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The Will of the Many
The Will of the Many
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TWotM: My Love/Hate relationship with Polymath Protagonists
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I too noticed that many reviews for this book mentioned The Name of the Wind as a comparison, many positively but some negatively (there’s a one-star review that says ‘Patrick Rothfuss called, he wants his Gary Stu back!’)I personally find NotW very over-rated and Qvothe annoying - I don’t like these super-cool super-smart super-sexy male protagonists. I don’t mind competence and intelligence but I suppose I prefer a more nuanced depiction of character, with some imperfections, and that kind of wish fulfilment just doesn’t do it for me.
Anyway, I decided not to read the February BotM for precisely the reason that, if it’s similar to NotW, I probably wouldn’t enjoy it, and your comment makes me feel like I made the right call!
There’s nothing inherently wrong with wish fulfilment fantasy books. I suppose what I find annoying is that there seem to be these white-male wish fulfilment books that get held up (by white male readers) as brilliant must-read books (like NotW, or Ready Player One) when actually they’re… not for everyone, and that’s ok, but please don’t pretend that they’re universal because they’re not. Not everyone thinks about the Roman Empire all the time!
Anyway I have a lot of thoughts about this kind of stuff, and it’s very interesting to hear a perspective from someone who enjoys these kind of protagonists, but in more considered way, so thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Ruth wrote: "Anyway I have a lot of thoughts about this kind of stuff, and it’s very interesting to hear a perspective from someone who enjoys these kind of protagonists, but in more considered way, so thank you for sharing your thoughts!"Mostly just replying in lieu of a "Like" button! And it seems I had a similar reaction to yours. I prefer to mostly kibbutz discussions of a book that's not my cup of tea, especially since in this case I could only directly discuss the first six chapters I read in the sample. But I enjoy reading what people think and wanted to react to your post.
I cannot for the life of me recall the early parts of Name of the Wind. I tended to focus more on the "Roman = Facist" vibe running through the book (which I enjoy much more in House of Open Wounds). And Vis at the start falls into the category of the hypercompetent protagonist who miraculously survives in impossible situations.
To be fair there are thousands of books that use this trope and it is not specific to NotW. Paul Atreides is a prime example.
He is thrown into situations where he needs the help of those around him and the book
I get more of a Red Rising vibe than NotW. If Harry Potter, NotW and Red Rising had a love child...Finished the book and am a little disappointed at the (view spoiler)
Not sure I'll continue with the sequel. Anyone else?
Buzz wrote: "I get more of a Red Rising vibe than NotW. If Harry Potter, NotW and Red Rising had a love child...Finished the book and am a little disappointed at the [spoilers removed]
Not sure I'll continue..."
I am glad I am not the only one! I wanted some resolution not a chapter of confusion and a stupid cliffhanger!!!! The sequel is not likely to hit the top of the TBR anytime soon!
I for one really liked the book. I thought I was done with the kids in school trope. but I guess not. This group seems to dislike competent characters, then when we read a book that has a flawed character people hate that too. The whole plot of the story is (view spoiler)
Stephen wrote: "I for one really liked the book. I thought I was done with the kids in school trope. but I guess not. This group seems to dislike competent characters, then when we read a book that has a flawed ch..."Did didn't have a problem with a cliffhanger, but mo in the way that it was set up. (view spoiler)
In general, I liked the book, mostly not happy with the ending.
This has certainly been a great escapist book for me. I love listening to all the crazy situations he gets into and the pacing and drama is pretty great. Certainly not a challenging or deep read IMO, but a lot of fun. Sometimes you need a little literary candy.Poor guy gets injured A LOT though. Everytime he goes sleepless and injured and then accomplishes some intense physical feat, I just think "Wait 'til you get older, Vis."
He's super smart, he's witty, he's tough, and he's got an unbreakable determination. His one flaw: his pride. He knows he should just let people walk over him or just stop trying so hard or being so smart because people will find him out, but he can't help himself. (He's too WILLful) AND despite his many talents and abilities, he's an underdog.
My first thought when I reflected on Vis was that he was giving off huge Qvothe vibes from The Name of the Wind and my one big critique of that book was that Qvothe was just too good at everything, but I still gave it 5 stars because I didn't care. Qvothe is awesome. What's so bad about being awesome and super cool and smart and strong? It makes for a good story.
And sure enough, when I thought back, how many classic and much-loved stories surround super-cool, super-talented, super-smart male protagonists? Not just Qvothe. There's Hiro Protagonist from Snow Crash, tons of mystery thrillers dating back to Sherlock Holmes, I guess you could go all the way back to Odysseus in the Odyssey.
Looking at the reivews just now, I can see I'm not the only one who made the NotW connection. I've seen at least two reviews that said something like "Best book I've read since Name of the Wind".
It's also just getting a LOT of love from white guys. And as a fellow white guy, I get it. There's just something exhilarating about reading about a witty underdog who can outfight and outsmart everyone, and watching him use his unstoppable force of character rise through the hierarchy. It really appeals to a certain type. If anything, all the references to capital letter Will and Hierarchy make it clear that this is exactly what the story is about, so why put it in subtext, why not just lean right into it. It's like Islington saw the TikTok trend about how white guys were obsessed with the Roman Empire, and thought "I know what else we're obsessed with, and I'm going to smash them together in a book!" (Of course I realize that he was probably writing this book before the TikTok trend, so it's all a coincidence, it's just so on the money, it's like this book existing was inevitable.)
I know there's nothing wrong with tropes. I just usually don't like tropes, especially when it comes to characters I find unrealistic. So a part of me really dislikes that Vis is just so smart and self-assured and unflappable, but I can't help also just really enjoying how cool he is, and I am just so thoroughly enjoying the story that I don't care... Except I kind of do, or I wouldn't be writing this.