Shadow of the Mountain: Exodus (Shadow of the Mountain #1) by Cliff Graham

Title: Shadow of the Mountain: Exodus (Shadow of the Mountain #1)

Author: Cliff Graham

Pages: 303

Year: 2015

Genre: Biblical Fiction

Publisher: Bethany House

Note: I received a free copy of this book through The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest opinion.

About the book:

     Two men were brave enough to tell the truth about what awaited the liberated Hebrews in the Promised Land. This is their story. From the slave pits of Egypt to the efforts of an eighty-five year-old Caleb as he battles the last of a race of fearsome giants, Shadow of the Mountain is a vivid portrait of two of God’s chosen champions, and a meditation on masculine mentorship and the challenges and blessings of growing older.

     Exodus, the first volume of Graham’s Old Testament saga, begins with Caleb as he prepares to attack the fortified city he has claimed for his inheritance. He refuses to spend his twilight years resting, and instead is driven to claim the victory the Lord promised him decades previously. Capturing Caleb’s early days as a mercenary for Pharaoh in Egypt watching the Hebrews suffer under the yoke of slavery, through a desperate fight with Anakite giants in the dark forests of the Israelite hill country, this is a story filled with the epic battles, gritty intensity, and supernatural events that made Graham’s LION OF WAR series a hit. Shadow of the Mountain is destined to ignite a love for the Scriptures in popular culture.

My review:

     This is a very interesting biblical novel.

     I started this book with the understanding that there isn’t much in the bible about Caleb. With that in mind I knew that the author was going to have to build a large part of the story from research done on the nation of Egypt during the time period and understanding the culture of the day.

     I did have some trouble with the amount of the story that was built with Caleb not being a part of the Hebrew nation. This departure from what I have always believed about Caleb did open up the way for more information about what life would have been like for the Egyptian military and within the court of Pharaoh.

     When Caleb reached the point of his story where Moses came on the scene I was absolutely fascinated. I have always read the biblical account of the plagues with a, “That must have been horrible” mindset, but I have never taken the time to really try and understand the full measure of terror that the Egyptians would have faced during them. Cliff Graham has done an incredible job of taking me to that point in his writing of it from Caleb’s viewpoint as depicted in this novel.

     Because of the difficulty that I had with the early part of the story I am only giving this book a 4 star rating. I am still recommending it though.