The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islignton

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, covered in blood and with no memory of who he is…

I can totally appreciate every review I’ve read of this book so far. It’s an easy read with great characters, a captivating story and enough twists and turns to satisfy the most demanding reader. That being said it’s also quite tropey and has a sense of familiarity too it that some people, especially those that consume a lot of epic fantasy may find distracting. The plot takes place in a land that 2000 years ago was attacked by a powerful magic user and his army of monsters before being secured behind a barrier in the north that is now showing signs of failing.

Our protagonist is Davian, a young man who goes to a school for Gifted who can use Essence to interact with the world around them. He is approaching his final tests but Davian has never been able to wield Essence the way others can, keeping his place in the school thus far by having a specific mark that only Gifted have. Davian of course dreams of being a chosen one of some sort. He has a big strong friend named Wirr who is also nice and caring and has his own secrets and a female friend Asha who cares for him as more than a friend but never really comes out and says it. All three characters are good and decent human beings, strong because of their believable friendships and their beliefs not because of their powers. Our final POV is a young man named Caeden who has no memories and has been captured near the site of a brutal massacre. When Davian is given a mission by a mysterious teacher to transport a thing to a place in order to investigate and possibly repair the barrier the story kicks in.

So the plot and the characters all follow a lot of traditional tropes and it totally makes sense that readers would pick up on this. What follows the initial set up is a great treat though as the writer shows his skill, not by subverting these tropes but by embracing them and taking them in new and exciting places. For a debut there is an awfully impressive amount of detail contained within the pages of this book, everyone has a secret and we get most of this information from the actions and mouths of the characters instead of a wizard showing up and downloading a ton of information. Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure at one point or two a wizard does show up and give us some information but it works well and never feels like a forced moment.

I finished this in three days which is quite good for me for an almost 700 page book. It has an intricate and highly detailed narrative, a fine collection of characters that are easy to feel invested in and some seriously great revelations that kept me guessing until the very last page. I’ve already ordered the second book and I am really looking forward to seeing how everything plays out.

9/10