Shadow Of The Mountain

The Gold of Honor opened the doors of the kingdom for me. As long as I wore it around my neck, I would be given whatever my heart desired. Merchant partnerships. Women. The best food harvested in the fields. The best wine from the best vineyards. Adulation from the masses who would gape at me in astonishment. It was everything I could have hoped and prayed to the gods for. My please was complete. But soon enough, in the quiet corners of my heart and mind, I began to wonder if it mattered at all.

Book: Shadow of the Mountain: Exodus by Cliff Graham, Bethany House Publishers, 2015

Genre: Historical Fiction

Target Audience: Boys 17+

Subjects: History of the Exodus, Faith in God, War

Summary: A foreigner. That’s what Caleb was. A foreigner come to Egypt, not as a slave, but as a skilled worker who got recruited to join the special elite branch of the Pharaoh’s army that served the king. It took surviving multiple attempts to kill him, but eventually Caleb became accepted as a fierce warrior. When he saved Pharaoh’s life and won the highest honor in the kingdom he thought he had achieved everything – until the day the Israelite boy who was raised as an Egyptian came back and cried for his people to be set free from their slavery. That was the day Caleb’s life completely changed and he began his journey towards what could truly bring satisfaction, becoming a warrior for the One truly worth fighting for.

Notes: Written as a sort of outsider, yet insider perspective, Shadow Of The Mountain portrays the events of the Exodus through the eyes of Caleb – a man known in the Bible for his trust in God even when all others doubt. It sets up Caleb as being from a family that originated from areas near Israel rather than Egypt, but him knowing nothing more than the life of the Egyptians and actually being included in a very inner circle of Egyptians. The book provides a picture of what it might have been like to observe all the events of the Exodus as an Egyptian rather than an Israelite.

The book is extremely violent and somewhat graphic in it’s descriptions of the violence. The main character is a fierce warrior who is constantly in one battle or another.

The author also uses the book as a platform for exploring the idea of continuing to work hard and intentionally, actively serve God all the days of one’s life instead of retiring at a specific age and taking it easy the rest of life. Caleb was still known as a fierce warrior in his elderly years and in the author’s note at the end of the book, Cliff Graham portrays him as a role model to follow in that regard.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Numbers 14:24 – But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.