All My Holy Mountain

Posted by Ruth
Categories: Advanced Readers, Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Review
Tags: Animals, Binding of the Blade, Dragons, L. B. Graham, Long Read, Scary

Our rating:

Please note: I’ve tried to keep this as spoiler-free as possible, but if you haven’t yet read the series up through Father of Dragons, I’d advise you to skip this review.

The time has come for all of Kirthanin to take their final stand against Malek. With the added forces of the dragons and the Kalin Seir, things begin to look up for Aljeron and the army, but the losses of war are still great, and Malek is getting desperate. Encouraged by Valzaan, the people fight for the hope of Allfather’s restoration. Benjiah knows, however, that before the binding of the blade can be broken, a sacrifice must be made.

Because this picks up right where Father of Dragons left off—a suspenseful cliffhanger—you are almost immediately plunged into a climactic battle that lasts for nearly a hundred pages. At first I found the prospect dismaying, as I enjoy well-turned dialogue or scenes that deal with individuals more than enormous conflicts of good and evil. However, I was pleasantly surprised, and my attention didn’t waver much at all throughout, despite my initial pessimism. And then, of course, there’s the rest of book! Captivating. Everything that has been building from the four previous books is masterfully dealt with, and the story’s climax to top all its former climaxes does not disappoint. Sure, there are some flaws. But it’s not every book I read that can stir me around inside and then leave me with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction, and that’s what All My Holy Mountain did. Do not miss this conclusion to the Binding of the Blade series.