Shadow in the Deep

L B Graham has never failed with any book in this series! I keep thinking he might write a dud or something, cause it's not natural to write book that are this good! This book has great imagery, action, and the plot is unreal! You will have trouble putting this book down if you pick it up! Oh yeah, this one also has a major cliff hanger! Can't wait for book #4!

This novel continues the story began in Beyond the Summerland and Bringer of Storms and continues to expand the threat to Kirthanin. This book picks up where the second book left off, with no large gap of time as was the case between book one and two. The third rise of Malek and his huge hordes is underway and all of Kirthanin must unite again or fall. Allfather's new prophet must call together these races, as Aljeron and other leaders use their best military knowledge to pick the time and place to confront Malek's great army. Aljeron and a handful of men must journey north on an important quest while Caan leads the main army in another direction. Benjiah must grow into his role as his uncles stand by his side. The Great Bear and even the Dragons have a role in this book, and a new, great threat from Malek emerges--and it's not the threat on the cover. The Bringer of Storms and Farimaal, along with a certain betrayer, continue to push the armies of the enemy forward. This book ends with a mysterious person in one place, and the capture of one of the good guys in another. I think I know who the mystery person is, but we'll all have to wait for book four to know for sure. Mr. Graham is fashioning a true Tolkien-like epic with this series and I urge you to give it a try. You won't be sorry. This story should flow into the next book without too much of a time gap either, as the conflict that was pressing, was not fully resolved. The only slight problem with the book is the same as I mentioned about the first two, which is that some of the dialogue seems too modern at times. Mom and dad, instead of mother and father, and similar things that just didn't feel "medieval" enough. This is a very minor concern, though, and is very subjective. I am definitely looking forward to book four in this great series!

L.B. Graham's third book in the Binding of The Blade is just as good as the first two! With many mysteries solved, and many, many more revealed, it leaves you longing for the next one! I tried very hard to read slowly, as I knew that the next book wouldn't be out till next year, but I could hardly put it down; it took me three days, going slowly! I highly recommend this book, and all of the series.

L.B. Graham is a skilled wordsmith and creator of a fully dimensional reality with characters that have sensitivity and vulnerability. The tide of action that magnetizes the reader is both external in the ominous environment, and internal in the souls and relationships of the characters. Although the book cover artwork is stylized somewhat like comic book art (yet riveting and effective), the characters have a breadth and depth that bonds them to the reader. As any human being who faces an affront is always confronted internally with the options for revenge and must actively choose to turn the other cheek, just so the Binding of The Blade characters grapple with the options in the challenges they face. To appreciate the developing crisis and ongoing history of the Kirthanin world, these books should be read sequentially. May God keep the author healthy, safe, and inspired through the fulfillment of the saga, and may Book 4 be completed soon!

L.B. Graham belongs in a class by himself. I have never been so compelled to continue reading as I have in this the Bindong of the Blade series, not least in this latest instalment, Shadow in the Deep. The depth and breadth of Graham's Kirthanin never ceases to amaze me, nor does Graham's use of it. Buy this book if you have the other two. If you don't have the other two, buy them, then buy this one. You will not be disappointed.