Quick-take: Interesting concepts despite a flaw.

Dan's Review

Vis is adopted from an orphanage by a nobleman to aid in unraveling a conspiracy that happened at a high level academy. The book then follows Vis' progress in the academy, his rise through the ranks, efforts to uncover the conspiracy, and reveals insights into Vis' own troubled past.

My summary is intentionally vague as each nugget of backstory is its own mini-reveal of the lore of the Hierarchy (the system used to govern the world). And there is a lot of it. It helps to grasp it if you place it in the context of the old Roman Republic. There are senators, conspiracies, and jockeying for favor. If you are a fan of the politics of the nobility with its own factions dividing Religion, Military, and Governance, then this book is for you. It was well done. The magic system is based on the concept of "Will". There is a pyramid of dominance, with each person and group ceding "will" to a higher group, and then that cedes further up. This powers the strength of the receiver as well as contraptions and powers of the environment. It helps if I think of will as electricity being mined from people and diverted to all kinds of things (from specialized locks, alarm systems, and even transportation). Much of this lore is explained during Vis' time at the academy.

The story itself is done quite well. Vis is a charismatic character that, unlike other stories I read, has real character flaws. The main one is his temper. Another one could be his pride. He does a good job of swallowing it, but it will spill out sometimes. His journey from each major section of the book explains all the lore and revelations of his past.

However, despite all the well-deserved praise of the story, magic system, and Vis, I do have a big complaint: Vis is simply far too skilled at everything.

Really, this kid is basically a master at everything he attempts and is just 17 years old. Swimming, fencing, knowledge, boxing, dexterity... everything. There was a scene in which a teacher ran in and asked, "Name a single skill that Vis is not the best at!" I was curious to see the answer because I did not know the answer myself. The teacher said, "Fencing" and a contest was set with the best fencing student not named Vis. I will let you guess who won that fencing match.

I was getting flashbacks to my complaints about Murder in G Minor. Just like that book, Vis always had a reason why he was so skilled. He either always had an exceptional tutor, he just happened to be passionate about the subject, or his friends challenged him to improve. I could accept that sometimes, but the author would drop that nugget within the same chapter it happened. Vis suddenly needs to know how to swim... oh, of course he spent his youth near the ocean swimming daily.

The ending is fairly epic and satisfying with Vis prodigy on full display. The book closes out with more questions than answers, which strongly hints at the need for a second entry.

Score 5/5. I plan to pick up book 2. Vis being a savant at all things is a major annoying flaw, but everything else in the book was so well executed and enjoyable that it makes up for it.