The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington
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The Shadow of What Was Lost
- Licanius, Book 1
- Written By: James Islington
- Narrated By: Michael Kramer
- Series: The Licanius Trilogy
- Length: 25 hrs and 28 mins
- Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy
- Publisher: Podium Audio
- Format: Unabridged Audiobook
- Release Date: 10-02-2015
- Language: English
Publisher’s Summary
It has been 20 years since the end of the war.
The dictatorial Augurs, once thought of almost as gods, were overthrown and wiped out during the conflict, their much-feared powers mysteriously failing them. Those who had ruled under them, men and women with a lesser ability known as the Gift, avoided the Augurs’ fate only by submitting themselves to the rebellion’s Four Tenets.
A representation of these laws is now written into the flesh of any who use the Gift, forcing those so marked into absolute obedience. As a student of the Gifted, Davian suffers the consequences of a war fought—and lost—before he was born. Despised by most beyond the school walls, he and those around him are all but prisoners as they attempt to learn control of the Gift. Worse, as Davian struggles with his lessons, he knows there is further to fall if he cannot pass his final tests. But when he discovers he has the ability to wield the forbidden power of the Augurs, he sets into motion a chain of events that will change everything.
To the north an ancient enemy, long thought defeated, begins to stir. And 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….
Kaz
I will try to write about this book without giving any details of the actual story as everything needs to come fresh to the listener, to avoid spoiling the telling. So apologies to those who prefer a review to be more of a story summary.
There are story arcs within story arcs, just as a trilogy should be – excellent. The protagonist of the series … maybe, looks to be a mysterious character in this book, whom we are given foreshadowing about throughout, but don’t really get to know at all until the last third of the book. He may even turn out to be the series antagonist – future books will reveal more, I’m sure.
But in the meantime, the protagonist BN of this first book (who I imagine we will see a lot more of in future volumes, and may well turn it to be the series protagonist) transforms slowly, yet inexorably to a bit of a ‘superhero’, although he still has a lot more developing to do.
The secondary and other support characters are fleshed-out well too, sufficient for their roles, and the world-building is excellent. At no point did I feel like I was being given a ‘lesson’ and still I have learnt about a world completely new and fresh, with magic lore, history, geography, politics and beliefs.
I bought this audiobook at an introductory reduced price, but I recommend it so highly that the full price should not be a block. I will certainly be buying the next two at the regular price.
John
This is an excellent series and certainly reminded me of Brandon Sanderson. I thoroughly enjoyed all three books and the third book was probably the most engrossing, which I think says great things about a series. Some series tend to dwindle but this just became more intense. I absolutely recommend.