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The Shadow of What Was Lost

Licanius, Book 1

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The Shadow of What Was Lost

By: James Islington
Narrated by: Michael Kramer
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It has been 20 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 there is further to fall if he cannot pass his final tests. But when he 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....

©2015 James Islington (P)2015 Podium Audio Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction War Time Travel
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Michael Kramer purrs and growls his way through twenty-five hours of genuinely inventive narrative. The characters grow, the tension builds, the intrigue winds its way around my imagination and the magic quite simply unfolds before my very ears. Excellent fantasy of the epic variety from James Islington.

Nothing Lost in This Shadow

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An interesting story which gave an introduction into the lives of the characters but lacked the gripping adventure that makes you come back for more. Readable enjoyable but nothing magical unlike the characters of the book

What was lost

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This read almost like an uncanny reproduction of a better version of the story. It's good, but it isn't great.

Characters fall short of their potential. Random plot elements appear all the time to yank the narrative in a new direction.

Characters who are meant to be smart show a surprising lack of wisdom. The story dwells on mediocre philosophical ideas. Even when dumb stuff happens, there's no self awareness of how dumb it is. Almost like the author didn't realise that he wasn't being as subtle as he thought he was.

It's a good story when it doesn't make me cringe.

Every character has to work with different information. That respect for different perspectives and the general plot continuity were handled well. But somehow the characters still managed to miss critical details in order to advance the conflict. Maybe as a reader you could explain away all the stupidity in the book, but it isn't easy and that shouldn't be the reader's job. When the reader can't tell if the author was clueless or just the character, that's not good writing.

The author added a lot of detail in how people behave, in the intricate events, and in the causality. But those details aren't being respected. In other words, there's detail without nuance. There's attempted subtlety minus actual subtlety.

A couple instances of plotting were well executed, but in an audiobook this long those aren't the majority.

The Shadow of Intelligence Lost

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lord of the rings and harry potter mix
i got confused with the people, i will need to lisiten to it again, before i get the next in the set.

good

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This book was an amazing surprise. It has such a complex story but is written so well, that it isn't hard to follow. The characters are all unique and relatable and the character development for all of them is some of the best I have come across. I truly believe that anyone who likes big interesting stories, must give this book a whirl! Unbelievably good, I'm now just extremely upset I will have to wait until the next book is released. I think I may have found a new favourite author and Kramer was fantastic as always.

Unbelievable 12/10

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