The Light of All That Falls (The Licanius Trilogy, Book 3)
By: James Islington
My Rating: FIVE out of FIVE stars!
Best for: 14 and up

James Islington read Mistborn and The Name of the Wind and thought “I can do that!”

So he did.

As far as debut novels go, I don’t know I’ve ever come across one as perfectly ambitious as The Shadow of What Was Lost, book 1 in The Licanius Trilogy.

Book 2 delivered!

And book 3? I couldn’t wait to figure out the ending, but I never wanted it to end!

Like The Shadow of What Was Lost and An Echo Things to Come, The Light of All That Falls is long, fun, and wonderfully detailed. These books are packed full of magic and might, kingdoms and kinship, friends and foes, love and loss, and epic-sized conflicts between Gods and humans.

If it makes a story awesome, it’s in here.

I can’t think of the last time I read something with such an impressively complex plot. Multiple POV’s, millennia of history, theology, politics, time travel, and non-chronological flashbacks are woven across all three books to form a completely engaging narrative. I found I needed the link to a wiki fandom on standby to remind myself of the significance the many places and characters. I was so impressed with the complexity–beautiful comes to mind. It came together. It worked.

I loved it.

No language or sex, some mild violence. The length and complexity are the only considerations.

Best for 14 and up.

The audiobooks are excellent, too.

Happy Reading!