The Abominable
Ratings12
Average rating3.4
15
Ratings12
Average rating3.4
"A thrilling tale of high-altitude death and survival set on the snowy summits of Mount Everest, from the bestselling author of The Terror. It's 1924 and the race to summit the world's highest mountain has been brought to a terrified pause by the shocking disappearance of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine high on the shoulder of Mt. Everest. By the following year, three climbers -- a British poet and veteran of the Great War, a young French Chamonix guide, and an idealistic young American -- find a way to take their shot at the top. They arrange funding from the grieving Lady Bromley, whose son also disappeared on Mt. Everest in 1924. Young Bromley must be dead, but his mother refuses to believe it and pays the trio to bring him home. Deep in Tibet and high on Everest, the three climbers -- joined by the missing boy's female cousin -- find themselves being pursued through the night by someone, or something. This nightmare becomes a matter of life and death at 28,000 feet-- but what is pursuing them? And what is the truth behind the 1924 disappearances on Everest? As they fight their way to the top of the world, the friends uncover a secret far more abominable than any mythical creature could ever be. A pulse-pounding story of adventure and suspense, The Abominable is Dan Simmons at his spine-chilling best"--
"It's 1924 and the race to summit the world's highest mountain has been brought to a terrified pause by the shocking disappearance of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine high on the shoulder of Mt. Everest. By the following year, three climbers -- a British poet and veteran of the Great War, a young French Chamonix guide, and an idealistic young American -- find a way to take their shot at the top. They arrange funding from the grieving Lady Bromley, whose son also disappeared on Mt. Everest in 1924. Young Bromley must be dead, but his mother refuses to believe it and pays the trio to bring him home. Deep in Tibet and high on Everest, the three climbers -- joined by the missing boy's female cousin -- find themselves being pursued through the night by someone ... or something. This nightmare becomes a matter of life and death at 28,000 feet-- but what is pursuing them? And what is the truth behind the 1924 disappearances on Everest? As they fight their way to the top of the world, the friends uncover a secret far more abominable than any mythical creature could ever be. A pulse-pounding story of adventure and suspense, The Abominable is Dan Simmons at his spine-chilling best"--
Reviews with the most likes.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, FOR WHAAAAAAAAAT
Wow. I love mountaineering books, especially about Mt. Everest, and this is a great one. Add a high altitude thriller plot line in the last quarter of the book, and this is a banger. Don't be confused. Dan Simmons is known for horror, but this book is not horror. It was not at all what I expected - it was so much more. If you love high altitude adventures, you'll enjoy this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is the second book I've read that is written by Dan Simmons. The previous one,The Terror had a similar documentary style storytelling that I really enjoyed. I love how both of these books blend history and fiction seamlessly, besides being excellent thrillers. While reading these books, you can see how cleverly Dan Simmons utilises the backdrop of the stories as the main driving force; as if it is a major character on its own. If you want to read a long thriller, rich with descriptive storytelling in a historical backdrop, The Abominable is highly recommended.
This book is about a team of climbers who are hired to go to Everest to find someone who was thought to have been lost on an expedition. On paper, I should have really liked this book, but it had quite a few shortcomings I could not overlook.
I'll just touch on some builet points because I really do not have much to say about it.
1. It is extremely detailed and the author has a knack for making you feel like you are part of the team.
2. The climbing portions are fun but have WAY too much exposition. Do we really need 15 pages of each and every hold and strategy for a single climb. I know it supposed to be immersive but to me, it gets a little tedious.
3. The characters were a bit too bland. The surrounding plot was ok, but the interactions were just ordinary.
4. I did have fun looking up some of the history on mountaineering and learning about the gear they used.
5. That ending. Oh, no. Just no. That's all I'll say about that.
Unless you really, really, really (I should put like 4 more reallys) like detailed climbing descriptions with a bit of intrigue, steer clear. Ugh, I just cannot get past how much I did not like the last third of the book.
