time to help a guy out with his first book is very heart warming and awesome. I am an even bigger fan of the man now after hearing that story.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    I am surprised to hear that, too. A wonderful story! :)

  • @jaceygaither2581
    @jaceygaither25816 ай бұрын

    His prose is incredible. I read a lot of fantasy, and I'm generally more focused on plot and character. Love Sanderson despite the more basic prose and vocabulary. But the way Will of the Many is written so beautifully and has some amazing story beats to boot. His vocabulary is phenomenal. I'm only about halfway through and so far my only minor complaint is that the characters don't feel terribly fleshed out, but hopefully that will change as the series progresses.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    6 ай бұрын

    There's something about Islington's prose that is capable of pulling me into the narrative quickly. And don't worry, the characters will get more fleshed out in the second half of the book. I already want to do a second read of it! :)

  • @detlef3000
    @detlef300026 күн бұрын

    James Islington is such a good author. "Will of the Many" was my favorite book of 2024. Way better than Red Rising. Licanius Trilogy was very cool too.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    26 күн бұрын

    @@detlef3000 Yup. I completely agree. It's inspired by Red Rising but it's even better!

  • @MaxFidler
    @MaxFidler Жыл бұрын

    I am about 100 pages into The Will of the Many- and between what I have read so far and the Licanius Trilogy Mr. Islington is an auto-buy author for me.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    As it should be. Enjoy! The Will of the Many is WILD! :D

  • @book_scent
    @book_scent Жыл бұрын

    Ooooh, watching this immediately!! The Licanius Trilogy is one of my absolute favorites and The Light of All That Falls is also one of the (if not THE) best endings to a series I've ever read! I can't wait to get to The Will of the Many this year 🤩

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you, Karin! The Light of All That Falls is amazing. And The Will of the Many is as good or maybe even better! :)

  • @book_scent

    @book_scent

    Жыл бұрын

    @@PetrikLeo I have a feeling I will love The Will of the Many as well! 👀 Your review and this author interview certainly have me hyped even more!! 😁 Thank you for this very interesting & insightful content 😃

  • @craiglooney8220
    @craiglooney8220 Жыл бұрын

    The Licanius Trilogy is one of my favorite trilogies of all time (right up there with Mistborn), and The Will of the Many is my #1 most anticipated book of 2023. Can't wait to dive in. Thanks for the interview!!

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    You're welcome! Thank you so much for checking out the interview. Like you, I'm a fan of The Licanius Trilogy, and now that I've read The Will of the Many, I'm confident you'll love it, too! :)

  • @StannisBaratheonOTK
    @StannisBaratheonOTK Жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the conversation. Was great to hear from James and get his perspective. I very, very often think back to the Licanius Trilogy. It was perhaps my favorite fantasy trilogy. Started at the perfect time, not long after Light of All That Falls came out and finished the trilogy in a few weeks. Just finished The Will of the Many, and it was somehow even better.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    You're welcome! Like you, I'm a fan of a Licanius trilogy. I was so amazed by how good The Will of the Many was. It definitely was better than The Shadow of What was Lost!

  • @bwazi24
    @bwazi24 Жыл бұрын

    Just finished the will of the Many . Loved it so much..waiting on book 2

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Heck yeahh! Glad to hear you loved The Will of the Many! 😃

  • @talkamardesh7562
    @talkamardesh7562 Жыл бұрын

    Love James Islington, got his book delivering in the mail for tomorrow’s release!!

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Hell yeah! Enjoy it. It's my book of the year so far! :)

  • @talkamardesh7562

    @talkamardesh7562

    Жыл бұрын

    @@PetrikLeo starting tonight 😈

  • @alexfrederick3404
    @alexfrederick3404 Жыл бұрын

    I haven't read anything by this guy, but I will now. Sounds like something I will love. Thanks for doing this interview.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    You're welcome! His books are must try, imo. :)

  • @andreabknight
    @andreabknight Жыл бұрын

    I am a newbie fantasy author and it is great to hear James's story and how all those challenges arise and how you get through them writing-wise. Thanks Petrik and James!

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    You're welcome! Good luck with your book, too. And thanks for all the support you gave me! :)

  • @jordendarrett1725
    @jordendarrett1725 Жыл бұрын

    As a writer, this is extremely interesting and also useful to listen to. I enjoy hearing authors sharing their struggles the same as my own, and James seems like an awesome person

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you! Glad you found the chat useful, Jorden! :)

  • @ronaldwatson3862
    @ronaldwatson3862 Жыл бұрын

    Islington seems like a real one - 'fessing to challenges and fears when writing his first books. Great interview, Petrik! Happy coincidence - I recently ordered The Shadow of What Was Lost and it's on my TBR for June.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much! I like how genuine James is regarding his work. It seems meant to be that you got The Shadow of What Was Lost! :D

  • @cipriansirbu3699
    @cipriansirbu3699 Жыл бұрын

    Wow,this is quite a surprise,never seen James in a interview before,he seems such a nice guy.I loved The Licanius trilogy,it only took halfway through The Shadow of What Was Lost to decide that everything he writes is a instant buy for me.I have pre-ordered The will of the Many last month,both the kindle and hardcover edition and even if the last will arrive on a later date,I'm very eager to start tomorrow the eBook,thank you Petrik for this awesome interview.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    You're welcome, and thank you so much! Yeah, it took me some time get the schedule down with James, but I'm happy we managed to do it. The Shadow of What was Lost is arguably his weakest work, you're going to have a blast reading his books! :D

  • @fcsolis
    @fcsolis Жыл бұрын

    OK, this is the impetus to get started reading the Red Rising series. Thank you.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    You're welcome. Red Rising Saga is awesome. :)

  • @esmayrosalyne
    @esmayrosalyne Жыл бұрын

    This was a wonderful chat, thanks so much for sharing!! I am so so so excited for The Will of the Many, because I have a feeling it might just become an instant new favourite. Licanius was such a unique fantasy story, so I can't wait to see what Islington has cooked up for us this time around 🤩

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    You're welcome, Esmay! Thank you for watching. I hope you'll love The Will of the Many as much as I did! :)

  • @safinan8008
    @safinan8008 Жыл бұрын

    Wow 😯 what fantastic video! I liked his books! Happy reading to you!! 😊📖

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you! I love his books, too! 😄

  • @Kaiju_Roo45
    @Kaiju_Roo45 Жыл бұрын

    I am just about to start The Will of the Many - this was great to hype me up even more :)

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Haha that's awesome! I hope you'll enjoy reading the book! 😄

  • @liamdegnan5949
    @liamdegnan5949 Жыл бұрын

    Petrik! I started reading your goodreads reviews probably 7 years ago. I’m rarely on there anymore, but I actually looked up an interview with James this morning to get some context on the new book, and was so pleasantly surprised to find you on here. Congratulations on the growth of your channel on here. You always have great reviews and great content.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Aww thank you so much, Liam! Very kind of you to say that. I hope you'll love The Will of the Many! :)

  • @thepussycat66
    @thepussycat66 Жыл бұрын

    OMG, I am so excited to watch this interview. I love his books.😍 I am so happy to see him on your channel, Petrik!

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much, Kari! It was an honor to have James on the channel! :)

  • @thepussycat66

    @thepussycat66

    Жыл бұрын

    @@PetrikLeo You did so well! I am so excited that his new book is out today. 😍

  • @jcmberne
    @jcmberne Жыл бұрын

    This was a great interview, Petrik! Great questions.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much, Joe! :D

  • @hungryberry2754
    @hungryberry2754 Жыл бұрын

    James Islington is such a great guy, and quite a good author too! I finished 'The Light of All That Falls' just this morning, loved the series, especially the first two books, can't wait to see what he comes up with for Dezia's story! I am curious to see his take on the fantasy academia genre. Keep up the great work Petrik!

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you! I will do my best. And glad to hear you enjoyed The Licanius trilogy. James said it's possible he will return to writing Dezia's story once he's done with Hierarchy! :)

  • @molybdenum1441
    @molybdenum1441 Жыл бұрын

    Огромное спасибо за интервью с любимым автором!💙 Надеюсь, у нас когда-нибудь издадут "The Will of the Many".

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    You're welcome! :)

  • @irishknight6893
    @irishknight6893 Жыл бұрын

    I have never read any of his books but thanks to you I plan to read Will of The Many, so awesome to hear he is a big Red Rising and KingKiller Chronicles fan! Love how Pat Rothfuss personally helped him out with his first book!

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    That's great! I truly hope you'll love The Will of the Many, too! :)

  • @Nathan-vt1jz

    @Nathan-vt1jz

    28 күн бұрын

    If only Pat would finish his own book!

  • @TylerTMiles
    @TylerTMiles Жыл бұрын

    Listening to this on my run later. Hoping to have my upcoming self-publishing debut included in one of your videos too! 🤞🏽

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Enjoy! For your book, I can't promise anything. I have a LOT of spotlights to put into each episode already.

  • @NutsForBooks
    @NutsForBooks Жыл бұрын

    James seems like such a nice guy. Have had The will of the many preordered for quite some time(will be my first Islington book). Im scared that im hyping the book too much in my mind :P

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Hahaha! I absolutely loved the book. And I truly hope you and many readers will as well! :)

  • @NutsForBooks

    @NutsForBooks

    Жыл бұрын

    @@PetrikLeo Just coming back here after finishing the book. You didnt steer me wrong Petrik! 5 star read, easily. Too bad its going to be another year for the follow up :P Very interesting ending too.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    @@NutsForBooks yeah, it will be a pain waiting for the next book after that ending! 😂 Glad you loved it!

  • @GrapplingBook
    @GrapplingBook Жыл бұрын

    The Will of the Many is the best book I read since Empire of the Vampire. Amazing through and through

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    It's much better than EotV, imo, and I highly enjoyed that book!

  • @TheRealMrWolf
    @TheRealMrWolf Жыл бұрын

    One of my absolute favorite trilogies

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you! The Will of the Many is amazing!

  • @TheRealMrWolf

    @TheRealMrWolf

    Жыл бұрын

    @@PetrikLeo I really need to order it soon, but no idea where from since Book Depository closed down :S

  • @aden.e
    @aden.e Жыл бұрын

    HELL YEAH 🙌🙌🙌

  • @aden.e

    @aden.e

    Жыл бұрын

    only a few minutes in and this is so fantastic petrik! i havnt seen any interviews with james so this is amazing

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    This took some time to arrange! I'm glad I got to chat with him. Hopefully, you and other viewers will enjoy watching it! :)

  • @guruthosamarthruin4459
    @guruthosamarthruin4459 Жыл бұрын

    The Runelords is the first series I bought myself, and I bought it just based on the cover. lol. It was a good series, but unfortunately the final book was never finished.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    I heard the author passed away before he got the chance to finish the series. :(

  • @misomiso8228
    @misomiso822812 күн бұрын

    I read somewhere that James worked in Tech before hand. Does he now live off writing or does he still do tech work to pay the bills? ty

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    12 күн бұрын

    @@misomiso8228 live off writing!

  • @sgtslick7
    @sgtslick7 Жыл бұрын

    I haven't read the will of the many yet but the magic system definitely reminds me of Asha from licanius and the shadows. Its funny hearing him talk about the magic system and how it couldn't be applied to the licanius world. At first glance however, it sounds very similar to the shadows being sucked of power to be given to 'higher ups' and to an extend how the venerate are drained to supply the boundary too. On a sidenote the system as its described definitely gives me Marxist vibes maybe its just me and having studied cultural studies at uni so I maybe see this everywhere 😄 What I mean is the oppressed majority who are sucked of their power; will or won't rise up but its more about how this inequity exists. Marxist theory is all about how cultural works produce or represent this inequity or situation even if the creator or writer in this case, isn't necessarily even conscious of the fact.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    There are other reasons why it couldn't be applied to The Licanius world, but I think they will be marked as spoilers. If you do read this one, let me know what you think. :)

  • @Nathan-vt1jz

    @Nathan-vt1jz

    28 күн бұрын

    It fits perfectly in the Roman fantasy setting.

  • @lordinquisitordunn336
    @lordinquisitordunn336 Жыл бұрын

    Hello, Mr. Leo! I am a very big fan as well as a self published author. I was wondering what would you need to read and review a book by a particular author or even have an interview. I don’t have much of a fanbase admittedly but I would love to chat with you sometime. I know you read a lot but I was just curious

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for the kind words. Hmm, I don't do an interview with authors whose books I haven't read yet. If you want, you can send me an email for a review request. Do know that I can't promise anything, though. I get review requests every day. :)

  • @lordinquisitordunn336

    @lordinquisitordunn336

    Жыл бұрын

    @@PetrikLeo of course! I’ll send the email and I’m totally fine with waiting to get put in a queue

  • @lordinquisitordunn336

    @lordinquisitordunn336

    Жыл бұрын

    @@PetrikLeo where might i send that email by the way?

  • @LimeymanZero
    @LimeymanZero Жыл бұрын

    Started this today, not even finished the first chapter and I'm already fascinated! This is good world building, some kid running round a castle and not really listening to a history lecture isn't! Going to have to come back to this video when I'm done. The audiobook narrator is really bad though, sounds like he is trying to cover up an acent and is over pronouncing things so it sounds like half the lines are written with air quotes.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Urgh too bad about the audiobook narrator. Here's hoping it doesn't ruin your experience of the story!

  • @LimeymanZero

    @LimeymanZero

    Жыл бұрын

    @@PetrikLeo His voice work is pretty good and that's the main thing but his mic is really terrible and it does seem like some of these lines are the 5th take and he's mispronounced the word a few times and is maybe overcompensating, I don't know but it isn't a dealbreaker now I'm a few hours in and used to it. I got my book today though so I have the option to switch to that if I really need to. Renia is next up though in a few days when I'm done with a book a friend lent me called The Innocent Mage.

  • @Nathan-vt1jz

    @Nathan-vt1jz

    28 күн бұрын

    @@PetrikLeo I thought the audiobook reader did a good job. He’s not in my top tier readers, but still decent.

  • @guruthosamarthruin4459
    @guruthosamarthruin4459 Жыл бұрын

    I'm near the end of Book 1 of Licanius right now. I'm liking it, and I already preordered Will of the Many. I have to say, though, that I am NOT a fan of the cover of Will of the Many. I find the cover...boring... I don't like the minimalist/icon style of covers. I vastly prefer full cover art.

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Yeahh, I LOVE The Will of the Many, but the cover art is a miss for me. I wish it's as good as Licanius trilogy! :')

  • @mlouis7
    @mlouis7 Жыл бұрын

    kzread.info/dash/bejne/qnqaz5mSm7LJl6w.html this is magical to read with Petrik

  • @PetrikLeo

    @PetrikLeo

    Жыл бұрын

    Hahaha nice! 😁