dennyabraham's review against another edition
3.0
There's a lot of backstory that is buried in the context of this book that's cool sounding but ultimately unfulfilling
marcusk's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
rclairel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
An intriguing piece of fantasy but just a bit too confusing. The characters' back stories and the magic system are too muddled to fully grasp, even by the end of the book. Though many things become a bit more clear in the final chapters, it was unpleasant to spend 80% of the book feeling confused. It's also more violent and dark than I personally like (more than Sanderson, as a comparison). The book ends with many threads unresolved, in a bit of a cliffhanger. Grrr. I almost quit resting, even after the first 300 pages (I gave it that long!) and only persevered because the book was recommended by a friend, and I hate not finding I things. It just didn't hold my interest until about halfway through, and even then I didn't love it.
tiamariatamera's review against another edition
4.0
I am conflicted. Gordon Ramsey would be impressed with the overall consistency of flavour and be satisfied after devouring the metaphorical cake that is this book. However, I feel there is a spice missing, I'm just not sure what it is.
I really enjoyed what Islington brought to the story, the plot was really compelling and keep serving us twists and turns till the end, I love worlds that leak all its juicy goodness until the very end. Also very very nice end battle, I hate it when a book curates tension towards this epic battle we are meant to look forward to and then its legit like two pages long like uhhhhhh, but the pacing was great in this instance. The magic system and monsters/beings are all very interesting and have a wealth of lore still to be explored which i love. Also just Caedan. What a baddie. We stan, I am in the fan club.
But idk i think some of my hesitance comes down to how I read it, like very slowly over two to three months, oopsies. I really liked everything it had to offer, I just felt a bit iffy toward most of the main characters and the way they processed grief/trauma. It was a little off and didn't really allow me to fully embrace them as fully fleshed out people. Cause u get all their relative perspectives, thoughts and feelings - but something bad would happen, like the torture at the beginning, where davian and wirr would be like "oh this is not good, this is horrible and will scar me 4lifebruz" but nec minute - NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN like bro, what. Or when something bad would happen to one another they would be like "this is devastating dude" but then wouldn't rlly process their grief or feelings in their parts, maybe its down to it not being in first person idk but I have heard if this improves in the second book. Idk maybe I just like to see people suffer, gosh I dont wanna trivialise trauma but idk it felt a little washed over in some parts. And this just stopped me from rlly loving the mains - dav, wirr and ash - at the start but towards the end during the battle their feelings and interactions definitley felt more raw and realised. Maybe even just seeing them all at the beginning going to classes and joking around, inciting a deeper connection wouldve helped but it kinda got there.
Just gotta commend Islington on Caedan, too good. Like bro he is so bad ass and doesn't even know why, he brought the spice I was kinda missing from the mains. Same with Malshash and the Northwarden they were so mysterious and edgey oof. I just think I like the reserved mysterious bad boi types cause there is so much more to explore from their backgrounds. I mean except for the northwarden cause... ya know. He ded. But the reveal of what was happening with him *chefs kiss*.
I really enjoyed what Islington brought to the story, the plot was really compelling and keep serving us twists and turns till the end, I love worlds that leak all its juicy goodness until the very end. Also very very nice end battle, I hate it when a book curates tension towards this epic battle we are meant to look forward to and then its legit like two pages long like uhhhhhh, but the pacing was great in this instance. The magic system and monsters/beings are all very interesting and have a wealth of lore still to be explored which i love. Also just Caedan. What a baddie. We stan, I am in the fan club.
But idk i think some of my hesitance comes down to how I read it, like very slowly over two to three months, oopsies. I really liked everything it had to offer, I just felt a bit iffy toward most of the main characters and the way they processed grief/trauma. It was a little off and didn't really allow me to fully embrace them as fully fleshed out people. Cause u get all their relative perspectives, thoughts and feelings - but something bad would happen, like the torture at the beginning, where davian and wirr would be like "oh this is not good, this is horrible and will scar me 4lifebruz" but nec minute - NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN like bro, what. Or when something bad would happen to one another they would be like "this is devastating dude" but then wouldn't rlly process their grief or feelings in their parts, maybe its down to it not being in first person idk but I have heard if this improves in the second book. Idk maybe I just like to see people suffer, gosh I dont wanna trivialise trauma but idk it felt a little washed over in some parts. And this just stopped me from rlly loving the mains - dav, wirr and ash - at the start but towards the end during the battle their feelings and interactions definitley felt more raw and realised. Maybe even just seeing them all at the beginning going to classes and joking around, inciting a deeper connection wouldve helped but it kinda got there.
Just gotta commend Islington on Caedan, too good. Like bro he is so bad ass and doesn't even know why, he brought the spice I was kinda missing from the mains. Same with Malshash and the Northwarden they were so mysterious and edgey oof. I just think I like the reserved mysterious bad boi types cause there is so much more to explore from their backgrounds. I mean except for the northwarden cause... ya know. He ded. But the reveal of what was happening with him *chefs kiss*.
gayathirir312's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Shadow of What Was Lost is the first book of The Licanius Trilogy. I'd been hearing very good things about this series and I decided to start reading. I have to say,I'm impressed. The level of details, complexity and planning is incredible. The mystery is so well done and sustained throughout the book and the lore is quite interesting. This book was such a page turner and I couldn't put it down. I didn't feel like resting till I'd completed this book.
There were so many twists throughout the book and new secrets emerged as each twist was unravelled. There are multiple POVs in this book and it was interesting to see the story progression through each of them. None of them were boring and I loved reading about the morally grey characters and their motivations. The world building is too good. I love the magic system in this and it has a lot of potential to be expanded in the future. The writing style is very engaging and I'm going to be binge reading the rest of the trilogy.
Do pick this up if you are a fan of fantasy or you love Sanderson's writing.
There were so many twists throughout the book and new secrets emerged as each twist was unravelled. There are multiple POVs in this book and it was interesting to see the story progression through each of them. None of them were boring and I loved reading about the morally grey characters and their motivations. The world building is too good. I love the magic system in this and it has a lot of potential to be expanded in the future. The writing style is very engaging and I'm going to be binge reading the rest of the trilogy.
Do pick this up if you are a fan of fantasy or you love Sanderson's writing.
pilardo's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
I finished this book, so it can’t be that bad - except I only finished it because it was gifted to me by someone whose taste I trust, and if I hadn’t been given this book, I would have dropped it in the first hundred pages. I was so unattached to all of the characters, their respective conflicts, and the overall plot of the book. There was nothing concrete that I can point towards to explain why I didn’t like this book, but it just never clicked. I never got engaged.
teastories's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant book, just no had the time to read it as frequently as I'd like. Looking forward to the next installment.
sourlemonsandonions's review against another edition
I will still finish this book just not in the right mindset.
haywee_waka's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0