James Islington’s Hierarchy series has quickly become one of the biggest ongoing fantasy series, and after the events of The Will of the Many and The Strength of the Few, readers understandably have one major question:
When is The Will of the Many Book 3 coming out?
We finally know quite a bit about the next installment.
The third book in James Islington’s Hierarchy series is officially titled The Justice of One, and Islington has been providing regular updates about his progress on the novel. The good news is that the book is well underway. The less exciting news for readers desperately waiting to return to Vis Telimus and the complicated world of the Hierarchy is that publication is still some time away.
As of the latest official update, The Justice of One does not have a confirmed release date.
Islington completed the first draft of the novel in early 2026, but revisions have taken longer than originally anticipated. Based on his current writing schedule and the amount of publishing work that will still need to happen after the manuscript is submitted, 2028 currently appears to be the most realistic release window.
Here is everything we know so far about The Justice of One, when it might be released, how far James Islington is into writing it, and what fans can expect from the third Hierarchy novel.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Will of the Many and some general spoilers about the premise of The Strength of the Few.
What Is The Will of the Many Book 3 Called?
The third book in the Hierarchy series is officially titled:
The Justice of One
James Islington revealed the title in his December 2025 progress update after previously keeping it secret while he worked on the novel.
The name continues the pattern established by the first two books:
There is something particularly interesting about the progression of those titles.
We move from many, to few, to one.
Considering how important identity, power, choice, responsibility, and collective authority have become to the Hierarchyseries, the title The Justice of One feels extremely deliberate.
And after the revelations surrounding Vis in the first two books, the idea of “one” has taken on an entirely different meaning.
Fans will undoubtedly spend plenty of time trying to figure out exactly what the title refers to before the novel arrives.
When Will The Justice of One Be Released?
There is currently no official release date for The Justice of One.
James Islington has not announced a publication year either.
However, based on the author’s latest progress report, a 2028 release currently looks more realistic than a 2027 release.
In June 2026, Islington reported that the second draft of The Justice of One was a little over 30,000 words long. He explained that the previous three months had been unusually disruptive and that he had made considerably less progress than he originally hoped.
Importantly, Islington said that the slowdown was not caused by problems with the story itself. He remains happy with how the novel is developing.
His goal is to make significant progress during the second half of 2026 and, ideally, have a manuscript suitable for submission to his publisher by around Christmas.
But Islington has been careful to describe that timetable as a goal rather than a guarantee.
And submitting a manuscript is very different from publishing a book.
Could The Justice of One Be Released in 2027?
Technically, it is possible.
But readers probably shouldn’t count on it.
Even if Islington manages to submit The Justice of One near the end of 2026, the book would still need to go through professional editing, revisions, copyediting, proofreading, cover production, printing, marketing, audiobook production, distribution planning, and the rest of the traditional publishing process.
Looking at The Strength of the Few gives us a useful comparison.
Islington announced in June 2024 that The Strength of the Few had been submitted for editing. The book was ultimately published on November 11, 2025.
That was roughly seventeen months between submission and publication.
If The Justice of One follows anything close to that schedule and isn’t submitted until late 2026 or early 2027, a release sometime in 2028 would make sense.
That is only an estimate—not an official release date.
A late 2027 release could still happen if production moves more quickly, but until Islington or his publisher announces otherwise, readers should treat any specific 2027 dates appearing on retailer or book-tracking websites cautiously.
The Justice of One Release Date Prediction
Official release date: Not announced
Current status: Second draft underway
First draft: Complete
Expected final length: Around 240,000 words
Author’s submission goal: Around the end of 2026
Possible release: Late 2027 at the earliest
More realistic estimate: 2028
The next major milestone to watch will be Islington announcing that the final manuscript has officially been submitted to his publisher.
Once that happens, predicting the publication window should become much easier.
How Much of The Justice of One Has James Islington Written?
Quite a lot.
Islington announced in March 2026 that he had completed the first draft of The Justice of One.
That draft came in at approximately 225,000 words, and he expects the finished novel to be closer to 240,000 words.
That means this is going to be another massive fantasy novel.
For comparison, Simon & Schuster lists The Strength of the Few at 736 pages, and its story dramatically expands the scope of the series.
But Islington has cautioned fans against assuming that completing the first draft means the novel is nearly finished.
His first drafts are intentionally rough.
Scenes get rewritten. Storylines change. Sections disappear completely. Character arcs are adjusted. Entire sequences may need to be rebuilt once he sees how everything works together.
That revision process is currently underway.
By June 2026, the second draft had reached a little over 30,000 words. While slower than Islington wanted, he emphasized that he remains confident about the story itself.
That is ultimately encouraging news.
The delay appears to be about available writing time rather than Islington struggling to figure out where the series needs to go.
What Will The Justice of One Be About?
An official synopsis for The Justice of One has not yet been released.
But The Strength of the Few gives us a very good idea of the enormous problems the third novel will need to tackle.
The first Hierarchy novel initially appears to be a relatively contained story about Vis infiltrating an elite academy within the Roman-inspired Catenan Republic.
Then everything changes.
By The Strength of the Few, the scale of the story has expanded dramatically.
Vis has been replicated across three separate worlds: Res, Luceum, and Obiteum. Instead of following one version of Vis through one political conflict, the series now follows separate versions of him whose experiences are beginning to shape them differently.
And that appears to be crucial to the larger story Islington is telling.
In an interview surrounding The Strength of the Few, Islington explained that he wanted to explore how different experiences and choices could gradually transform different versions of the same person. He also confirmed that the Hierarchy story is planned across four books rather than ending with Book 3.
That means The Justice of One won’t merely be cleaning up loose ends.
It will be the crucial penultimate chapter setting up the ultimate conflict.
Expect the Three Versions of Vis to Become Even More Different
One of the most fascinating ideas introduced in The Strength of the Few is that the three versions of Vis begin from essentially the same person but are exposed to radically different circumstances.
Their decisions naturally begin pushing them in different directions.
That should become even more important in The Justice of One.
The question is no longer simply whether Vis can defeat the Hierarchy.
The series is increasingly asking something more complicated:
What makes Vis Vis?
If three versions of the same person experience different friendships, losses, responsibilities, enemies, cultures, and systems of power, how long can they remain fundamentally the same?
Islington has said that choice and the way choices shape people are important themes in this stage of the series.
Book 3 should push that idea much further.
The versions of Vis could eventually become allies.
They could disagree.
They could have completely different ideas about what must be sacrificed to save their worlds.
And given the title The Justice of One, the relationship between those identities seems likely to become increasingly important.
The Cataclysm Should Become Even More Important
The threat hanging over the Hierarchy series extends far beyond the political problems of the Catenan Republic.
We now know that the worlds are connected to a repeating catastrophic event with potentially devastating consequences.
That transforms the series from a story about surviving an oppressive empire into something much larger.
The third book should continue exploring:
- the true origins of the Cataclysm
- what caused the worlds to separate
- why Vis was replicated
- the mysterious ancient technology
- the nature of Will
- the Concurrence
- the relationship between Res, Luceum, and Obiteum
- whether another Cataclysm can actually be stopped
These mysteries have gradually become the real foundation of the series.
And with only two books remaining after The Strength of the Few, Islington will need to start turning some of those mysteries into answers.
Will The Justice of One Be the Final Hierarchy Book?
No.
This is an important change for anyone who originally believed Hierarchy would be a trilogy.
Simon & Schuster now describes The Strength of the Few as Book Two of the Hierarchy quartet, and Islington has publicly discussed the series as a four-book story.
That means the planned order is currently:
The Hierarchy Books in Order
Book 1: The Will of the Many — published May 23, 2023
Book 2: The Strength of the Few — published November 11, 2025
Book 3: The Justice of One — release date TBA
Book 4: Title and release date TBA
That actually makes The Justice of One even more interesting.
Instead of carrying the burden of concluding every mystery, it can function as the series’ penultimate novel—the installment where alliances change, major revelations occur, and the pieces move into position for the finale.
Anyone familiar with epic fantasy knows that the second-to-last book can sometimes be where everything goes wrong for the characters.
Vis may have some difficult days ahead.
Will Book 3 Be as Different as The Strength of the Few?
Probably not.
Fans who were surprised by how dramatically The Strength of the Few expanded the scope of The Will of the Many may be relieved by something Islington has already said.
While discussing the ambitious shift made in the second novel, Islington indicated that the subsequent books will not represent as dramatic a change.
That suggests The Justice of One should feel more like an expansion and continuation of everything established in The Strength of the Few instead of another complete reinvention of the series.
The framework is finally in place.
We understand that there are multiple worlds.
We understand why multiple versions of Vis exist.
We understand that the conflict is much larger than the politics of the Academy.
Book 3 can now start bringing those ideas together.
And that may make The Justice of One one of the most consequential novels in the entire series.
Will There Be More Vis, the Academy, and Familiar Characters?
That remains one of the biggest unanswered questions.
One of the risks Islington knowingly took with The Strength of the Few was expanding beyond the characters and settings readers had become attached to in The Will of the Many.
With three worlds and three versions of Vis competing for page time, the sequel naturally became much broader.
Islington acknowledged that concern himself before the second book’s release.
But now that the expansion has happened, Book 3 has an opportunity to reconnect many of those threads.
Characters from the Academy, the political struggle within the Catenan Republic, the larger mysteries surrounding Veridius, and Vis’s relationships across the different worlds could all become important pieces of a much larger puzzle.
Exactly how those plots intersect remains unknown.
That’s part of what makes waiting for The Justice of One so difficult.
Is James Islington Writing Another Book Before The Justice of One?
Yes, but it isn’t replacing his work on Hierarchy.
Islington’s science-fiction novel Scion is scheduled for release on September 1, 2026. He describes it as a shorter cyberpunk thriller with a much more standalone structure than either Hierarchy or The Licanius Trilogy.
Readers might understandably worry that a second series could delay The Justice of One.
Islington has specifically addressed that.
He says his Scion projects are designed to fit into periods when he would not normally be working on Hierarchy, holidays, evenings, periods while waiting on edits, and similar gaps. His intention is not to take normal Hierarchy writing time away to produce those books.
So while Scion is another major James Islington release, The Justice of One remains actively in development.
Why The Justice of One Is Already One of Fantasy’s Most Anticipated Sequels
The Will of the Many started with a concept that was easy to become invested in: a brilliant young protagonist infiltrating an elite institution at the heart of an oppressive empire.
Yet Islington was quietly building something much bigger.
The first novel introduced Will, the Hierarchy, the Academy, Vis’s hidden identity, ancient ruins, strange technology, and mysteries surrounding the Cataclysm.
Then the ending changed what readers thought the series actually was.
The Strength of the Few pushed the idea even further, transforming Hierarchy into a sprawling story involving three interconnected worlds and different versions of the same protagonist.
Now The Justice of One gets the exciting and incredibly difficult job of bringing those elements closer together.
What happens when the separate versions of Vis become increasingly different?
What exactly caused the Cataclysm?
What does the Concurrence really want?
What is the complete history of Will?
Can Vis save multiple worlds?
And perhaps most importantly:
What exactly does The Justice of One mean?
We may have to wait a while for those answers.
The Justice of One Release Date: Final Thoughts
The most important thing fans should know right now is that The Justice of One is definitely being written and has already passed a major milestone.
James Islington completed a roughly 225,000-word first draft in early 2026 and expects the final novel to land around 240,000 words. He is currently working through the more extensive revision process required to turn that rough draft into the manuscript he eventually sends to his publisher.
There is no official release date yet.
Islington hopes to have a submission-ready manuscript around the end of 2026, although his latest update makes clear that this timeline could change.
As a result, late 2027 should probably be viewed as a best-case scenario, with 2028 currently looking like the safer prediction for The Justice of One.
For fans, that is admittedly a long wait.
But considering just how ambitious the Hierarchy series has become, giving Islington enough time to make the story work is probably preferable to rushing one of its most important installments.
The Will of the Many introduced us to Vis and the Hierarchy.
The Strength of the Few revealed just how enormous this story really is.
And now The Justice of One will have to show us where all those paths are ultimately leading.
Whenever it arrives, it already has the potential to be one of the biggest fantasy releases of its year.
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