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Beyond the Summerland (The Binding of the Blade, Book 1)
 
 
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Beyond the Summerland (The Binding of the Blade, Book 1) (Paperback)

by L. B. Graham (Author) "JORAIEM ANDIRA LOOKED UP from the footprint, large and deep and frighteningly clear in the sand, and turned his head to survey the water..." (more)
Key Phrases: dragon tower, fifty spans, ten spans, Great Bear, Dal Harat, Master Berin (more...)
4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
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Beyond the Summerland (The Binding of the Blade, Book 1) + Bringer of Storms (The Binding of the Blade, Book 2) + Shadow in the Deep (The Binding of the Blade, Book 3)
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Editorial Reviews

Review
A staggering accomplishment. The vibrancy and scope of Graham's world-building deserves highest praise. -- Jan P. Dennis, discoverer of Frank Peretti, Stephen R. Lawhead, and Ted Dekker

About the Author
L. B. Graham teaches at the high school level in St. Louis. He has earned degrees in both literature (B.A., Wheaton College) and theology (M.Div., Covenant Theological Seminary). He and his wife have two children.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 593 pages
  • Publisher: P & R Press (June 1, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0875527205
  • ISBN-13: 978-0875527208
  • Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #421,515 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
JORAIEM ANDIRA LOOKED UP from the footprint, large and deep and frighteningly clear in the sand, and turned his head to survey the water. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
dragon tower, fifty spans, ten spans, hundred spans, battle brother, dried riverbed, forgotten waters, five spans, war hammer
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Great Bear, Dal Harat, Master Berin, Forbidden Isle, Black Wolves, Great Hall, Peris Mil, Agia Muldonai, Nal Gildoroth, Evening Star, Southern Ocean, Black Wolf, Master Kuvarin, Holy Mountain, Amaan Sul, Lindan Wood, Mistress Doran, Kellisor Sea, Shalin Bel, Arimaar Mountains, Derrion Wel, Joraiem Andira, First Age, Full Summer, Second Age
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This book cites 1 book:

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Yaleen by Ian Watson
 

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Customer Reviews

48 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (48 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book! SOOO Worth reading!, September 1, 2004
Fantasy readers will love it, and even those not addicted to fantasy should like it A LOT too. I couldn't put it down once I got into it. A compelling plot with complex characters and an in-depth world. I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and it is refreshing to read a book by an author who loves Tolkien but does not simply mimic him. Beyond the Summerland is more approachable than The Lord of the Rings, but still has plenty of depth (something sadly lacking in so many fantasy books). Graham's Christian worldview also shines through, makes this book a must-have for any Christian Fantasy Lover.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, another good Christian Fantasy series!, May 11, 2006
This novel is adept at good characterization and world-building. It is a coming-of-age story for a group of future leaders of Kirthanin. It involves dragons, Great Bear, giants, dark wolves, Malekim, an ancient prophet, Titans, and many other impressive fantasy creatures and people. It is a strong Christian allegory in the tradition of Lewis, though the characters representing angels are presented in a style representative of powerful men of ancient myth. This adds to the fantasy flavor. From Allfather to the powerful, twisted Malek, the story is filled with many imaginative protagonists and antagonists. The adventures are equally impressive and help develop the main characters well.

The controversial ending was hinted at throughout the story, and since I have read the second book, I can say that it was necessary in light of the continuing story.

The only small fault is that some of the dialogue seems a bit too modern in places and not "medieval" enough. That was very minor and doesn't hurt the story as a whole. This is an excellent book and I recommend picking it up!
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Underdeveloped and a bit disappointing, June 7, 2005
I purchased this book after reading all the rave reviews and must say that I'm very surprised that some readers would rate this book in the same league as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Before I discuss the problems of the book, let me say a word or two about its strengths. First of all, the story has potential. There are enough interesting twists and turns throughout to keep the reader reading (though don't believe all the hype about the ending being unexpected. I'll admit I was a bit surprised that Graham went through with the ending, but he did hint at it frequently throughout the book ). Second, I liked the way Graham tied hints of Greek mythology into the picture. Third, I was appreciative of the Creation-Fall-Redemption motif that undergirds the story. It provides a nice backdrop and helps hold the story together.

Having said that, this book feels highly underdeveloped on a number of levels. First, the characters are shallow and lack believability. Part of this is because they all seem too perfect (or if evil, stereotypical). Like another reviewer noted: the main character's biggest problems are whether or not to declare his love for a girl and what other people will think of that. After a while, it almost becomes silly. The characters are constantly apologizing to each other and are quickly repentant when they have done something wrong. While these characteristics are laudable, they do not reflect the messy realities of human life with its inner struggle between good and evil (for example: compare Graham's Joraiem with Tolkien's Frodo). Granted, there are villians in the story, but even they lack believable depth (the one exception to all of this is the prologue with the characters Malek and Andunin).

The second problem I had with the book was the dialogue. In connection with the underdeveloped characters, it seemed extremely unnatural. The love scenes especially suffered with the "I love you - no, I love you more" forumla.

In summary, I would say that if I was L.B. Graham's editor, I would have told him something like the following: "you have a good start here, and I think this story has worlds of potential, but you need to flesh out your characters, rewrite several of the scenes heavy with dialogue, and avoid the moralistic tone that creeps into the story from time to time (this could be accomplished in the story by by making the characters actually imperfect and struggling against a deeper inner evil)."
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Storytelling at it's best
IF you want wholesome, exciting, adventurous and touching fantasy- this series is for you. We appreciated the allegorical nature of the story and as a result of reading this... Read more
Published 11 days ago by J. Yoshimoto

4.0 out of 5 stars Great series, first book a bit slow.
Beyond the Summerland By L. B. Graham, is a good opening book to the series. But, this book is a bit slow. I still liked it, and I love the rest of them, but it was slow. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Roy2008

3.0 out of 5 stars A Christian who loves Tolkien
After reading the 1st book of this series, I decided to read the rest of the series before writing a review since it is the series that we judge over just a single book of that... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Casey G. Thielen

5.0 out of 5 stars Blown Away
(MY HUSBAND IS WRITING REVIEW) I was expecting a mediocre book based on the cover and some of the bad reviews. Read more
Published 9 months ago by GOOD

4.0 out of 5 stars You should read this book!
This is a great book... A great start to my second favorite series. I was so surprised and amazed by what happened at the end!!!
Published 9 months ago by Makaidos

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome series, first book not as good
First of all, let me say, I absolutely love this series. It has depth and originality. It is one of my favorite fantasy series. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Jeff Nisly

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Christian Fantasy
This book starts off as a rather normal fantasy, complete with the standard average-young-man-who-discovers-he's-got-a-destiny main character. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Julie Dick

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Read
Kirthanin, the imaginary world of Covenant Seminary alum L. B. Graham isn't exactly Middle Earth, but it is a fun place to visit (and is a whole lot more exciting than Narnia ever... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Kevin Carroll

4.0 out of 5 stars A Worthy Read
How many times over the years have I read book reviews that claimed a fantasy work is "in the tradition of J.R.R. Tolkien" or something similar? Read more
Published 12 months ago by K. Poehlmann

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling Fantasy
This book is excellent, and so glad I stumbled apon it. I was curious what Christian fantasy would be like, even though I am not a Christian. Read more
Published 13 months ago by G. McNutt

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