Review: The Shadow of What Was Lost

The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's interesting, and pretty good in terms of being a coming-of-age story on it's own with plenty of twists and surprising revelations, but somehow the whole hero's journey aspect of fantasy is beginning to wear a little thin - mostly with me, I've just read too many of those types of stories, I guess.
That said, it has a very interesting presense in terms of dynamics of time; unlike most others where events happened in faraway, mythological past followed by a frozen, unchanging present, this world feels more dynamic, with causes and effects creating the society, politics, and economy of the place.
The band of companions also is an interesting mix, brought together in ways that are fairly unlike - and better - than most other standard novels, though it does use one of the most-abused cliches of the magic school - but I'll forgive that in the light of not just the world, but a magic system that almost approaches a Brandon Sanderson level of complex simplicity.
I'm not sure why I felt it didn't grip; all the ingredients are there, it's just not baked right. Some parts feel raw and meandering, others repetitive and unnecessary.
Anyway, the stage is set; look forward to the next one, hoping it improves.

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