The Shadow of What Was Lost

By James Islington

The Shadow of What Was Lost - James Islington
  • Release Date: 2016-07-19
  • Genre: Epic Fantasy
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 897 Ratings

Description

A young man with forbidden magic finds himself drawn into an ancient war against a dangerous enemy in book one of the Licanius Trilogy, the series that fans are heralding as the next Wheel of Time.

As destiny calls, a journey begins.

It has been twenty years since the godlike 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 and his friends Wirr and Asha set 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 Trilogy is a series readers will have a hard time putting down -- a relentless coming-of-age epic from the very first page.

"Storytelling assurance rare for a debut . . . Fans of Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson will find much to admire."" -- Guardian

Reviews

  • ‘’ imma write a scathing review” lol

    4
    By whatawitch
    The book so far is amazing hence 4 stars but if you plan on reading whilst listening to Audible… don’t… the narrator is either reading from a different copy or is choosing to make his own sentences up/leaving sentences out completely… very disappointing…
  • Great start to the series

    4
    By TigersJC86
    This novel was fantastic. There are plenty of reveals while also teasing enough to make you want more. There are fascinating characters and while the setting isn’t overly descriptive the story does a great job of giving it some authenticity. My only complaint is the lack of a motivation by the villains and some of the action wasn’t as descriptive as I would’ve liked. I’m excited to continue the series
  • Mediocre

    3
    By Zodiacalgem
    I thought it was ok. Lots of great ideas with poor execution. Lots of plot holes. Lots of unnecessary and convoluted points that end up being irrelevant, like the author thought of something then never went back to finish it. Almost all the problems would be best solved by killing someone. And there’s literally zero reason not to. It’s not even a morality thing. The characters have killed before and they have all the reason to do so now but they just don’t. Ends up making things convoluted for no reason.
  • Fantastic

    5
    By BeautifulLestat
    One of my all time favorite series.
  • Excellent

    5
    By searingfrost
    The best book I’ve read in years!
  • Well thought out

    5
    By Action Jackson 7
    Love all the things the author uses to move the plot along. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but if you’re a fan of fantasy and time manipulation, this is for you.
  • Wow

    5
    By Alexander Diamond
    Finishing this series is a must. Very well written.
  • Great story concept with intriguing points

    3
    By Meaaaaahhh
    Fairly well defined story with a pretty unique concept and some interesting conflicts and semi interesting characters. Great potential. Sadly the never end assault of god voice narrator character, inner voice speaking for others and relentless allegorical over indulgence me at even reading it on my phone and. Wing really into the story, I still had to lightly resist the urge to hurl this book against a wall. If you don’t mind those things then the story is absolutely worth it
  • Complicated

    3
    By jwmpc
    A lot of comparisons were made to “The Wheel Of Time” in the description of this book series. I found the comparison to be inverted, in that WOT begins simply, with archetypical characters while this series starts with intricate nuanced ones. WOT gradually adds to the complexities while this on gradually reduces them. Not sure which one I prefer.
  • At least the minimum of what a good fantasy book should be

    4
    By BluesHarpist
    5 stars are reserved for books that totally blow me away, or classics that I believe would have when they were new. I don’t give too many of these out, because it’s the highest rating that you could ever possibly give any book on here. 4 stars for books that I would recommend to just about anyone, or, at least, to someone who doesn’t dislike the genre. 3 stars for books that I would only recommend to someone who is fond of the genre. 2 stars for books that I would be hesitant to recommend to anyone at all, but the book was not a total disaster. 1 star for books that I found so terribly ridiculous, or poorly written, that I wish I had not spent time reading to begin with.