An Echo of Things to Come by James Islington
Finished reading the book An Echo of Things to Come by James Islington a few weeks ago, here are my thoughts on it.
Why did I pick up this book?
This is the second book in the Licanius Trilogy. The first book ended in such a crazy cliffhanger that I couldn't not pick up this second book.
What did I like about this book?
It continues the story of Caeden, Davian and the rest of the crew. A good part of the second book is Caeden uncovering his memories of the past. At first it starts out slow, but once it picked up, I couldn't wait to read more of his flashbacks.
More of the world's lore is revealed in the second book. It was very interesting to learn about what happened in the past. And how it all led to where the characters were at now.
I liked some of the plot-twists in this book.
The philosophical discussions towards the end of the book about fate and our actions, about good and evil, were great. I didn't expect the book to cover those topics. But then again, I didn't expect the first book to talk about faith either. Either way, I enjoyed reading those philosophical discussions at the end.
What I didn't like about this book?
The build-up to the end was so good, but the ending felt deflating for me. So there's that.
And it's also a long read. Like 752 pages long. In comparison, the second book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy only had 322 pages. Because it's so long, it can be hard to remember characters, places, events, etc... Thankfully this second book has a Glossary at the end. But still, it is a long read.
Make sure not to read the Glossary until you finish the book to avoid possible spoilers.
Rating
I give this book a 3.5/5 rating. It was a good long read, but the ending just fell flat for me. Still, if you are fan of epic fantasy novels, you'll find a lot to like in this book (and the first book for that matter). Thankfully, the third book in the trilogy has already been published. I'm looking forward to reading the third book soon.
Tags: #BookReview #JamesIslington