My Experience with Shadeborn by Garrett Robinson

Garrett Robinson is back with the 4th installment in the Nightblade series: Shadeborn. And the author has entered dangerous waters. So many book series, albums, and movie franchises begin their slow decline at this point. So how does this novel fair against media’s track record?

After the climactic events of Darkfire, Loren’s party set off to complete the quest they began at the end of Mystic. But their journey to the High Seat is far from enviable. Now that the Shades have been revealed and Loren’s meddling exposed, they pursue her relentlessly, laying waste to village after village. Loren must make the most morally gray decisions of her life as she desperately tries to keep the lives of her friends, the fate of innocent civilians, and her all-important mission to reach the High King in balance.

Robinson defies the expectation of a slow decline. His prose has not at all diminished in quality, and his stories get stronger with each installment. Shadeborn represents a leap in the author’s storytelling craft, finally giving the reader a story that feels both episodic and self-contained—my preference for series books.

What makes this story work so well for me boils down to this: before this story, Loren has had mentors she could lean on. When things went wrong, they were either there to save her, or they were the sounding board she needed to devise a plan to escape her present dilemma. Now that she’s the leader of her party, she suddenly realizes that everyone is following her lead, and she must finally, truly be the Nightblade.

Because of how much this story feels right for Loren, Gem and Annis feel left out by in comparison. Both characters were involved with Loren’s journey since the very first book. They create additional tension when they’re put in harm’s way and add levity via banter, but their talents are under-used. The narrative often relies on Loren or another character when the stakes are high. Annis was well-used once, but not at all at the end. Gem is often a minor distraction to help buy time (and there was a perfect opportunity for him to shine during the story’s climax, but that moment was given to Loren). There are times I forget they’re in the party if the author didn’t remind me. While this doesn’t make the story unenjoyable, I hope this changes as the series progresses.

The Nightblade series continues to be a fun adventure, worth diving into if you’re looking for a story with a Salvatore, Weis & Hickman, or Goodkind tone. And you can read book one for free by going here: https://underrealm.net/).

And, if you’re an audiobook fan, I actually edited the audiobook for this installment of the series! If you have a few free audible credits and want to support the work I do here, please pick it up!

You can read the first three in a 3-for-1 bundle here: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Nightblade-Epic-Audiobook/B0813MY75H

And grab Shadeborn here: https://www.audible.com/pd/Shadeborn-A-Book-of-Underrealm-Audiobook/B086YBXYVC

*Full Disclosure — I work for the publisher, but I wasn't paid to review this book. While this is an honest review, I was involved in the production of the audiobook, and I receive a small royalty for purchases of the audiobook version.*