The Strength of the Few and the Danger of Multiverses (thought’s on the opening chapters of Islington’s new book)

The Will of the Many, the excellent opening book in the Hierarchy series, gave a masterclass in pacing. There was a snap and rhythm to the story, starting in media res, with Vis, hanging bloody from a cliff and ending in attempted murder and the gory secrets of the labyrinth. It was the most exciting book in contemporary fantasy since The Name of the Wind and Red Rising. My anticipation for the sequel was high and I counted the days to its release.

I grew concerned, a few months before The Strength of the Few's release, when the back cover teaser stated that there would be three Vis's in parallel worlds. A multiverse? I thought to myself. The wreckage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to my mind, began with it's multiverse. Is there a better way to kill dramatic tension? There are no stakes (if Ironman dies, we can bring back an alternate dimension Ironman). There is character bloat (it's hard enough to fill a world with interesting, original characters, but how about endless galaxies of tepid and boring, rip-off characters?). Lastly, and most importantly, there is no vision – it is highly difficult to get all these character and character versions to fit and interact with one another in a compelling, well-paced way, while telling an overarching narrative.

My concerns were ultimately realized in the opening chapters of The Strength of the Few. Not only do we get an exposition-heavy (and hardly any dramatic tension) opening of Vis's current situation after he ran the labyrinth. It is repeated twice more as we get the exposition of parallel worlds Vis 1 & 2's current predicaments. In a word, it's a slog of an opening.

I remember vividly the mental picture of Vis striding naked into the underground fighting ring in the opening of book 1. In book 2, there are no striking pictures of the mind, but in gray, slippery prose, we get a heavy dose of tell don't show. This book feels like when a famous author dies/retires (looking at you, Lee Child), and the new author does not have the same ability and cannot replicate the tone and feel of the original author's writing. This book feels like it was written by a different author.

The Will of the Many was so strong, that I am going to continue in this book and hope it gets better. But part of me is very disappointed, because the beginning is the most valuable thing an author has, and I can't help but wonder why Islington has squandered it.

What do you think of the beginning of The Strength of the Few? How important are the opening chapters of a novel to you?