Fantasy

The Shadow of What Was Lost

The Shadow of What Was Lost

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-04 09:55:51
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：James Islington
  • ISBN：0356507777
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Summary

It has been twenty 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 that there is further to fall if he cannot pass his final tests。

But when Davian 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…

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Reviews

Jess ，

Really enjoyed the first go on this book！ As far as debut novels go it stands side by side with Jordan and Sanderson so thats high praise！ Wish I had read the book though as opposed to audiobook as Islington is very much into prophecy， hint dropping， and events that don't make sense yet but are clearly important Really enjoyed the first go on this book！ As far as debut novels go it stands side by side with Jordan and Sanderson so thats high praise！ Wish I had read the book though as opposed to audiobook as Islington is very much into prophecy， hint dropping， and events that don't make sense yet but are clearly important 。。。more

Katherine McDonough ，

A little long but I enjoyed it。

book_betka ，

3。5 / Jest to naprawdę dobra opowieść， ale nie genialna， skrupulatnie przemyślana， ale nie sprawiła， że zżyłam się jakoś wybitnie z bohaterami。 Gubiłam się w postaciach， a finał nie był jakimś super zwieńczeniem tych 870 stron。 To dobre fantasy， może to po prostu nie mój gatunek jako tako。 Bo nie można tej książce odmówić fabuły， świata i rozmachu。

Nova ，

To begin with， I have not reviewed books before， but this book has compelled me to start。 No， not because it was amazing， but because thinking of what kind of review I would write was the only reason I could drag myself through this book。 Let’s start with the pros。 The magic system was interesting enough， and I liked some of the plot twists in the end which actually had me surprised。 Some concepts were intriguing， and the book started off strong。 However， these things were not enough to be the s To begin with， I have not reviewed books before， but this book has compelled me to start。 No， not because it was amazing， but because thinking of what kind of review I would write was the only reason I could drag myself through this book。 Let’s start with the pros。 The magic system was interesting enough， and I liked some of the plot twists in the end which actually had me surprised。 Some concepts were intriguing， and the book started off strong。 However， these things were not enough to be the saving grace of this book， and we are already out of pros。 On to the cons， so buckle up。 This book just barely managed to hold my attention for the 700 pages。 I did not find the characters nor the story engaging， and for a book this long it’s surprising how little I know about what the world or people look like。 It’s a bit telling， when about 500 pages in even the author has to write “he embraced the black-haired boy in relief”， about the main character to remind us what he looks like。 The writing itself is passable， though somewhat lifeless and focuses too much on trying to sound like an epic fantasy。 If I got a nickel every time a character flushed， spoke softly or a section started with someone waking up， I could pay off my student loan。About the story… A young boy struggling to find his place suddenly gains mythical powers？ A menacing， faceless evil raising from the North？ A group of characters on a quest to travel across the country？ It’s got all the generic fantasy tropes checked， at least。 I must admit that I was intrigued by the world where magic users are bound by tenets and the magic wasn’t completely understood by the world’s inhabitants， but it fell flat when said magic turned out to be just a plot device which worked only in a way to further the plot when the author needed it。 And there was so much telling， not showing， that it made me care about the characters and the story even less。 To be honest， the main cast of characters sucked， and this is my main grief with this book。 I see many reviews praise the characters， but I think they were just… plain？ There were four main characters whose point of views the story follows。 You would think this offers interesting insights to the story and the characters， but there is just no difference in the character voices。 There were times I didn’t even know which character was helming the story， because the writing is so similar with all of them。 None of the plot developments seemed to affect these characters and there were no character arcs。 （view spoiler）[ For example， at one point they find a whole village slaughtered， and villagers mutilated， and while they express expected sadness at the moment， it seems to be forgotten swiftly and this traumatic event has no effect on our heroes （hide spoiler）]。 Moreover， every single dialogue felt like it was there just to further the plot， it didn’t matter which character said what， as long as the necessary discussion to further the plot or dumping of info happened。 There’s a lot of nitpicky things I could still write about， like how non-existent the chemistry between the characters was， the overly complicated and forgettable made-up fantasy names， and whenever a woman is introduced/described， she is always drop dead gorgeous and seemingly only there to offer a romance option to the male cast。 But this review is already getting quite long， so let’s get to the conclusion。 Do I recommend this book？ Nah。 Not at all。 However， I can’t ignore all those people who decided to rate this book 4-5 stars。 And I can see some of the appeal in the slow storytelling， plot twists and setting。 Even in some characters。 Maybe this just wasn’t my cup of tea， but clearly it was many other people’s。 If you are more of a plot driven reader and don’t mind the writing and generic tropes， give it a go。 However， for me this book completely failed to deliver a compelling narrative with equally compelling characters。 。。。more

Ziemowit Pindera ，

4。5

Patrycja ，

Jedna z najlepszych książek fantastycznych jakie miałam okazję czytać。

jeszcze。jeden_rozdzial ，

To zdecydowanie zasługuje na cały ten hype。 Mam wielką nadzeje， że nie będzie to jedna z tych książek， które w momencie czytania są super， ale szybko wypadają z głowy， bo już czekam na drugi tom， a premiera dopiero pod koniec roku。

Carolien ，

Have rarely had more trouble keeping my attention on a book。

Pedro Pacheco ，

It had been a while since I'd read a book I disliked so much。 The last time， it was Children of Blood and Bone and I DNF'd that one。 You might be wondering why I didn't DNF this one too， and there are 3 reasons for that:1） If you follow me on Instagram， I recently set a challenge for myself to read 3 first books in 3 new trilogies， with this one being the first;2） There was nothing in this book that made me incredibly mad and want to chuck it at wall; it's just so incredibly and absurdly mediocr It had been a while since I'd read a book I disliked so much。 The last time， it was Children of Blood and Bone and I DNF'd that one。 You might be wondering why I didn't DNF this one too， and there are 3 reasons for that:1） If you follow me on Instagram， I recently set a challenge for myself to read 3 first books in 3 new trilogies， with this one being the first;2） There was nothing in this book that made me incredibly mad and want to chuck it at wall; it's just so incredibly and absurdly mediocre and bad;3） I think it's important to read books you dislike from time to time so you can understand what works and what doesn't work for you; I also find I analyse books I don't like a lot more than books I like - when I like a book， I just like it， but when I don't， I like to understand why。I'm not going to give you a summary of this book， but I will mention some plot points here and there and I'll try to warn you if I think they're spoilers。 I'm also going to structure this review in 4 sections: Worldbuilding， Characters， Plot and Writing。 I usually break down books in these components in my head， and it helps keep my thoughts organised。 Somehow， this book failed in all 4 of these， so let's get to it。WorldbuildingImagine you're back at school， and it's time for lunch。 The menu: white rice with chicken and boiled broccoli。 You groan， because if you wanted to eat something so bland， you would've feasted on cardboard。 At least they must've used some salt and black pepper， right？ Right？！That's how this world feels。 It's the blandest， most boring， most derivative fantasy world I've encountered in a while。 This is what happens when a fan of fantasy media （books， movies， TV shows， games， etc。） tries to write a book but doesn't have an ounce of creativity in their DNA。 I'm sorry to be dragging this book and the author like this， but it has to be said。If you read some of the 1 star reviews for this book， they almost all mention how this book takes ideas from this or that piece of media， with each person mentioning a different piece each time。 To me， the first 1/4 of this book is weirdly similar to "The Eye of the World"。 Maybe it's because I just read that book a few months ago， but you have people who can do magic （the Gifted） and are hated/feared by almost everyone （just like the Aes Sedai）; you have schools for the Gifted （the Tols）， each with a different philosophy regarding how to handle magic （much like the Ajahs）; you have an area in the North that is protected by a magical boundary where the evil bad guy was locked away （much like Shayol Ghul， The Blasted Lands and the Borderlands）; you have evil creatures that serve the dark one （much like the Trollocs）; etc， etc。 You get the idea。Now， you might be saying， "well， those are just fantasy tropes and some people like them， some people don't"。 And you're right。 Fantasy tropes aren't inherently wrong; I like them too！ It's just the way they are used in this book feel waaaaay too similar to tEotW and lack any creative twist or personal touch。 It's fine to use fantasy tropes， it's even okay if you don't change them all that much。 I love Chosen Ones and Big Bad Guys and Wizards and so on。 But at least have good characters or have some other original elements or have good writing or just。。。 something。The world feels super empty and shallow。 Authors need to understand that complex world don't always equate to interesting/good worlds。 Yes， complex worldbuilding can be done， and it can be done extremely well （see Lord of the Rings， Malazan， etc。）， but you can't just throw every single idea you have into a hodge podge and hope it works。 This literally feels like this author loves all these other fantasy worlds and took elements from all of them and just threw them together。 Nothing feels alive。 This is a weird thing to explain， it's just something you feel while reading the book， and part of it has to do with the empty cardboard pieces that constitute the characters in this novel。Additionally， someone needs to tell authors that interesting worldbuilding doesn't happen by just capitalising Nouns。 Here are some of the capitalised nouns I can remember from the top of my head from this world: Gifted， Shadows， Journal， Venerates， Essence， Boundary， Blind， Cluster， Elders， Tenets， Treaty， Shackle， Veils， Houses， Shields， Vessels， Mark。 There are many， many more。 Usually， I'm fine with this type of naming。 In our world， we don't make up new words for important things （we have things like the Constitution， the Great Wall of China， etc。）， and there are many authors out there who employ this technique quite well （Martin， for example， with the Wall， the Night's Watch， King's Landing， etc。）。 But to just capitalise these nouns with no personality whatsoever is boring and derivative and lazy。 Like， imagine if Martin had called King's Landing "the Capital" or the Night's Watch "the Patrols" or whatever。 At least make them interesting。At least the author is self-aware， as you can see by this dialogue between 2 characters:"[。。。]And how to stop the Blind。""Ah， so that's what they decided to call them。 How unoriginal。" Yes， you're right， how unoriginal。CharactersAs I said before， these weren't characters。 They were bland pieces of cardboard。 This is a problem I encounter often when reading "modern fantasy" （Sanderson， for example， is also somewhat guilty of this）: the characters feel like modern people from our time that just happen to inhabit a medieval fantasy world。 For some， this is fine。 If you read these books from the perspective that the author is actually just translating this story from some fantasy language and， so， adapted the writing to make it feel more modern， yeah， it's fine。 But I don't like that。I don't like that because it makes the characters feel homogenous and indistinguishable from one another。 At the start the 3 main characters （Davian， Wirr and Asha） had some personality: I know that because the author mostly told me that they had certain personality traits rather than showing them to me， but that's for the "Writing" section of this review。 Coincidentally， the personalities of these characters were very， very similar to those of Rand， Mat and Egwene respectively from "The Eye of the World"。 As the book progressed， though， it's like the author forgot that these characters had any personality at all。 For example， Wirr is said to be somewhat of a prankster and impulsive。 That comes into play in a few scenes early on but after the first 1/4？ He's just like everyone else。I also couldn't tell you the age of a single character here， from the main trio （who we're told are young adults， I believe） to the so-called Elders。 They all talk and act the same。 Additionally， isn't it so convenient that everyone is super nice and approachable？ This is also another thing I encounter often in modern fantasy （another symptom of the characters feeling like they're modern people in a fantasy setting）， where everyone is super helpful and understanding and ready to help everyone else。 There's no friction between the characters。 When the author needs for some characters to not be so nice， he takes them to extremes and they just feel like caricatures。 There's no nuance， no depth。This is， perhaps， my main pain point。 I love fantasy for the worldbuilding， but I read books for the characters。 A book with badly written characters is a bad book， full stop。 For example， Abercrombie's "First Law Trilogy" isn't terribly well-written， nor is the world the most complex and interesting world out there。 But his characters are amazing。 They are nuanced， they have distinct personalities， they feel like a part of the world， they act differently。 And that's why I read the whole trilogy and want to read more of his books。 Robin Hobb is， so far， to me， the best fantasy writer out there when it comes to characters。 Even Erikson， despite the myriad of characters in Malazan and despite some not being as fleshed out as they should writes better characters than this。PlotYou would think that a book with bad worldbuilding and bad characters would， at least， have a good and interesting plot， right？ Wrong。 You could say this book is "plot-driven" （an expression people often use to justify the bad characters and bad writing）， but if what you're driving is a shitty car that you're still somehow trying to assemble as you go along， I'm not that interested in going along for the ride。This book's plot was all over the place。 Again， it felt like the author took different elements from all these different pieces of media and threw them carelessly together。 A huge chunk of this book is just a group of people going from point A to point B。 Lord of the Rings is， for the most part， just that， and I don't think that's inherently problematic。 But the subplots are just。。。 so。。。 boring。。。 and。。。 formulaic。。。 Characters get in trouble > they or someone else kills the enemy > everyone survives to see another day。 Over， and over， and over。Every conflict is resolved through murder。 Why？ Is the author really that lazy？ I have no problem with reading about people killing or about death in general and I've read a lot of books with a lot of killing and death。 But this one takes the prize。 They kill people left and right， no space for reflection and commentary， no space for nuance。 It feels so lazy， so uninspired。 One of the most stressful reading moments I've ever had came from a Robin Hobb book when 2 characters were about to meet: there was no violence， no fighting， nothing。 It was literally just a conflict between 2 characters。 That's how you write a good plot: you write great characters and then write conflicts between them。 Here， it's like a videogame where everything is solved by pressing the button A over and over until the enemy dies。It also felt like the author was making the plot up as he went along。 Sometimes that works， sometimes it doesn't。 Not every author has to pull a J。K。 Rowling and spend 7 years plotting everything; Martin famously said that he only has general ideas of where he wants to go but doesn't plot what happens in between。 But there's a clear difference between that， and this。 This feels like a first draft where the author is telling himself the story and writing down the plot before he actually writes the book。 Except this got published。 As a finished novel。 And I bought it。 And read it。 And I wasn't a beta reader。Please， I'm begging you， give me a single grain of black pepper。WritingThe last section and also one of the worst。 In my review of Children of Blood and Bone， I write that my main qualm with that book is the terrible writing。 But Adeyemi's writing is bad because she tries to make it good but fails miserably。 Here， it's just plain bad。 It's bland， and nothing special。 That would be fine if anything else in this book had a single grain of inspiration and personality but like。。。 not even that。Islington's writing is mostly matter-of-fact: he writes just what you need to read to understand what's happening， and nothing more。 Nothing particularly wrong with that but it contributes to my problems with the other components: the bland writing prevents any ambience and immersion into the world， the bland writing makes it almost impossible to distinguish characters' voices and personalities， the bland writing keeps the plot to what it needs to be and nothing else。At times， though， it's outright bad。 For the most part， it's just amateurish and it's just something the author can improve， but there are some serious offenders。 I already hate the expression "he let go of a breath he hadn't realised he was holding"; here， the author not only uses that， he also writes "Suddenly there was a voice， screaming for help， desperate and afraid。 It took a few moments for Asha to register it was her own。" Like。。。 I can understand someone holding in their breath without being fully aware of it but screaming？ How do you not realise you're screaming？Why is everyone gaping？ Close your mouths: "Asha gaped a little as she entered the ballroom。" She gaped a little？ What？ The author also loooooves to tell you how much time passed between certain events: "a few seconds later"， "they stood like that for a few minutes， "they talked for a couple of hours"， "it all happened in a moment。" My favourite was when someone died and their friends stood around them in silence for a few minutes。 Minutes？ In the middle of a war？ Wasn't everything super urgent just a few sentences ago？The major problem with the author's writing， though， is definitely the telling instead of showing。 One of the major tenets in writing is that you should show instead of tell， but a lot of authors only apply that rule to action and forget to apply it to everything else。 Why are you telling me that the characters talked companionably for a couple of hours？ Show me！ Why are you telling me that a character feels remorse after killing some one？ Show me！ Why are you telling me that they got over that remorse？ Show me！ I don't need to be shown every single thing， I don't need to know everything the characters said。 But if you want me to know that these 2 characters who started out as enemies are now getting along， don't tell me that they talked companionably for a couple of hours， show me their relationship progressing。And even the action scenes were badly written。 There was no sense of orientation or urgency （mostly because I knew someone would kill someone else and the problem would be over）， but the action was always like "it all happened in an instance， the dagger was suddenly through X's neck"。 Why is everything happening "in an instance" or "in a moment"？ Describe the action！ Stop being lazy！Then， there was the dialogue。 When the characters weren't talking like they were in any generic Netflix show， they were dumping information about the world or the plot。 At times， it was stunted and awkward， at others it was formulaic and matter-of-fact。 Once again， the characters' voices were indistinguishable from one another， they all talked the same， regardless of age， class， background， whatever。There were barely any descriptions of anything。 As I said， the writing served only as a vessel for the story， nothing else。 Some people like that， I don't particularly mind it， but it still has to be somewhat good。 Also， why is every woman described as "pretty"？ Every。 Single。 Woman。Too long， didn't readThis book was too long and I kinda wish I hadn't read it， but alas， here we are。 I pushed through it and， in the end， I learned some things。But， if you just want the 101， here it is: if you don't mind a） generic， mediocre writing， b） basic， indistinguishable characters and c） over-usage of fantasy tropes and if you just want to read a """"plot-driven"""" fantasy book， this might be it！ Lots of people liked it， so you might like it too！There is a somewhat interesting plot twist towards the middle， but I still think it was handled wrong and it turned out to be as boring and derivative as everything else。 When that happened， I honestly thought "finally！ Something！ The author has blessed me with something other than soggy cardboard！" and I had all these ideas as to how this twist fit into the story and how the author could explore it but then。。。 he did nothing special with it。 So there's that。However， I absolutely did not like this book。 It just feels so amateurish， like something I'd write knowing perfectly well it would never get published。 You know what this book reminds me of？ You know when you were a kid and you'd just read the Harry Potter and Eragon books and maybe you'd just seen the Lord of the Rings movies and then you thought "I should write a book！" and you wrote a super shitty book called something like "Kyle Emmett and the Dragon's Heart" and it was about an Elf boy who attends a magic school and is also a dragon rider？ That is what this book is but maybe like 13% better。 。。。more

Mara ，

Bello， ma。。。Originale la storia， interessanti le vicende， ritmo narrativo abbastanza intrigante ma。。。 Ma si vede che lo scrittore è alle prime armi con questa saga， lo stile è imperfetto， l'approfondimento dei personaggi quasi nullo， alcune azioni descritte piuttosto strane。 Eppure le basi per un Fantasy pazzesco ci sono e anche per un cast di personaggi memorabile， se non fosse che l'autore ha dato loro troppo poco spessore。 Leggerei il secondo？ Assolutamente sì。 È un qualcosa di originale nel Bello， ma。。。Originale la storia， interessanti le vicende， ritmo narrativo abbastanza intrigante ma。。。 Ma si vede che lo scrittore è alle prime armi con questa saga， lo stile è imperfetto， l'approfondimento dei personaggi quasi nullo， alcune azioni descritte piuttosto strane。 Eppure le basi per un Fantasy pazzesco ci sono e anche per un cast di personaggi memorabile， se non fosse che l'autore ha dato loro troppo poco spessore。 Leggerei il secondo？ Assolutamente sì。 È un qualcosa di originale nel panorama fantasy mondiale ordierno？ Sì！ Finalmente sì！！ 。。。more

Sarah Mazza ，

The powerful Augurs， once regarded akin to gods， had ruled supreme over the lands。 Among their talents had been the ability to see visions of the future， to read the minds of others and wield both the raw magical forces that flowed within every living thing。 They were overlords， until their magic began to fail them， and their foresights started ringing false。 War devoured the lands and the Augurs were destroyed completely。 The magical class beneath them， who had the lesser Gift of magic， became The powerful Augurs， once regarded akin to gods， had ruled supreme over the lands。 Among their talents had been the ability to see visions of the future， to read the minds of others and wield both the raw magical forces that flowed within every living thing。 They were overlords， until their magic began to fail them， and their foresights started ringing false。 War devoured the lands and the Augurs were destroyed completely。 The magical class beneath them， who had the lesser Gift of magic， became oppressed by the victors of the battle and the treaty imposed on them became etched into their skin， laws that physically forced absolute obedience。 Twenty years after the war， Davian is a student of the Gifted， but he shows talents of the much hated Augurs instead， a fact that could be enough to get him killed。 Caeden wakes within a forest with no memories of himself or his past， but he is completely covered in someone else’s blood and hunted for the fact。 And he has these abilities like none other， with an incredible， deep well of magical strength。 Established skills kick in automatically at times when it is needed， yet Caeden has no recollection of being trained。 This novel， a debut by James Islington， was immediately immersive and addictive。 While the plot was full of twists and turns， layers and deeps， it always remained a light read。 There was no part that dragged or was a slog to get through。 These factors are what I enjoyed most about this book and the reason I gave it 5 stars。 I absolutely feel in love with this world， which had a similar feel to Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time。 I found myself invested in the characters and the dynamics between them， despite that more could have been done to really flesh them out into three dimensional personalities。 I’m looking forward to reading the next instalment， specifically to see how the author grows in his writing style – I have heard the following books are even better。 。。。more

NerdyKitty815 ，

This review is also on my blog: nerdykitty815。wixsite。com/blog。And the verdict is。。。meh。This is something that very much pains me。 I did not expect this book to be the best thing ever， but I did expect to like it， not spend seven hundred pages being annoyed by it。 Because really， The Shadow of What Was Lost looked to be right up my alley。 It was pitched as the Wheel of Time， a series I like， meets Mistborn， a series I absolutely love。 On top of that， many reviewers I've found that I generally ag This review is also on my blog: nerdykitty815。wixsite。com/blog。And the verdict is。。。meh。This is something that very much pains me。 I did not expect this book to be the best thing ever， but I did expect to like it， not spend seven hundred pages being annoyed by it。 Because really， The Shadow of What Was Lost looked to be right up my alley。 It was pitched as the Wheel of Time， a series I like， meets Mistborn， a series I absolutely love。 On top of that， many reviewers I've found that I generally agree with gave it four or five stars， and the reviews in generally were really good。 I had no reason to doubt that I would like this book。 Maybe even love it。And yet， I did not。 I also don't see why it's been compared to Mistborn; it reminded me more of the Stormlight Archive， with the multiple POVs and twisted world history。 And that did actually give me hope， because as much as I love the Stormlight Archive， it did take me a little bit to warm up to the beginning of The Way of Kings， but once I was through with the first two hundred pages， I was in love。But those two hundred pages were interesting， even if I didn't love them。 The Shadow of What Was Lost was not like that。 I kept hoping it would get better， but it didn't。 It reminded me most of all of the Wheel of Time， but only the parts of the Wheel of Time I don't really like。 The plot was fairly similar， and there were a lot of fantasy clichés and elements borrowed from other， better stories。 Not to say that there was no originality， but it wasn't stunning。I read a lot of YA， even if I've started to move more towards adult books like this one， and one of my problems with the YA genre is that I would always see people gushing over certain books， and so I'd read those books because I think they'd be good， and then I'd hate them。 Before joining Goodreads， I just concluded that there was something wrong with me for hating those books， but now I see that a lot of people feel the same as me。 The Shadow of What Was Lost gave me the same feeling as those YA books; everyone loved it but me， and I felt bad for not loving it， but this time， I'm in the minority。See， again， this was just a fantasy book。 An average fantasy book， and one I had been led to believe would be something more。 I didn't hate it， but I had to literally actively turn off the analytical part of my brain to actually enjoy it。There were some interesting ideas here， don't get me wrong， and it's not actually a bad book。 Since it seems like a lot of people loved this book， and there was some potential， others will love it。 The idea of the Shadows， for instance， was pretty original and interesting。 I also liked the idea of this big war having been fought before the main characters were even born， but it still effecting them。 It made for a more unique climate。 The magic system was not as simple as it first seemed， and was actually pretty interesting， as was the history and society of the world。 The rest of the book， however， was too familiar for my tastes。 I actually do think I would have liked it more if I hadn't recently started reading the Wheel of Time， because the familiarity of the concepts， plot， and characters here just made me feel as if I had been chewing on a piece of food for too long。That's especially how I felt with the characters， though they weren't bad。 They were just too familiar。 And too nice。I didn't hate any of them， but I just didn't care。 Darian， the main protagonist， was very basic。 He was nice。 Too nice， I think。 That was not his only personality trait， but he was too much like the three farmboy morons from the Wheel of Time， and I wanted him to be different。 （Again， I also think I read this at a bad time。） He wasn't as annoying， though， and I suppose I liked him enough， but still。 Also， let's be honest。 For a kid who knows when he's being lied to， be was pretty easy to dupe。 It never seemed to register in his mind that he COULD be lied to， because there was a way around it， which that insane wizard told him。 That insane wizard who he totally should trust fully。Wirr was much the same， except he was a little more annoying。 I didn't hate him either， but I also don't see what he brought to the story， besides being the obligatory Perrin-Samwise-Ron character。Caedan， I don't really have an opinion on。 His plotline was intriguing， but one thing I really think the story suffered from was having Darian narrate as much as possible， so Caedan only got the chance if Darian wasn't there， and Wirr wasn't either， and what he was doing was directly relevant to them。 There just wasn't a lot of wiggle room and downtime for much character development to occur with him。Asha was probably my favorite perspective （not character）， because her storyline was most interesting。 She was a little too nice as well， but she got more interesting later on， when she showed that she was also pretty clever。 It was also kind of weird to me that she didn't seem upset about her transformation to a Shadow。 She's had a vital part of her identity stripped away， and now she will be hated more than ever because of the marks on her face， but she didn't seem to care。 And to be honest， nobody else seemed to care either， which was the complete opposite of how people were supposed to react to Shadows。 At the same time， though， while I did find how things turned out for her too be too convenient and wishy-washy， I did enjoy her relationship with the Augurs。To say something more nice， I actually think James Islington also did a really good job of portraying female characters。 I'm not one of those people who thinks that men can't or shouldn't write women， but sometimes in books written by men， the author just tries way too hard to write female characters and incorporate them into the story， and it comes out onto the paper awkwardly （even if I really do appreciate the effort， and the authors can sometimes totally nail it through the awkwardness）。 But I legitimately think Islington did a great job writing of the girls in this book as if they were real people， and not some novel species with two X chromosomes。 On the other hand， again， everyone was just too nice and trusting。 There weren't really any villains， or anyone who was morally dubious。 Some people had shady pasts， and that one guy tinkered with Darian's head a little， but they were also all really nice and trustworthy。 It was a bit annoying， and that's really the part where I had to tell my logic to shut up。Some other elements were just half-baked as well。 The Augurs were supposed to be hated， and then the man who hated them the most had a little club with them， and it was really easy for people to figure out the Davian was one， though they never made a big deal about it。Some of the storytelling wasn't very good， either。 The writing itself switched between pretty solid， actually， and just kind of cringy。 As far as actual content goes， there were just a lot of problems。 For one， there were too many coincidences。 Sure， the first person Davian runs into after leaving the school is the person who saved him during his most traumatic experience。 That makes sense。 I mean， one or two coincidences are okay。 It's a story。 But when the plot hinges on them， it gets annoying and unrealistic。Some of the plot twists were not good， either。 None were built up for long， and most were predictable or cliché。 None felt as if they were actually important， and they supported the persistence of the coincidences。 For most of the book， I found myself going， "I'm sorry， and I supposed to be surprised by that？ Am I supposed to care？" The twist I did like， however， was the one where Darian ended up stuck with Malshash。 Or rather， where。Still， a lot of the storytelling elements were just not well-done。 I did like that Davian's powers weren't a surprise to him and he knew about them， but nothing else was very realistic。 The plot hinged on coincidences， misunderstandings， and dramatic irony that was was more annoying than anything。On top of that， the way some information was presented made it just less impactful than it was supposed to be。 For example， Caeden should have been introduced in the forest， covered in blood， terror and confusion filling his head。 He shouldn't have dryly told Darian about it all weeks after the fact。 It just didn't work。 The entire story felt flat and low-stakes， and choices like that just contributed to it。Again， there was the problem of people just being too nice。 THEY LIVE IN A HARSH FANTASY WORLD WITH DEATH AND DESCRIMINATION AND EVERYONE IS SO POLITE AND FRIENDLY AND NICE AND TRUSTING。 IT MAKES NO SENSE。 NO ONE CLASHED。 EVER！That friendliness， I think， also lowered the tension。 Despite being a story where other human beings were fully capable of killing and hating each other， it did not feel like that。 There was only one scene that was like that， near the beginning when Davian was threatened by some dumb kids。 Of course， it's nice to be friendly and understanding and all that， but if you look out at this world we live in， you'll realize that that is not always how things work， and definitely not as conveniently and consistently as in this book。 Also， there were so many plotholes。 Why were the Augurs described as godlike？ They didn't do anything flashy that people knew about， and it was basically explained that they couldn't obscure information。 Why were they tyrants？ How did they end up in change in the first place？ That was all very fishy。 In addition， where were Davian's parents？ Had he just been living at the school his whole life？ What about Wirr's mother？ Was she Gifted？ His dad definitely wasn't。 Is being Gifted genetic？ What about being an Augur？ Do all Augurs have to die for a minute to become one？ I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS。Despite my overwhelming disappointment in this book， I will read the next one。 I did see potential here， and I did not hate reading it。 It got three stars， but the problem is just that for it to get those stars， I had to turn off a part of my brain。 But since I wanted to enjoy it enough to do that， I will give the next one as chance as well。 And also， to be honest， so I can see what happens next as well， because the only part I truly liked was that end。 。。。more

James W。 ，

Interesting 。 Following a group of magic users as they try to save their lives and world 。Well narrated 。

Kaitlyn ，

May not be a 5 star， but definitely one of my favorite reads of the year so far！ It may have taken me over a month to read it， but its chunky （for me） and I read multiple other books on top of it。 I'm not sure what it was about this one that I liked so much， but I liked the characters & the story line very much and the ending had me like "what！？" I think Islington did a great job and I can't wait to pick book number two！ The book was easy to follow too！ Overall great read！！ May not be a 5 star， but definitely one of my favorite reads of the year so far！ It may have taken me over a month to read it， but its chunky （for me） and I read multiple other books on top of it。 I'm not sure what it was about this one that I liked so much， but I liked the characters & the story line very much and the ending had me like "what！？" I think Islington did a great job and I can't wait to pick book number two！ The book was easy to follow too！ Overall great read！！ 。。。more

Sud666 ，

"The Shadow of What Was Lost" was quite good。 On the back jacket cover there was a quote stating that fans of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" would enjoy this。 I could certainly see the subtle influences in the Jordan story on the plot of this new fantasy work。 While Islington's world lacks the detail and sheer enormity of Jordan's worldbuilding， it does have the benefit of lacking the often tedious and overly descriptive prose that can be a drag on Jordan's novels。 The tighter story makes this "The Shadow of What Was Lost" was quite good。 On the back jacket cover there was a quote stating that fans of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" would enjoy this。 I could certainly see the subtle influences in the Jordan story on the plot of this new fantasy work。 While Islington's world lacks the detail and sheer enormity of Jordan's worldbuilding， it does have the benefit of lacking the often tedious and overly descriptive prose that can be a drag on Jordan's novels。 The tighter story makes this an addictive read。 I enjoyed the characters and one side note- I've always had a problem with the underlying "YA" aspects of Jordan's characters。 Especially the "evil" ones such as the Forsaken or what have you。 Their punishments and， sometimes even manner， lacked the gravitas and fear that ought to surround a character of that caliber。 Here？ No such issue。 One scene struck me- where an evil servant dared to ask a simple question （instead of just obeying） the evil character calmly split his finger down the middle with his powers。 Now that's what I'm talking about！ This creature serves an evil Dark Lord。 Unlike Jordan's sophomoric levels of evil， these characters truly strike you as cold-blooded and dark。 Well done！The story？ Firstly the ending？ I'm going to say you're not going to see it coming。 Everything in between？ Very entertaining。 The story revolves around two specific characters。 One is Davian a young man studying at Caladel， a school for “gifted” those who can wield life essence as a power （think the Force from Star Wars） and a Gifted man named Caeden。 Caeden has been accused of massacring an entire village but has lost his memories。 While these are the main characters， the world itself is rather interesting。Twenty years ago， Andarra was ruled by the Augurs， who had various powers including precognition and time manipulation。 They were assisted by the Gifted， who could use their life energy， or Essence， to perform various magical tasks。 Unlike Gifted， Augurs could not generally draw Essence from an inner Reserve。 Somehow， the Augurs’ abilities became corrupted and their visions became less accurate。 In their struggle to keep power， a civil war broke out。 Royalists led by King Kevran Andras were victorious。 The Augurs were all killed， and only two Gifted schools （Tol Athien and Tol Shen） survived。 The Four Tenets were instituted by the Andras family。 The Tenets are magical contracts that limit the abilities of the Gifted; they must obey orders from Administrators and may not use Essence to harm others。 This is the world in which Davian， Caeden， and their friends must try to seek answers to a pending invasion of strange soldiers and the potential weakening of the Barrier， and the release of an ancient enemy。Is this a terribly original story？ No。 In fact， as I said， there is a subtle hint of Wheel of Time's influence。 But I enjoyed the pacing and the more mature story of Islington's world。 It certainly is a page-turner。 While the story slowly fills you in on the world with dream sequences and with random information， it would have been nice to have included some kind of name listing。 This was a very enjoyable fantasy story and I shall certainly be grabbing the next book in this series。 So in summation？ An entertaining fantasy story， subtly influenced by Jordan's Wheel of Time， but with a more mature feeling。 。。。more

asioteka ，

Ta książka zdecydowanie zasługuje na 6/5 gwiazdek。 🤯♥️

Zuzannna ，

🟠I'm in love， ok？ Ok 🟠Kocham wszystkich bohaterów， świat jest n i e s a m o w i c i e wykreowany， intrygi polityczne- bardzo interesujące + jeszcze te wątki， które się ze sobą przeplatają i łączą oraz zwroty akcji， których nie dało się przewidzieć。 Po prostu kocham🤍Przepraszam za tak chaotyczną recenzję， ale nie umiem się normalnie o tym arcydziele wysławiać xgsgxf 🟠I'm in love， ok？ Ok 🟠Kocham wszystkich bohaterów， świat jest n i e s a m o w i c i e wykreowany， intrygi polityczne- bardzo interesujące + jeszcze te wątki， które się ze sobą przeplatają i łączą oraz zwroty akcji， których nie dało się przewidzieć。 Po prostu kocham🤍Przepraszam za tak chaotyczną recenzję， ale nie umiem się normalnie o tym arcydziele wysławiać xgsgxf 。。。more

Agos Scavo ，

Fino a metà lettura è stato deludente， non mi prendeva， non mi piaceva。 Nella seconda parte， invece， è nato una curiosità ed un interesse inaspettato che mi spinge a valutare tutto il romanzo come un fantasy classico， semplice， con qualcosa di magico capace di rapirmi。 Tre stelle e mezzo。

Charles Brill ，

I always look forward to a new trilogy。 I feel like I'm behind the wheel of a Chevy with the first installment of 'The Licanius Trilogy'。 I was hoping for the Ferrari。 Maybe the next volume。 There was nothing wrong， it has the ingredients of a good fantasy。 Got your medieval setting - check - got your magic- check- mystery characters- check - potential heros - check - romance - not so much but there's hope。 This is in 700 pages。 It did pick up toward the end， but again 700 pages。 The entire 700 I always look forward to a new trilogy。 I feel like I'm behind the wheel of a Chevy with the first installment of 'The Licanius Trilogy'。 I was hoping for the Ferrari。 Maybe the next volume。 There was nothing wrong， it has the ingredients of a good fantasy。 Got your medieval setting - check - got your magic- check- mystery characters- check - potential heros - check - romance - not so much but there's hope。 This is in 700 pages。 It did pick up toward the end， but again 700 pages。 The entire 700 pages seemed like a prolog。 The Big Evil and Who's Who are just hinted at。 Spoiler Alert: Creepy bad guys invade and are sort of repulsed。 Find out more about Big Evil and Who's Who in next book。 I will， I'm expecting great things。 。。。more

Eduardo Diaz Suarez ，

Qué locura de libro

Ewelina Boruta ，

4，5

Robert Brzeziński ，

4，5/5 Ta książka jest idealnym przykładem na to， jak korzystając z utartych schematów fantastyki， motywu drogi， wybrańca， napisać coś porywającego i zaskakującego。 Przy tej lekturze nie można się nudzić。 Islington wprowadza zwroty akcji na każdym kroku， przemyślanie prowadzi fabułę， nawiazując do poprzednich zdarzeń。 Do samego końca nie wiadomo， co jest osią napędową wydarzeń， co podsyca zainteresowanie i skutkuje końcowym odliczaniem dni do premiery （polskiej） następnej części。 Pomimo bardzo po 4，5/5 Ta książka jest idealnym przykładem na to， jak korzystając z utartych schematów fantastyki， motywu drogi， wybrańca， napisać coś porywającego i zaskakującego。 Przy tej lekturze nie można się nudzić。 Islington wprowadza zwroty akcji na każdym kroku， przemyślanie prowadzi fabułę， nawiazując do poprzednich zdarzeń。 Do samego końca nie wiadomo， co jest osią napędową wydarzeń， co podsyca zainteresowanie i skutkuje końcowym odliczaniem dni do premiery （polskiej） następnej części。 Pomimo bardzo pozytywnego przeze mnie odbioru， mam wrażenie， że postacie nie mają jakiegoś głębszego portretu psychologicznego， wydają się bardzo stereotypowe - czy jest to duża wada czy nie， zależy tylko od odbiorcy i tego， czego wymaga się od fantastyki。 Mam nadzieję， że w następnej części autor nada im głębi。 。。。more

Leonie Ma ，

Could not put it down！ New fav！

Ola Mosurek ，

4。5 ❤️

Kirin ，

I really enjoyed reading this。 And the ending - bout to pick up the next one

June ，

This is a very tropey fantasy novel initially。 The Chosen One with a prophecy is one of the major ones you will discover。 There are few magic systems and a political intrigue。 And even a time travel aspect。 And it didn't look like this would work well。 But then as the story unravels it becomes its own thing。 The Shadow of What was Lost is a multi-layered and complex novel with characters that the reader falls in love despite some worrying traits。 The main four protagonists are Davian， Wirr， Asha This is a very tropey fantasy novel initially。 The Chosen One with a prophecy is one of the major ones you will discover。 There are few magic systems and a political intrigue。 And even a time travel aspect。 And it didn't look like this would work well。 But then as the story unravels it becomes its own thing。 The Shadow of What was Lost is a multi-layered and complex novel with characters that the reader falls in love despite some worrying traits。 The main four protagonists are Davian， Wirr， Asha and then a bit later Caeden。 Every POV matters， even the side characters。 No one character dominates the story。 I ended up wanting to be with Davian， Wirr， Asha and Caeden all at the same time。 Each portion giving clues to unravel the story。 Or so you think。 But what really happens is that you have more questions。 And as readers， we know that is so hard to do successfully with multiple POVs。 All these characters have some secret they are hiding and not in the that miscommunication trope way。 These are the types of secrets we hide from each other ， even our nearest and dearest。 The writing improves throughout the book。 It was a bit unwieldy in the beginning， and the ending felt a bit rushed。 But overall， this is a strong debut fantasy novel。 And I suspect that on re-reading， the more the reader will gain just from the storytelling experience and the clues that were missed on the first read。 So now I'm torn。 Do I read this over again for further clarity？ Or after that mind-blowing epilogue just pick up the sequel？ 。。。more

Klaus ，

11/25 （44%） 2 stars。DNF on page 237。 The characters aren’t fleshed out， the prose and dialogue are wooden， and the plot isn’t interesting enough to keep me going。 So much info dumping and telling rather than showing。。。 it’s not my thing。 I might finish it one day， but for now， it’s been a disappointment。 ——Dialogue 2Setting 3Characters 2Writing Style 2Plot 2

Meghana K S ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I quite enjoyed the book and the themes it followed。 The time traveling and theology was especially interesting。 I could see the influences of Robert Jordan and other fantasy authors， with the three main protagonist's at the beginning and how the story was structured。 But I enjoyed the the way the elements were woven together。 I did have some complaints。 Introducing the romantic interest so early in the story was definitely not necessary and it put me off almost immediately。 I'm glad romance bar I quite enjoyed the book and the themes it followed。 The time traveling and theology was especially interesting。 I could see the influences of Robert Jordan and other fantasy authors， with the three main protagonist's at the beginning and how the story was structured。 But I enjoyed the the way the elements were woven together。 I did have some complaints。 Introducing the romantic interest so early in the story was definitely not necessary and it put me off almost immediately。 I'm glad romance barely played a role in the grand scheme of things I am glad the author didn't go for a single mentor like the Lord of the Rings or the Wheel of Time or even Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn。 But the older， wiser but mysterious mentor was still a little too old school for me。 Also， the conversation between Fessi and Asha seemed to be put there only to pass the bechdel/mako Mori test。 Overall a gripping story。 。。。more

Aniela ，

4，5。 Ta książka definitywnie rozpiernicza system

Tom Scharf ，

Fantastic debut novel， page turning epic fantasy in the vein of Jordan and Sanderson， great traditional fantasy stories presented in a modern writing style， loveable characters - all with unique development， an ending which will leave you wanting to pick up book 2 and continue diving into this fantastic world

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Shadow of What Was Lost

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Shadow of What Was Lost&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Shadow of What Was Lost&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0