This is a wonderful read from Islington. The main characters are well-developed, even the side characters feel real and living. However what really shines in this book is the worldbuilding. Islington has created a world that feels old. It has history. It's weighty, and this allows a spiraling plot to unfold with factions and changing loyalties and questions of allegiance that play out almost from the first page. The surprises keep coming until nearly the final page. I'll be reading the second book in the trilogy, An Echo of Things to Come soon and am already anticipating the publication of the final book, The Light of All that Falls next year.

I also have to point out that I think these titles are some of the finest in recent memory--especially within the fantasy genre. The Shadow of What Was Lost is an evocative title. It grabs you and nearly forces you to read it. I'm incredibly glad that the book lives up to its title.