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The Shadow of What Was Lost

Book 1 in the series:The Licanius Trilogy

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The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington is the first book in The Licanius Trilogy, a fantasy series that captivates readers with its complex world-building and intriguing characters. The story follows a group of friends, Davian, Wirr, and Asha, who find themselves separated after a tragedy strikes. As they embark on separate quests, they uncover mysteries surrounding magic, double-crosses, and amnesia, all while facing an ancient evil threatening their world. The writing style in the book is straightforward, focusing on moving the plot forward briskly, with elements of time travel, destiny, and various forms of magic intertwined in a captivating narrative that keeps readers engaged.

Characters:

The characters include young magic users who are often viewed as flat or one-dimensional, with only a few, like Caeden, standing out as more compelling.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is straightforward and dialogue-heavy, often lacking polish and detailed narrative prose.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot features an epic struggle between good and evil, with main characters facing challenges involving their magical abilities and secrets, eventually leading them on a quest to save the world.

Setting:

The setting is a detailed and intricate fantasy world enriched by magic, prophecies, and elements of time travel.

Pacing:

The pacing is generally fast and action-oriented, though it can feel relentless or drag due to dialogue-heavy writing.
He desperately tried to cry out, to jerk away, but the hand over his mouth prevented both. Steel filled his vision, gray and dirty. Warm blood trickled down the left side of his face, onto his neck, u...

Notes:

The Shadow of What Was Lost is the first book in The Licanius Trilogy by James Islington.
The book includes a large number of characters, making it helpful to reference a fan wiki.
The story begins with an epic battle in the prologue involving Tal Kamar and Aarkein Devaed.
The main characters are three friends: Davian, Wirr, and Asha, all of whom can use magic.
Characters who fail to control their magical abilities can be turned into Shadows, losing their powers.
Gifted individuals are bound by Four Tenets that they physically cannot disobey.
The Trials challenge students to demonstrate their magical abilities, which adds tension for Davian.
There are rumors of dark beings trying to escape their northern prison, raising the stakes in the plot.
The narrative includes themes of identity and secrets, particularly through the character Caeden.
Readers have drawn parallels between this series and other epic fantasy works like Wheel of Time and Harry Potter.
The writing style is described as straightforward but can feel rough around the edges.
Character development is seen as a weak aspect, with some characters being indistinguishable from one another.
The pacing of the plot is fast but some readers felt it was unrelenting and may have rushed parts of the story.
Many reviews fondly mention the unexpected twists and character arcs that left a lasting impression.
Despite being lengthy, some readers found the book hard to put down due to its gripping plot.
The first book was initially self-published before gaining popularity and wider distribution.

From The Publisher:

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

Ratings (80)

Incredible (24)
Loved It (28)
Liked It (13)
It Was OK (9)
Did Not Like (5)
Hated It (1)

Reader Stats (160):

Read It (78)
Currently Reading (3)
Want To Read (66)
Did Not Finish (3)
Not Interested (10)

6 comment(s)

Incredible
3 weeks

This was a breath of fresh air to me, having gone through a period of unloved writing and undeserving admiration.


A sorely underrated trilogy that I would highly recommend any fantasy fan to read.


Thank you James, a lovely, extremely well done series.

 
Incredible
2 months

I still love this so so much!.

 
Incredible
2 months

This was amazing! I loved it so much!

 
Incredible
5 months

Such a great start to a series!

This series was recommended on Brandon Sandersons blog (by one of his interns I believe) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This book has a great level of mystery, suspense, and action, with fantastic character and world building — it doesn't fall into the common trap of being so detailed as to be boring, but it's more than enough to make you invest in the characters.

I was concerned about pacing towards the end but it worked out reasonably well, and left the story in a good place between books.

If you like fantasy, particularly authors like a random Sanderson or Brent Weeks, pick this up!

 
It Was OK
5 months

There's not much for me to say about this book. I thought the concept was unique, and the characters were pretty well developed, but I didn't find myself invested in the story or enchanted by the characters.

Unfortunately, I probably won't read the next book in this series. Not that this book was bad, it just didn't interest me enough.

 
Liked It
1 year

Reminded me of the wheel of time. Not a bad read.

 

About the Author:

James Islington was born and raised in southern Victoria, Australia. His influences growing up were the stories of Raymond E. Feist and Robert Jordan, but it wasn't until later, when he read Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series - followed soon after by Patrick Rothfuss' Name of the Wind - that he was finally inspired to sit down and write something of his own. He now lives with his wife and daughter on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

 
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