An Echo of Things to Come (The Licanius Trilogy #2) – James Islington

Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit
Pages: 759
Release Date: August 24, 2017

Haven’t read the first novel, The Shadow of What Was Lost? Check out my review here!

Davian has won a victory for the Augurs, but treachery surrounds him and his allies on all sides in the second book of the acclaimed Licanus Trilogy, in which “fans of Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson will find much to admire.” (The Guardian)

Following a devastating attack, an amnesty has been declared for all Augurs–finally allowing them to emerge from hiding and openly oppose the dark forces massing against the land of Andarra.

The Augur Davian and his new allies hurry north toward the ever-weakening Boundary, but fresh horrors along their path suggest that their reprieve may have come far too late.

The new Northwarden, his ally in the Capital, contends with assassins and politicians and uncovers a dangerous secret. Meanwhile, their compatriot Asha begins a secret investigation into the disappearance of the Shadows.

And Caeden races against time to fulfill a treacherous bargain, but as more and more of his memories return, he begins to realize that the two sides in this ancient war may not be as clear-cut as they first seemed…

An Echo of Things to Come was a slight disappointment. Told from multiple perspectives, An Echo of Things to Come widens the scope of the story while also developing the characters and their pasts. Unfortunately, this widening of the scope doesn’t always serve the story well.

I was looking forward to Caeden’s chapters after the big reveal at the end of the previous novel, The Shadow of What Was Lost. However, Caeden’s chapters read like info dumps disguised as memories. Caeden spends most of the novel reliving his past as he slowly pieces together his plan and why he did what he did in the past. The chapters are filled to the brim with information that isn’t always easily digestible. At times, there was too much information so the relationships the readers are seeing for the first time do not get enough time to simmer making the emotional impact of some scenes almost non-existent.

The ending of the novel is supposed to be a big crescendo of events and relationships as everything seemingly falls apart. Again, these events do not have the emotional impact they need because this impact hinged on Caeden’s chapters.

Despite my dislike of Caeden’s chapters, I enjoyed Wirr’s and Asha’s perspectives. Wirr’s chapters focused on the political aspect of the this world. The struggle is real for him as he tried to balance his own beliefs with those around him all while reconciling who he thought his father was versus who he actually turned out to be. Wirr is easily the most compelling character.

Asha’s chapters function as the view into the magic of this world despite her limitations. It’s clear her chapters were building up to something and that something did not disappoint.

Overall, An Echo of Things to Come was slightly difficult to get through since I disliked Caeden’s chapters so much. The Licanius Trilogy is an okay fantasy trilogy that I’m not sure if I’ll be finishing, though the epilogue almost convinced me to continue.

Have you read An Echo of Things to Come? What did you think?