The Shadow of What Was Lost
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, c
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Two decades after the Gifted lost a war and were bound by the Four Tenets, three young Gifted students at the hidden school of Caladel are forced out into a country that wants them dead. As soldiers look for them across the borderlands, an ancient barrier in the north begins to fail.
James Islington's Licanius Trilogy has three books: The Shadow of What Was Lost, An Echo of Things to Come, and The Light of All That Falls. The trilogy is complete.
Yes. James Islington has cited Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time as a major influence. The world-building, prophecies, and ensemble cast share key DNA. The Licanius Trilogy is shorter and more focused than Wheel of Time's 14 books.
The Shadow of What Was Lost was written by James Islington, published in 2014 by Orbit.
The Shadow of What Was Lost is 654 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Shadow of What Was Lost takes most readers 10 to 14 hours to finish.
The Shadow of What Was Lost is a standalone novel by James Islington, not part of a series.
The Shadow of What Was Lost is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
