The Shadow of What Was Lost
By James Islington

- Release Date: 2016-07-19
- Genre: Epic Fantasy
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
Favorite high fantasy first book
5By CaptainpolarThe twist at the end I never saw coming. One of the greatest starts to a high fantasy I’ve ever read. Very excited to keep reading this series!!Interesting
5By mechengAn intriguing tale, even with the complexity of the character development, it was easy to follow. The vivid descriptions of the surrounding world made it easy to imagine. A nice read for a cold winter night! Looking forward to the next in the series!Jeffries
1By julian5706BoringAlmost great!
2By RMGScoutInteresting and action packed, but confusing. Not well written at all with regard to storyline and narrative. The attempts at clever names and made up terms further add to the confusing plot. Attempts at long descriptives detract from the story…less is more when the words are selected more intelligentlyReasonably entertaining
4By Jim YeatsIf you’re in between a great series this will suffice. You can tell the author was heavily influenced by The Wheel Of Time. The story telling is a bit choppy, but all and all, entertaining.I'm surprised at the negative reviews.
5By HazyRigbyFor the first 30 or so pages, I kept thinking, "dang, this is so formulaic, I'm not going to like it," and then I was sucked in and utterly absorbed for the whole rest of the book. It's well-written, engrossing, and just a lot of fun to read. If I had one *minor* nitpick, I'd say that too many characters had similar-looking names, and sometimes I struggled to keep track. That's probably just my own brain, though, and it certainly didn't detract from the overall book. I think if you like fantasy and/or sci-fi, you'll enjoy this one!‘’ imma write a scathing review” lol
4By whatawitchThe 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
4By TigersJC86This 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 seriesMediocre
3By ZodiacalgemI 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
5By BeautifulLestatOne of my all time favorite series.Excellent
5By searingfrostThe best book I’ve read in years!Well thought out
5By Action Jackson 7Love 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
5By Alexander DiamondFinishing this series is a must. Very well written.Great story concept with intriguing points
3By MeaaaaahhhFairly 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 itComplicated
3By jwmpcA 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
4By BluesHarpist5 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.One and done
3By dwgormlyIt took fully 2/3 of this book for me to like it and WANT to read more. It’s very much like listening to a five year old describe a dream—lots of new things happen with no explanation or exposition. Maybe that’s the author’s intent, but at 700 pages (iBook) it gets tiresome. I probably will not read the rest of the series.Plot holes for days
1By GSU17The ending was okay, but this book was absolutely bloated. It took forever to get through and there was so much menial information that it ruined the entire ending.Best I’ve read in a long time
5By CcghibvcgghctrEngaging characters, non-stop action, great story arc, thought provoking dilemmas of fate and choice, faith and belief of evidence, well crafted and thought out structure to the magical environment. Couldn’t put it down until I was done with the last book. My COVID shelter in place savior!