What do you think?
Rate this book
The Final Dance Trilogy #3
Under Sea's Shadow
Secrets hidden in the darkness of the sea...
Stolen at birth by her sea-lord father, Copper is returned to her mother, the queen, to experience life on their island home. But something is missing within her, for she is without a soul. Copper is adrift and alone until strangers come with Companion creatures and tell her of her destiny. For Copper is the Sea Dancer, one of five elements incarnate, and the fate of the world depends on the Dancers joining.
Yet there are those who would pervert the Dancers' destiny, and an Emperor who will stop at nothing to prevent them from finding one another. As conspiracies unfold, and secrets are pierced, the upwelling of power that Copper controls is put to the test.
The uneasy marriage of land and sea is about to break apart. And all hangs on Copper's choice...
- GenresFantasyParanormal
351 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
2 people are currently reading
338 people want to read
About the author
Christie Golden
178 books1,900 followersAward-winning author Christie Golden has written over thirty novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy and horror. She has over a million books in print.
2009 will see no fewer than three novels published. First out in late April will be a World of Warcraft novel, Athas: Rise of the Lich King. This is the first Warcraft novel to appear in hardcover. Fans of the young paladin who fell so far from grace will get to read his definitive story.
In June, Golden’s first Star Wars novel, also a hardcover, sees print. Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi—Omen is the second in a nine-book series she is co-authoring with Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. Also in June comes the conclusion of Golden’s StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga with the release of Twlight, the third book in the series. The first two are Firstborn and Shadow Hunters.
2004 saw the launch of an original fantasy series called The Final Dance, from LUNA Books. The first novel in the series, On Fire's Wings, was published in July of that year. The second, In Stone’s Clasp , came out in September of 2005. With In Stone’s Clasp, Golden won the Colorado Author’s League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel for the second time. The third book, Under Sea’s Shadow, is available only as an e-book
Golden is also the author of two original fantasy novels from Ace Books, King's Man and Thief and Instrument of Fate, which made the 1996 Nebula Preliminary Ballot. Under the pen name of Jadrien Bell, she wrote a historical fantasy thriller entitled A.D. 999, which won the Colorado Author's League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel of 1999.
Golden launched the TSR Ravenloft line in 1991 with her first novel, the highly successful Vampire of the Mists , which introduced elven vampire Jander Sunstar. Golden followed up Vampire with Dance of the Dead and The Enemy Within . In September of 2006, fifteen years to the month, The Ravenloft Covenant: Vampire of the Mists enabled Jander Sunstar to reach a whole new audience.
Other projects include a slew of Star Trek novels, among them The Murdered Sun , Marooned , and Seven of Nine , and "The Dark Matters Trilogy," Cloak and Dagger , Ghost Dance and Shadow of Heaven .
The Voyager novel relaunch, which includes Homecoming and The Farther Shore , were bestsellers and were the fastest-selling Trek novels of 2003. Golden continued writing VOYAGER novels even though the show went off the air, and enjoyed exploring the creative freedom that gave her in the two-parter called Spirit Walk, which includes Old Wounds and Enemy of my Enemy .
Golden has also written the novelization of Steven Spielberg's Invasion America and an original "prequel," On The Run , both of which received high praise from producer Harve Bennett. On The Run, a combination medical thriller and science fiction adventure, even prompted Bennett to invite Golden to assist in crafting the second season of the show, if it was renewed.
Golden lives in Loveland, Colorado, with her artist husband and their two cats.
2009 will see no fewer than three novels published. First out in late April will be a World of Warcraft novel, Athas: Rise of the Lich King. This is the first Warcraft novel to appear in hardcover. Fans of the young paladin who fell so far from grace will get to read his definitive story.
In June, Golden’s first Star Wars novel, also a hardcover, sees print. Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi—Omen is the second in a nine-book series she is co-authoring with Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. Also in June comes the conclusion of Golden’s StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga with the release of Twlight, the third book in the series. The first two are Firstborn and Shadow Hunters.
2004 saw the launch of an original fantasy series called The Final Dance, from LUNA Books. The first novel in the series, On Fire's Wings, was published in July of that year. The second, In Stone’s Clasp , came out in September of 2005. With In Stone’s Clasp, Golden won the Colorado Author’s League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel for the second time. The third book, Under Sea’s Shadow, is available only as an e-book
Golden is also the author of two original fantasy novels from Ace Books, King's Man and Thief and Instrument of Fate, which made the 1996 Nebula Preliminary Ballot. Under the pen name of Jadrien Bell, she wrote a historical fantasy thriller entitled A.D. 999, which won the Colorado Author's League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel of 1999.
Golden launched the TSR Ravenloft line in 1991 with her first novel, the highly successful Vampire of the Mists , which introduced elven vampire Jander Sunstar. Golden followed up Vampire with Dance of the Dead and The Enemy Within . In September of 2006, fifteen years to the month, The Ravenloft Covenant: Vampire of the Mists enabled Jander Sunstar to reach a whole new audience.
Other projects include a slew of Star Trek novels, among them The Murdered Sun , Marooned , and Seven of Nine , and "The Dark Matters Trilogy," Cloak and Dagger , Ghost Dance and Shadow of Heaven .
The Voyager novel relaunch, which includes Homecoming and The Farther Shore , were bestsellers and were the fastest-selling Trek novels of 2003. Golden continued writing VOYAGER novels even though the show went off the air, and enjoyed exploring the creative freedom that gave her in the two-parter called Spirit Walk, which includes Old Wounds and Enemy of my Enemy .
Golden has also written the novelization of Steven Spielberg's Invasion America and an original "prequel," On The Run , both of which received high praise from producer Harve Bennett. On The Run, a combination medical thriller and science fiction adventure, even prompted Bennett to invite Golden to assist in crafting the second season of the show, if it was renewed.
Golden lives in Loveland, Colorado, with her artist husband and their two cats.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 8, 2010
I would have gladly given this book 5 stars if it weren't the last in a trilogy. I seemed so unfinished. It left the series wide-open. We are left hanging in a manner I vocally said "WTF?" So much was left unanswered and so much was undone. This was clearly written before Luna Books pulled the plug. I assumed there would be a book for each dancer and so did Christie Golden when she wrote this novel. I waited so long for this book when it was released and it was worth it...if only I could read the rest after this for a conclussion.
March 15, 2014
I really enjoyed the dancers novels. Sadly, the next book is on hold, so I feel a bit unfinished not being able to complete the series. I asked the author (via twitter, love technology!) and she wants to finish it in the near future. Get with it publishers!!
January 6, 2011
Sadly... even though this isn't the end of the serie... are no more books in the final dance serie that the harlequin plans to publish!!!!
Want to Read
December 5, 2008I really want to read this book but it is only in e-format and no library in colorado currently owns the e-book...Besides, my computer does not support the software for the e-book. The author is from Boulder, CO as well! Too bad. :(
May 27, 2022
3/5 stars
I can’t believe I’m finally reading Under Sea’s Shadow, 15 years after Luna announced this series would no longer continue in print form - only digitally. At the time ebooks weren’t easy to access for many in my local bookstores or libraries, so I wasn’t able to read it on publication. And of course, very sadly, the series stopped being published altogether after that, making the ebook even harder to find. But - after patiently searching the internet for years, I dug up a copy of my own so I could conclude my journey with The Final Dance once and for all. (Unless Christie Golden ever picks it up again!)
I re-read On Fire’s Wings and In Stone’s Clasp before starting on this book - my reviews are here and here.
Under Sea’s Shadow joins Kevla and Jareth as they travel southwest from Jareth’s northern homeland of Lamal, after he has accepted his destiny as the Stone Dancer. When they reach the island of Reshan in their search for the Sea Dancer, at first it seems like a paradise - the Lorekeepers of the Reshanaban know all about the Dancers’ fight against the shadow, and have kept and recorded all their knowledge for generations, so it can only help Kevla and Jareth to stay a while, learn from them, and rest. Not everyone has the Dancers’ best interests at heart, however, and Reshan has its own problems with the fish-like people of the sea that have been brewing since the island’s foundation.
Once again Christie Golden creates some great characters that are enjoyable to follow and integrate well with the current cast - Copper grew on me as the Sea Dancer, with her own history and challenges that make her a unique addition to the Dancers. The weak point continues to be the Emperor, who attempts to oppose the Dancers from afar without any motivation revealed to the reader, but the local conflicts on Reshan are enough to keep the plot moving in this book at least. Under Sea’s Shadow also gives a glimpse of each of the remaining Wind and Soul Dancers and their Companions, but sadly they’ll never be more than these brief mentions without any follow-up book in the series.
I felt the major relationship progressed a little too quickly for my liking, from attraction and pining to basically instant declarations of forever love, but it’s only a minor part of the story so easy enough to move past it.
Overall, a relatively easy read with an interesting world and mythology, continuing in the same vein as the previous two novels. I’m glad I could finally wrap up my reading of the series, even if it is bittersweet due to being cut off too early.
I can’t believe I’m finally reading Under Sea’s Shadow, 15 years after Luna announced this series would no longer continue in print form - only digitally. At the time ebooks weren’t easy to access for many in my local bookstores or libraries, so I wasn’t able to read it on publication. And of course, very sadly, the series stopped being published altogether after that, making the ebook even harder to find. But - after patiently searching the internet for years, I dug up a copy of my own so I could conclude my journey with The Final Dance once and for all. (Unless Christie Golden ever picks it up again!)
I re-read On Fire’s Wings and In Stone’s Clasp before starting on this book - my reviews are here and here.
Under Sea’s Shadow joins Kevla and Jareth as they travel southwest from Jareth’s northern homeland of Lamal, after he has accepted his destiny as the Stone Dancer. When they reach the island of Reshan in their search for the Sea Dancer, at first it seems like a paradise - the Lorekeepers of the Reshanaban know all about the Dancers’ fight against the shadow, and have kept and recorded all their knowledge for generations, so it can only help Kevla and Jareth to stay a while, learn from them, and rest. Not everyone has the Dancers’ best interests at heart, however, and Reshan has its own problems with the fish-like people of the sea that have been brewing since the island’s foundation.
Once again Christie Golden creates some great characters that are enjoyable to follow and integrate well with the current cast - Copper grew on me as the Sea Dancer, with her own history and challenges that make her a unique addition to the Dancers. The weak point continues to be the Emperor, who attempts to oppose the Dancers from afar without any motivation revealed to the reader, but the local conflicts on Reshan are enough to keep the plot moving in this book at least. Under Sea’s Shadow also gives a glimpse of each of the remaining Wind and Soul Dancers and their Companions, but sadly they’ll never be more than these brief mentions without any follow-up book in the series.
I felt the major relationship progressed a little too quickly for my liking, from attraction and pining to basically instant declarations of forever love, but it’s only a minor part of the story so easy enough to move past it.
Overall, a relatively easy read with an interesting world and mythology, continuing in the same vein as the previous two novels. I’m glad I could finally wrap up my reading of the series, even if it is bittersweet due to being cut off too early.
November 3, 2014
same vein... did not even read 50% before I was fed up
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews