The Ascent

by Jeff Long

In a novel set in the majestic Himalayas, ten men and two women brave the treacherous "dark side" of Mount Everest--a high-stakes adventure that pits climbers against their own fears.

Genres: Fiction, Adventure, Horror, Thriller, Adult, Mountaineering, Suspense

384 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1992

About the author

Long is a veteran climber and traveler in the Himalayas rock climbing often manifests in his writing. He has also worked as a stonemason, journalist, historian, screenwriter, and elections supervisor for Bosnia's first democratic election.

Many of his stories include plot elements that rely heavily on religious history or popular perceptions of religious events.

Reviews

[Elise]

I think I've read all of Jeff Long's books...and this one was probably my least favorite because it didn't really have a supernatural element to it and some of the climbing details went on in a bit too much detail...but I still find his work exciting and interesting to read. I'll continue to read everything he puts out. For the record, "The Descent" and "Deeper" were my favorites!!!

[Carmen]

My rating is really 3.5 stars: 3 stars for the could-be-better ending and 4 stars for characters, opening chapter, and Everest of course.

[Mary Moran]

Great book about the brutality of mountain climbing.

[Patrick Meehan]

Best fictional account of climbing I've ever read. If Krakauer wrote a fictional account of his expedition, he would be hard pressed to top this one.

[Claire]

I paid $100 to some Amazon shyster to get this book. WORTH EVERY RED CENT.

A medic gets invited along to be the expedition doctor for an Everest climbing crew, and gets caught up in the politics of the region. This is slightly based on some real life experiences Long had with his own Everest jaunt(but as he admits in a recent short story collection, he didn't get too far as he suffered from altitude sickness.)

[Sean Ellis]

A fantastic glimps into the world of Alpine mountaineering and Everest politics. This was the second Jeff Long book I read (after The Descent) and still one of my favorites.

[Rita]

Great story about the effects of personality in stressful situations. Certainly is a nail-biter.

[Carole]

THIS was my first mountain climbing/adventure book. After this book I was hooked. I read it too long ago to remember much except I really enjoyed it.

[Marvin Gray]

Superb. You feel like you are right there on the mountain with him.

[Dustin Lynx]

This is a complex and yet compelling immersion in 8000m mountaineering and human rights through a fictional lens. It definitely deserved the Boardman Tasker Prize for literature.

[Richard Kravitz]

Jeff Long kicks Ass!!

[Kyri Freeman]

A fun read with some well-written descriptions. There are inaccuracies in the details of the mountaineering, but most readers won't care.

[Paige]

Mountain climbing and slightly surrealist pseudo-horror. Yep, I'm all about this.