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A review by mattdavenport
The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington
3.0
6.9/10 - Solid
A pretty good debut novel for a modern author in the more classical style, The Shadow of What Was Lost was a fun trip back into more stereotypical, epic classic fantasy, with powerful young protagonists, gruffy old mentors, and mysterious, dark forces on the horizon. The best part of this book is the general vibe and sense of the world that the author is able to convey. The book remains consistently interesting, and there's a lot of depth and foreshadowing at work throughout the plot. There were a couple of twists that surprised me and a couple that seemed incredibly obvious from the get-go. The characters are interesting, but at times feel very monolithic; there hasn't been a lot yet to distinguish their personalities from one another, and all of their dialogues came across as very similar. That said, despite its flaws, I enjoyed the book, and am ready to jump into the sequel!
A pretty good debut novel for a modern author in the more classical style, The Shadow of What Was Lost was a fun trip back into more stereotypical, epic classic fantasy, with powerful young protagonists, gruffy old mentors, and mysterious, dark forces on the horizon. The best part of this book is the general vibe and sense of the world that the author is able to convey. The book remains consistently interesting, and there's a lot of depth and foreshadowing at work throughout the plot. There were a couple of twists that surprised me and a couple that seemed incredibly obvious from the get-go. The characters are interesting, but at times feel very monolithic; there hasn't been a lot yet to distinguish their personalities from one another, and all of their dialogues came across as very similar. That said, despite its flaws, I enjoyed the book, and am ready to jump into the sequel!