“Love The Wheel of Time? This is about to become your new favorite series.” – B&N SF & Fantasy Blog“Storytelling assurance rare for a debut . . . Fans of Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson will find much to admire.” – Guardian “Islington has built a world with all the right genre elements: complex magic, terrifying threats out of legend, political intrigue, and a large cast of characters … large cast of characters whose motivations are seldom clear. Fans of doorstop epic fantasy will not be disappointed.” – Publishers Weekly
“Ingeniously plotted…Islington’s natural storytelling ability provides incessant plot twists and maintains a relentless pace…A promising page-turner from a poised newcomer.” – Kirkus
“Wonderful worldbuilding and terrific characters.” – Boing Boing
“Will appeal to anybody looking for a coming-of-age fantasy tale with likeable characters and strong world building.” – Fantasy Faction
As destiny calls, a journey begins.
It has been twenty years since the god-like Augurs were overthrown and killed. Now, those who once served them – the Gifted – are spared only because they have accepted the rebellion’s Four Tenets, vastly limiting their powers.
As a Gifted, Davian suffers the consequences of a war lost before he was even born. He and others like him are despised. But when Davian discovers he wields the forbidden power of the Augurs, he sets into motion a chain of events that will change everything.
To the west, a young man whose fate is intertwined with Davian’s wakes up in the forest, covered in blood and with no memory of who he is…
And in the far north, an ancient enemy long thought defeated begins to stir.
The Licanius TrilogyThe Shadow of What Was LostAn Echo of Things to Comemore
I initially feared this book would be a bit YA for my tastes as some of the protagonists fit that age range. Of course, another protagonist is an ancient immortal caught in a millenia-long struggle against fate. So I am incredibly glad I did not skip this one.
Gritty action that makes the horror of violence clear. Check.
Philosophical discourse on fate and free will. Check.
Time travel. Check.
Dense plotting. Check.
Sounds like my favorite things.
This is one of my favorite books that I have read this year. This book was so good I did not believe that it was a debut novel at first.
I had not heard of this book until Audible sent me an email because the audiobook was for sale. I did not purchase the audiobook, but something about the synopsis got me and I just had to pick it up a few days later. Funny enough I picked it up on a weekend and the next week I was asked if I wanted to join the July buddy read for it. It’s like I was meant to pick up this book now. Once I started reading it I could not put it down. Really I had to leave the book at home so I wouldn’t be tempted to read it at work.
This book has multiple POVs and I want to say as of now that our main cast is: Davian, Caeden, Wirr, and Ash. Each of the characters has major roles that are playing out in this story. I am not sure how popular/unpopular this opinion might be but my favorite right now is Ash. There have been hints dropped that make me feel like she is going to have a much larger role in future books.
This story has a rich history and a magic system that is fairly easy to understand. This does have the “chosen one” trope but is the chosen one who we are led to think it is? I have my own opinion on how this may play out but we will see.
I thoroughly enjoyed many of the characters and their experiences, but overall it’s easy to tell that this is Mr. Islington’s first novel. Not to say he didn’t accomplish something wonderful, but many of his characters bore similar traits and nearly every act introduced a wizened and gifted guide, I really enjoyed the scope of the world he created but after over 600 pages I’m unsure of the type of environment the characters are operating in or what sort abilities the magic users are even capable of.
Again, overall I recommend this to anyone interested in the genre and look forward to finishing this series and anything else James Islington has to offer.
WOW! I love this book. And to think I almost didn’t buy it because of the comparison made to Wheel of Time. I was not a fan of the writing style of Wheel of Time and didn’t even finish the first book. But this was no comparison for me.
Great characters, great plot, great story, fantastic world building, and amazing political intrigue. I’m impressed with the fast pace of this book considering its complex nature. I loved all the characters, even the bad guys. There were even a few plot twists that I did not see coming! Well done James!
Because I can’t help myself, I read some of the negative reviews on this book. I’ll admit some the writing could have been better. This was a debut novel and originally self published without access to rounds and rounds of edits from highly qualified editors. It was all completely forgivable and non distracting. Sit back, enjoy the action, get lost in this world, and spend several hours making some new friends and ignore the noise.
If book 2 lives up to book 1, I don’t know how I’ll make to December waiting for book 3.
I really enjoyed the book, the world was immersive and well defined. The characters were great and realistic too, and the twist about one of them was great. I liked the world building over all, but I will say that is threw a lot of terms around. Names of people, places, events, and magic systems were said so quickly or in groups, that I may have been confused about some of them. I would certainly recommend this to any fantasy fan, with the unique ideas here.
A true pleasure in life is to crack open a book and see that it does the fundamentals so well you can’t help but be impressed.
For me, The Shadow of What was Lost is one of those stories. As the story began, I feared that I was in for a very familiar journey. An orphan boy slowly discovers that he has magic powers, soon to realize he is instrumental in the shape of events to come. It’s a trope as old as fantasy, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done well.
This book continued to prove itself with every passing page. New concepts are brought in, the magic system is slowly unveiled, and characters learn more about themselves and each other. Then it is all tied together in a beautiful and exquisite package.
The world here is deep and complex, with a history that is very clearly having an effect on the events of the story. Fans of world-building will no doubt be pleased by the work that has gone into this book. Even by the end of the story, it’s clear there is so much left to learn.
Needless to say, the sequel is already in my queue.
This is an amazing fantasy novel, perhaps one of the best I have read! The plot is week developed and the characters are absolutely fantastic! If you are a fan of The Wheel of Time Series this is you next read! I loved the complexity of the story taking place. The plot is very well thought out and you can tell a lot of care went into the developing it. Even though the novel was large it was very exciting and I found it hard to put it down. I cannot wait to read more!
“You can put your trust in something that’s obvious, that’s measurable or predictable – but that’s not faith. Nor is believing in something that gives you no pause for doubt, no reason or desire to question. Faith is something more than that. By definition, it cannot have proof as its foundation.”
James Islington, The Shadow Of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy, #1)
Fantastic!
One of the most visual books I’ve ever read