The Shadow of What Was Lost: The Licanius Trilogy, Book 1

Simply said, this is a fantastic offering by an Indie author. Before I dive into a brief review, it bears mentioning that this book does not suffer the common problems of indie authors. There is character development, there are difficulties, and the writing style is more than acceptable. There is even evidence of editing (!). It all boils down to make a book that is very readable.On to some words about the actual book itself.The story starts off, creating a vivid world that really highlights the struggle and difficulties that are plaguing the world. The protagonist, Davian, goes through round after round of turmoil. As we learn about difficulties during childhood, followed into being the laggard of adolescents. It isn't till much later in the book that the classic 'chosen-one' trope begins to shine through. However, at this point, we've suffered with Davian for so long that it feels utterly triumphant, as opposed to tired.Davian's is accompanied by a strong cast of friends for his journey, with Wirr, Asha and eventually Caeden all being quite likeable characters. The author does a simply fantastic job of setting Davian as the protagonist, working these others into Davian's story, and then splintering off their own side-stories, once we have developed a strong bond with each character. It's marvelous that we are not force-fed characters. It's a vary natural progression whereby we are introduced to a new character, see their interactions with current characters, watch as some character depth progresses and then enjoy a new character arc that slowly develops. The end result of this, is that although the books first half is nearly a single-person story, by the end of the book there are numerous narrative threads being woven together. This natural progression serves to beautifully marry a 'coming-of-age' adventure, with a more 'epic' styled fantasy.Some other brief tidbits of good news. The magic system seems well thought out, if not a little cliché. Character interactions seem genuine, and the world appears to be huge, suggesting the possibility for numerous story settings. There are some common themes as well, that immediately make you feel familiar with the world, including: A mysterious boundary, an ancient evil, oppression by the un-enlightened, etc.As the 5 star rating indicates, I had very few qualms with this book. There are several minor annoyances, that do highlight areas that the author could improve upon. Like many fantasy books, new characters are introduced often, and as the naming style is of typical Tolkein styled fantasy, these names can be hard to remember. When we meet an Aelric in on page, and three other Ael.... names elsewhere, its a bit overwhelming. The author has a penchant to throw numerous new characters in (each having 1-3 names he goes by, eg: Caeden= Tal'Kamar=+one other), and have them play vital roles, leaving you scrambling trying to figure out exactly who this person is, and why they are so vital to the plot.Finally, my only complaint is that the villain is not really developed all that well. We really don't know who the villain is, despite there being an invasion. The oppression felt by 'gifted' and 'augers' is far more representative of the 'big bad' than is the actual 'big bad' Arkein Davaed/The Blind. Hopefully later books in the trilogy will bring about a larger focus on the villains, as this book does rely a little bit to much, on a slightly nonsensical hatred of gifted to drive the plot along.To summarize, the book is a great read, and by the end of the book all characters feel vibrant and alive. We are left with more questions than answers at the end (which is great for sequels). There are some major unexpected twists (and a host of expected ones) that keep the reader guessing. Altogether, an excellent read and, at nearly 700 pages, a very worthwhile purchase.

The Shadow of What Was Lost was easily one of the most impressive debuts in recent years; complex yet well-plotted with incredible worldbuilding and great characters - it marked the beginning of a very promising epic fantasy trilogy.I first read The Shadow of What Was Lost over 4 years ago when it was still self-published. It came to my attention for two reasons - Michael Kramer narrated the audiobook and more importantly, Brandon Sanderson recommended it. Blurbs were touting how this book will appeal to fans of Robert Jordan and Sanderson. I know that such claims usually needed to be taken with a grain of salt, but I can say that in this instance it was spot on. While I have read and as a whole liked The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, I have to readily admit how much I was aggravated by its bloat and numerous narrative issues. Let's just say that I've even skipped a few books to get to the end, i.e. the last three which Sanderson finished. Even from this very first book of the trilogy, The Shadow of What Was Lost felt like what The Wheel of Time could've been minus all those problems.The influences and inspiration from Jordan and Sanderson were very apparent from this novel, particularly in the worldbuilding and plotting aspects. However, this is not to say that Licanius felt derivative; it is not, at all. In fact, I would even say that it was incredibly well done. Islington clearly knows how to create a world that truly fascinated with its history and lore, and its dual magic system. Even better, he really knows how to handle the exposition well to avoid the dreaded info dump and keep the readers engaged. You'll have a lot of questions right from the start, and as a reader, you'll gradually learn as the main characters did as each of them was very soon thrown into dire situations and circumstances. The best part was that the intrigue never stops; as earlier questions were answered, more questions will arise. The complex yet tight plotting was skillfully weaved with mysteries and revelations that just never stopped coming. This made the book into an immensely compulsive read, even though it did not have a lot of action scenes. I blasted through this in two days; reread notwithstanding it is still a pretty big book.I did not know why I initially found the characters being a bit flat, and I wish to take back that statement. I enjoyed my reread more, and it was mainly because of my emotional investment in the characters. The main characters, Davian, Asha and Wirr, are young adults, and thank goodness, they are refreshingly sensible ones. Maybe after having read so much more in the last few years, I've grown to appreciate character work which doesn't aggravate me with silly dramas and plot devices. A lot of the information about the world's history and magic system came about through the characters' perspectives and experiences, which contributed to their development and growth, hence making each character arc distinct, realistic and relatable. Prior to this reread, my favourite character was Caeden primarily because his story was the most intriguing by far, and Taeris whom I found to be a misunderstood and sympathetic character. This time though, I liked each and every one of them, albeit Caeden still retained the top spot for having the most interesting story.Islington writes in a simple and direct manner, and the earlier part of the novel did feel like a debut with occasional clunky sentences and repetitions. Somewhere around the mid-portion of the book though, the writing started to be noticeably more polished. I hope that this improvement will continue throughout the series, because Islington has a whole lot of story to tell. The ending of The Shadow of What Was Lost was a resounding promise to an even more epic tale to come, and I can't wait to jump in to the sequel immediately.I would classify this novel as a classic epic fantasy told in a modern voice. As I grew up reading classic fantasy more than three decades ago, this has always been my favourite subgenre. It always feel like coming home to me when I pick up a fantasy book that harkened back to my earlier reading years, and it reminds me of why I fell in love with this genre in the first place. The Shadow of What Was Lost is one of the best debuts I've read that satisfies my yearning for classic epic fantasy stories.

Lol cocoblu were decent I don't understand why they done this though hope they replace this 💩💩💩 ..Edit:2 day insta return and new one is good conditions cocoblu thnks...As for the book it's good so far.. (Half way through the book) ..

Gostei bastande desse livro. Se você está atrás de uma aventura fantastica com personagens interessantes, e uma trama que não fica tediosa ou parada, esse livro é pra você. Islington conseguiu criar um novo mundo com bastante profundidade, “lore” e um sistema mágico bastante inteligente e intrigante. Gostei bastante do desenvolvimento dos personagens, e embora o autor mostre algumas marcas de ser iniciante, a narrativa não é prejudicada por elas. Estou ansioso pra continuar a ler essa saga!!

Diese Serie gehört zu den eigenwilligsten und genialsten Fantasy-Büchern die ich in meinen 30 Jahren Fantasy-Lesewurmzeit in den Händen hatte.Das erste Buch der Serie ist einfach und gefällig. "Einfache" Charaktere, klarer Plot. Dem einen oder anderen einfach zu glatt (siehe andere Rezensionen).ABER: Es verhält sich hier wie bei der Fernseh-Serie Babylon 5. Die erste Folge war...etwas flach, aber die erste Staffel hat den Rahmen für das komplexe Werk gesetzt der erst mit den nächsten Staffeln richtig ausgeschöpft wurde.Gegen Ende des ersten Buchs vermutet man dass mehr dahinter stecken mag als die einfache Geschichte, und ab dem zweiten Buch wird es so komplex dass man erst nach und nach eine Ahnung hat worum es eigentlich geht. Es gibt mehrere parallele Handlungsstränge und Inhaltsebenen, die aber eben erst später offengelegt werden. Im Licht der neuen Informationen macht es auch durchaus Sinn die Geschichte ein zweites Mal zu lesen.Die Gesamtkomplexität ist absolut mit Game of Thrones zu vergleichen, wenn nicht noch höher.Einen Wehrmutstropfen gibt es aus meiner Sicht dennoch: die Kultur und Weltbeschreibung kommt ein wenig zu kurz.Ansonsten warte ich gespannt auf den nächsten Band.

Complicated Plot,big cast of characters,royalty,hidden royalty,mysterious origins,magic,and of course the sword!This book has enough twists and turnsthat you really have to stay on your toes.There's a sprinkling of hints of things to come, but pretty engaging.I really enjoyed it and I'm moving right along with the next one.There were a few moments when I felt like I had time travel back to Lord of the Rings,but they passed fairly quickly as we went right along into James plot.If you like fast-moving fantasy You'll enjoy this book

This was a really enjoyable read. Echoes of the Wheel of Time with a prologue set before the main story and characters you don't know making pronouncements about things you don't know about. I liked it a lot. Then we get introduced to the world via our main POV Davian, a gifted (magician) in training who can't get magic to work for him. We have two further POV's, Davian's friends Wirr and Asha and a final one in a young man called Caeden who has no memories other than the last few weeks who has been accused of massacring an entire village.It's an interesting world created by the author with a rich history. There's an area to the north that's been bound for thousands of years with no entry in or out. Twenty years ago there was an uprising against the gifted who were in charge and most of them were killed. The few remaining were forced into a binding which severely restricted the use of magic. There are a couple of remaining schools open where all gifted are trained but they are looked down upon by the general populace and are overseen by the rulers in charge. It's into this world that our protagonists are thrown into and things start happening, secrets come to light and new secrets are discovered. Our POV's are all likeable, each with their own agency and plot with mysteries to be revealed for each. Caeden's was particularly good in that you knew almost immediately there was something big behind him and it did not disappoint.This has been compared to the Wheel of Time and I can see why. It's got that similar feel to it, ordinary characters with the whiff of destiny on them. There are secrets, oh so many secrets, prophecies, ancient beings, a big bad, a persecuted magic wielding people, and even a Shadar Logoth type city! Having said this I still found it quite original and interesting and even if there are a fair amount of tropes present, as long as they are done well then there's a reason tropes became so in the first place. The characters are good and easy to like, though perhaps lacking a bit of depth. There's a lot hidden and a few times I was nearly as frustrated as the characters trying to figure out what was going on and who to trust. There are a lot of names and places and I found it hard to keep track of, a glossary would have been handy. I went online and found one on the author's site but unfortunately it spoiled a pretty huge reveal which was disappointing. Don't do that. Other than that I found it a very exciting and interesting book and it kept me up too late far too many times, which is always a great sign. For a debut book this is amazing and I can't wait to delve into the next one. Luckily I already bought it!