The Shadow of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy #1) by James Islington - REVIEW
We return to another review again, but this time to a brand new epic fiction series. We will be talking about The Licanius Trilogy by James Islington, and her first part - The Shadow of What Was Lost. Interestingly, I generally don't have the habit of flipping through reviews of other people reading before starting a new book, the more I would be influenced by their view of the series, and less because I think it will distract me from reading. Mostly I read the synopsis, and the general grade, so I decide if this is something I would give myself a chance.
The first word is wow! This is what best describes this epic, indeed, in the true sense of the word EPIC. In the last few years, I've read a lot of serials, but none have been this great. Each one was original, imaginative, but this one was one step better in every aspect.
Let's start with the Worldbuilding work as well as the characters - The story is located on a continent divided into several kingdoms of people, who in their past have many unresolved conflicts, all accompanied by dark secrets. Their homeland, by ancient powers, is separated by the Boundary from the still more ancient evil that lurks. The world building and the magic were both strong. There were two different types of magic. Gifted and Augurs. The Augurs were once viewed as near Gods and their ability to read minds and predict the future saw them rule. Because the Augurs were low in numbers they used the regular Gifted to enforce their rule. That worked until the Augurs mysterious powers started to fail them and their decisions became erratic. Social orderliness, now somewhat governed by the previous wars of those magicians, Gifted, with the common people, imposed new laws that must be obeyed in order for the common people to feel safe. We have in his world a colorful palette of characters, corrupted to the core hiding behind the mask of friends, as well as those truly good and nice people. In these portrayals of good people, the writer very skillfully imbibed the virtues of medieval knights - honor and courage, friendship above all else. And I'm grateful for that, because it's very touching to see such a portrayal of characters. Detailed descriptions of the area allow you to transport yourself there, be present while events are happening. As always, the idea of epic fiction is something ancient, secret, too large for one person to understand, and it's perfectly incorporated into this work.
Ancient wizards, hidden secrets for years, powers so great and destructive that they are only available to a select few. Former tyrants who are so disgusted with what they have become, that they are ready to give up their eternal life to finally do some good in this world. It is politics that pull the strings and prevent our characters from acting on instinct. There are several opposing parties that must act together to prevent their world from collapsing.
The main character of this debut novel is Davian. The young guy who is Augur. And it triggers many things from his past that are yet to be discovered, as he strives to master his newfound abilities, traveling through time. Visiting places, letting go through time, he makes new friends by the way, who have their secrets, far hidden from the world.
What is a special highlight to me is the creativity of the author that his background is based on a brilliantly elaborated idea of what used to be. Cities, peoples, secrets, and powers that are ancient in name, let alone applied.
The magic system is not perfectly explained to me, I wish there were additional explanations for its application, but I guess I'm used to it from Sanderson. I don’t think I should blame the writer for that part of the omission, though, because the application of both types of magic, both those used by Gifted and those used by Augurs, are excellently incorporated into the world around them.
The weapons and artifacts that have existed for centuries and have their own destinies are complete novelty for me, because such elements did not exist in the earlier series I read, at least not recently. I find it interesting that there is a clear distinction between characters who are clearly driven by the game of destiny and those who create that destiny for themselves, all of which lead the story in the perfect direction.
Considering that this is a debut work, and assuming that the writer's skill in storytelling has been almost perfect so far, I have no doubt that we have a whole new star in this genre. Although you might think the first book is that this series has many parallels to the worlds of some other writers such as Brandon Sanderson or Tolkien, I do not consider it to be a bad thing. Because if the writer is able to incorporate their influences into his idea while retaining authenticity, it may just become even better.
I recommend this piece of epic fiction to everyone, because for me it is a kind of gem, and although I have just read the first part of the series, I am already sorry that there are only three parts and it will come to an end. I would love to read this story forever, and I'm sure it will make the same impression on you.
See you soon.