"Islington's magic-soaked setting has plenty of opportunities for conflict between competing powers even as earth-shattering evil approaches. Epic fantasy fans will enjoy this dense, suspenseful adventure. "—Publishers Weekly on An Echo of Things to Come
"Reminiscent of Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson, Islington's writing is refreshingly fast paced, with a light and clever touch."—Booklist on An Echo of Things to Come
"Fans of this genre will find themselves immersed in the magical battles, suspense and backstabbing political intrigue."—RT Book Reviews on An Echo of Things to Come
"Islington's natural storytelling ability provides incessant plot twists and maintains a relentless pace...A promising page-turner from a poised newcomer who's well worth keeping tabs on."—Kirkus on The Shadow of What Was Lost
"Islington has built a world with all the right genre elements: complex magic, terrifying threats out of legend, political intrigue, and a large cast of characters whose motivations are seldom clear. Fans of doorstop epic fantasy will not be disappointed."—Publishers Weekly on The Shadow of What Was Lost
"Love The Wheel of Time? This is about to become your new favorite series."—B&N SF & Fantasy Blog on The Shadow of What Was Lost
"Storytelling assurance rare for a debut . . . Fans of Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson will find much to admire."—Guardian on The Shadow of What Was Lost
"The plot twists are unexpected, the world building is fascinating, and the fledgling love story is a charmer.... This sweeping and compelling epic is ripe for a sequel."—Booklist on The Shadow of What Was Lost
"The Shadow of What was Lost is an engrossing fantasy debut.... The twisting and complex storylines, fascinating characters and inventive magic make for a fun read packed with plenty of mystery."—Book Reporter
06/19/2017
This weighty epic fantasy sequel to The Shadow of What Was Lost finds the heroes preparing to take on the forces massing beyond the magical boundary wall that protects the land of Andarra. Wirr, the newly minted Northwarden, and his friends Davian, a magic-wielding augur, and Asha, a corrupted augur known as a Shadow, have their hands full convincing anyone to take the threat seriously. Wirr has repealed the laws that condemned augurs to death, but many in Andarra still distrust those who use magic, especially the ones who are hiding unseemly secrets. Caeden, an amnesiac young man Wirr and Davian saved from a death sentence, is finally regaining his memories, and he struggles to deal with the unpleasant truths they contain. Asha needs to investigate the suspicious disappearance of other Shadows, and Davian is learning to control his growing powers, but the threat at the wall eventually forces everyone to drop their other plans and meet the enemy. Islington’s magic-soaked setting has plenty of opportunities for conflict between competing powers even as earth-shattering evil approaches. Epic fantasy fans will enjoy this dense, suspenseful adventure. (Aug.)
2017-06-06
Second part of Islington's doorstopper epic fantasy trilogy (The Shadow of What Was Lost, 2016), set in a world of the Gifted, whose magic lies in being able to tap into their own life force, and the Augurs, who wield a higher-order magic.Islington supplies a "refresher" of the events of Book 1 that isn't as helpful as you might suppose for reasons that will soon become clear. The laws that kept the Augurs and the Gifted constrained have been changed to allow them to defend Andarra against mysterious invaders. Three 16-year-olds who became friends at a school for the Gifted, Davian, Wirr, and Asha, now face different futures. Davian must learn to control his Augur powers and determine why the Boundary, put in place many years ago to keep out an invader called Aarkein Devaed, is weakening. Wirr, who, following his father's death, is now Prince Torin the Northwarden, suspects that the story his father told him was false and must also deal with his interfering mother. By means of treachery, Asha's Gifted powers have been suppressed, turning her into a Shadow; determined to find out how and why, she may discover more than she bargained for. Their friend Caeden has learned he's an immortal; worse, he was once Aarkein Devaed but could not bear the crushing guilt and deleted his memories. Now he finds he needs them back; but is he really as evil as everybody says and he himself believes? With the narrative lacking the clear theme usually found in epic fantasy, the particulars assume critical importance; without them readers will be unable to decipher such magnificently gnomic passages as: "Andrael's ridiculous weapon did its job and took my Reserve, so the Siphon is now bonded to Ashalia rather than me. If you want to seal the ilshara, she will need to find the final Tributary. The one that you set aside for Gassandrid, until he began to suspect and split himself." Though the book is vastly overelaborate, the steady pace and intricately fascinating details are relentlessly gripping; fans of the first volume won't be disappointed.
