Historical Fiction at its Very Best!

This is a great story! "Summit" is a fictional telling of the Nazi's desire (circa 1938-39) to beat the rest of the modern-day world to the summit of Everest. In this fictional account, this goal is pursued in the most deliberate way with fascinating repercussions that create a contemporary (2009) search for evidence that the Nazi's succeeded in their achievement of that goa. I liked the story because there is quite a lot of intrigue in it, but also because it is about the mountain itself, the Sherpas who make it possible for scaling, and the constructs of a cacophony of events in world history just before WWII. In fact, the story moves from 2009 back and forth to 1938-39 smoothly and seamlessly -- weaving the stories of the central characters in such a way that readers get to know them quite well. There are three strong female characters in the story -- although I will admit that in general, it is a book about men and their quest for glory and domination.
The narration is superb and while it is "longish" at 14+ hours, this seemed like a listen that was over far, far too quickly. It was engrossing, informative and imaginative. Highly recommended for those who enjoy history with fiction as the icing on top.

74 people found this helpful

This book/author has it ALL

What did you love best about Summit?

EVERYTHING! Beautifully written, gripping plot, great characters, brilliant narration.

What other book might you compare Summit to and why?

Into Thin Air, for the mountain climbing experience. All the greats...Baldacci, Eisler, Lee Child, etc., for a great mystery read.

What does Harry Farthing bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I am a passionate Audible ear-reader. I don't feel even my beloved narrators (Grover Gardner, Scott Brick, Dick Hill, Richard Ferrone, Len Cariou) could have performed this book as movingly as the author did himself.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

IF ONLY!!! 17 hours is a bit much even for ME to do in one day. Tho I routinely listen to over 10 hours in a day. But I hated to turn off my Kindle.

Any additional comments?

I don't think anyone could go wrong buying this book. I can easily imagine listening to parts of it over and over (in fact, even during my first reading, I went back a few times, just to savor the writing since the first time thru I was sometimes holding by breath to see what would happen.

61 people found this helpful

Some Excitement, Some Duller Stretches

If you are into mountain climbing, you will like this one. For me it dragged a bit in the early and middle parts. A creatively-written plot gets tarnished at times with strange hallucinations and neo-Nazi obsessions. The skinheads are despicable, and though the author tries to paint them that way, he dwells on them a bit too much.

34 people found this helpful

When spirits meet in the crossroads of life

Sometimes when I s search through titles and thumbnail clips of stories, I rarely expect to find a story that resurrects my belief in human nature, but this is one of those books. The story is a historical setting for a group of fictional characters.
This story begins with a group of young nazi soldiers smuggling Jewish refugees to safety at the onset of WWII, these men are caught and systematically killed off by the German SS and the one remaining soldier is trained to climb to the top of Everest and wave the 3rd Reich flag in the face of the world.
There is a 2009 parallel going on within the pages of this book and it is a thrill ride, and no less dramatic than the SS story.
There is so much going on in this book that I could not even begin to do justice to it.
There are antiquities dealers, renegade soldiers, love interests, Russian strong arms, true villains to the max.
The ultimate lesson of this story shows how difficult it is for people to do the right thing, and how difficult it s to remain on the side of truth, honor, and loyalty.
I hope you enjoy this one"....it is truly a great story!

64 people found this helpful

Unremitting brutality marred an otherwise great story

Great dual time period Himalayan summit drama, incredible knowledge of high mountaineering. Should have been a 5 star. Trouble was, I always had to steel myself into resuming the story due to the sadistic thugs, maiming, and outright torture that permeated both timelines. Almost returned the book several times, but my interest in the Himalayas kept me listening.
Why ruin a great storyline, with a deeply researched subject containing plenty of intrinsic drama, with that trashy violence that cheap shallow novels have, because they have nothing else?
Loved the “Henrietta Richards” personna. All mountaineering fans will recognize her immediately.

19 people found this helpful

Astonishing historical fiction

A complex web of history, politics and mountaineering lore, inhabited by extraordinary but credible people, Summit will enthrall and delight its readers. This is the story of a Nazi push to steal a march on the British by attempting an unauthorized solo push to the summit of Everest just before the Second WW, and of modern diplomatic and clandestine efforts to manage the consequences of that attempt.

Usually, it is a sad mistake for authors to record their own audiobooks, but Farthing's performance is magnificent -- fluent, well-paced and, thankfully well-pronounced (ever the short extracts in German).

In all, a book I am very happy to admit to the furniture of my mind.

9 people found this helpful

What a great story excellent narration

I did not have high expectations of this book, given I had recently selected some real duds. This is a well thought out intricately woven story bringing the past & the present together to create an adventure, a mystery and a character driven story. Well worth the credit!!

29 people found this helpful

Must read for the Genre.Excited about newauthor

Been negelecting writing any reviews of late, but was compelled to give a brief one for this. If you're a historical fiction and in particular WWII era fan,this is a must. Great story that had me a bit confused at first with multiple time lines, but they come together almost seamlessly into a well written first rate mystery thriller. I don't give 5 stars very often, felt this one deserved at least one.

15 people found this helpful

YOU CAN FEEL THE COLD!

For listening and loving to 'The One Man' this title popped up in my 'Since you liked etc.' suggestions. Mount Everest ( all 29,029 feet of her ) in many ways is the star. Seamlessly flowing from one time period to the other, the author draws you in to his thriller and dangles you over the edge. The two main characters fit the puzzle together and leaves you very satisfied at the end. Harry Farthing does a capable job as narrator and you get accustomed to his reading style as the novel progresses. Well worth the time spent.

14 people found this helpful

Soaring heights of Everest to okay sea level

Totally enraptured in the initial chapters of this book. The author, who is a climber, took me to base camp, the heights, and dangers of Everest, and also caught me up in pre-WWII Nazism.. My interest waned later in the book (and it IS 17.5 hours long), so I think the story would have been more effective with some tighter editing or perhaps just changing some of the storylines. Once the historical and present day plots strayed from mountain climbing, I found the characters less believable, and the plot "twists" as well. The main baddie is taken to absurd heights of villainy - in action and spoken word. Think of any over-the-top villain and that would be this man. I understand the author was trying to give the tale modern day relevance by introducing the new Right in Germany, but I think it detracts from the story. The conclusion is relatively easy to figure out (will the 1939 duo make it to Everest and what happens if they do). I was hoping for a twist but it wraps up pretty simply and there aren't any loose ends. You'll notice I still gave it 4 stars overall. That is because, for the most part, the climbing portion of the story, while way too minimal a section of the book, is riveting. So the limpness of much of the "sea level" story didn't detract enough to make the overall rating a 3. The author as narrator does an "okay" job. Initially I thought he was really good, but as the novel progressed my opinion changed to just an average job. The main baddie is (again) over the top in actions and dialogue and the author really exaggerates the cheesy evilness factor in his voice. Think Snidely Whiplash, and if you don't know who that is, search youtube for him and listen. Once I began thinking of him as Snidely, I snickered every time he spoke in that fashion. I think the story would have been served better by leaving out the new Nazism, and cutting back on the villainy, and sticking to the heights of Tibet. So it is an enjoyable story, and judging by many reader reviews (other sites), it either reads better than it "listens" or the narrator brings the material down, or my take on this is just different than the majority.

37 people found this helpful