SUMMIT
Author IntervieW:
THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS NOVEL
Part thriller, part mystery, Summit is a new take on adventure fiction that travels between the Himalaya and Europe during pre-war and current times to follow the journeys of two men as each becomes subject to the desires and devices of a cast of diverse characters - all seeking to impose their own agendas on both them and the world's highest mountain.
I wrote Summit because when I travelled for work or to go climbing I was always reading – alternating between best–selling fiction and the verité of the mountaineering classics - one day, Stieg Larsson or James Elroy, the next, Hermann Buhl or Maurice Herzog. Throughout it all I never really found a book that satisfactorily melded the two genres.
Summit is my attempt at doing exactly that – a fictional adventure story set within accurate historical and mountaineering contexts. It is a novel written with first hand knowledge of what it is actually like to climb above 8,000 m / 26,000 ft without the benefit of an oxygen mask, to feel the joy and pain of an ascent of Mount Everest, to be inspired by the incredible stories of how some of the world’s most extreme places were first conquered and to let them lead you there also.
SUMMIt - Japanese Edition
published by Takeshobo
| READ THE REVIEWS
Yak standing before the Khumbu Icefall, Mt. Everest.
The Lhotse Face, Mt. Everest
Khumbu valley, Everest region
Everest Base Camp
Josef Becker's Ice axe
Everest crevasse crossing
Everest summit pyramid
Leica camera as used by Josef Becker in Summit.
Edit notes for Summit.
Harry Farthing narrating Summit.
Summit shot!
Alpine Memorial to the holocaust.
Josef Becker’s Edelweiss Ring.
[An] action-packed debut thriller...Farthing's firsthand knowledge of Everest paints a vivid picture of the majesty of the mountain and also the hellish rigors climbers face in trying to conquer it as background to an exciting story, part-thriller, part-historical novel...Marries [Farthing's] knowledge of world travel, adventure sports, mountaineering, and modern history to create a gripping action story that is both compelling and thought provoking.
Moultrie News
A gripper. Takes you up to the majesty of Mt. Everest and into the single-minded 'madness' of climbers...what a plot. Fantastic.
Sir Robert Swan, bestselling author of Antarctica 2041 and first person to walk to the South and North Poles.
A captivating debut novel that combines grand storytelling with a thorough knowledge of climbing. Harry Farthing is a compelling new literary voice.
Susan Sloate, bestselling author of Forward to Camelot
A complex, deftly crafted, consistently compelling suspense thriller of a read from beginning to end.
Midwest Book Review
A wonderful story that instantly took me back to my Everest days. Many shades of the legends of mountaineering, such as the great Italian Walter Bonatti and, of course, the doyenne of Himalayan record-keeping, Elizabeth Hawley.
Martin Adams, 1996 Everest climber and protagonist of Into Thin Air and The Climb
Breathtaking and chilling...Summit really takes you up into the Everest death zone.
Rhys Jones, record-breaking British mountaineer and owner of Monix Adventures
Even if you have zero interest in alpinism or Nazis, I highly recommend this book. It's very entertaining throughout.
Best Hike
Farthing entertains the reader with a taut, suspenseful tale of high anxiety...and conveys a message that we should always be on guard because history repeats itself.
South Carolina Review
Farthing has done a remarkable job of telling two parallel tales while weaving them together into a single narrative...the author brings it all together for a most-satisfying ending.
Crow River Media
A book of vividly drawn villains and heroes, but its backbone is the realism of its details about the climbing experience and its fascinating use of kernels of climbing history...the kind of cult novel that gets passed around at base camps.
Aspen Times
Author TV IntervieW:
Good Morning vail
SUMMIT in the WilD
published by Westland
Summit
Indian Subcontinent edition
