The Shadow of What Was Lost is an audiobook by James Islington, narrated by Michael Kramer. The unabridged Audible edition runs 25 hrs 28 mins.
Publisher’s Summary
It has been 20 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 there is further to fall if he cannot pass his final tests. But when he 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….
Audiobook Details
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 25 hrs 28 mins
- Publisher: Podium Audio
- Release year: 2015
- Audible category: Science Fiction & Fantasy / Fantasy / Epic
Listener Ratings
The Shadow of What Was Lost holds an average listener rating of 4.6/5 from 25142 Audible ratings.
On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:
- Performance (narration): 4.7/5
- Story: 4.5/5
- 5-star ratings: 67% of all ratings
What Audible Listeners Are Saying
5/5 stars — “Brilliant!”
I read many reviews comparing The Shadow of What Was Lost to Robert Jordan’s work. I was almost offended that a new author would be compared to the legendary Jordan. However, after listening to this fantastic debut, I must grudgingly agree with the other reviewers. Many aspects of the world Islington created are indeed similar to The Wheel of Time. However, the story feels very original and I don’t feel this is just a copy of Jordan’s work.<br/><br/>You will instantly find yourself caring for the characters. The story flows smoothly and the ending instantly makes you want to find the sequel. There are quite a few unanswered questions which I have been speculating on daily since I finished listening. I hope we get some answers in the next installment.<br/><br/>I do have two minor complaints (small enough not to reduce the 5-star rating). The first is I would have liked more physical descriptions of the main characters. There weren’t enough physical descriptors to build a good picture of the characters in my mind’s eye. The other complaint is that this is only planned as a trilogy. Just with the story lines already started, I could easily see 5 – 6 books without the story dragging. I’m hoping Islington creates another trilogy set in the same world after The Licanius Trilogy is complete.<br/><br/>Michael Kramer, as always, was absolutely superb.— Jake Hartwell, Audible listener
4/5 stars — “Classic fantasy”
Nice start to a good story <br/>I was hooked and did not stop till it was done. Looking forward to the next one— Marc Senatus, Audible listener
4/5 stars — “Good listen”
While I can see where people think it’s a wheel of time knock off, I think it is its own story. Looking forward to next book.— Cptdragn, Audible listener
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