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Peak #4
Descent
In this thrilling novel from the bestselling author of Peak , mountain-climbing prodigy Peak Marcello faces his toughest challenge yet as he descends into Tibet and goes head-to-head with an old enemy. Peak and his team need to descend into Tibet after surviving an avalanche on the remote and isolated mountain of Hkakabo Razi. The only catch is that Peak's famous mountaineering father, Josh, and climbing guide, Zopa, are both wanted by the Chinese government. As a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse ensues, making it off the mountain won't be the end of this team's struggles, only the beginning... Heart-pounding action and political drama converge in this epic conclusion to the Peak Marcello's adventures by bestselling author Roland Smith. This thrilling teen climbing adventure is "the perfect antidote for kids who think books are boring" ( Publishers Weekly starred review for Peak ). Roland Smith's Peak Marcello's Adventures
240 pages, Hardcover
First published October 13, 2020
59 people are currently reading
585 people want to read
About the author
Roland Smith
152 books837 followersRoland Smith is an American author of young adult fiction as well as nonfiction books for children.
Smith was born in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Portland State University and, following a part-time job at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, began a 20-year career as a zookeeper, both at the Oregon Zoo and the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington. After working to save wildlife following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, in 1990, he published his first book, Sea Otter Rescue, a non-fiction account of the process of animal rescue. Smith continued to draw upon his zoo experiences for other non-fiction titles, including Journey of the Red Wolf, which won an Oregon Book Award in 1996.
In 1997, Smith published his first novel, Thundercave. The book continues Smith's theme, as teenage protagonist Jacob Lansa follows his biologist father to Africa where the father is researching elephants. The Lansa character also appears in 1999
s Jaguar and 2001's The Last Lobo. Other novels by Smith include The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe, Zach's Lie, Jack's Run, Cryptid Hunters, Sasquatch (novel), about a boy who searches for Bigfoot. Peak, the story of a teenage boy obsessed with climbing mountains, Elephant Run and Tentacles(novel). In 2008, Smith published the first book in the series I, Q, titled Independence Hall. Smith's books have won "Book of the Year" awards in Colorado, Nevada, South Carolina, and Florida, as well as in his native Oregon. Smith lives in Tualatin, Oregon with his wife and stepchildren.
Smith was born in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Portland State University and, following a part-time job at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, began a 20-year career as a zookeeper, both at the Oregon Zoo and the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington. After working to save wildlife following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, in 1990, he published his first book, Sea Otter Rescue, a non-fiction account of the process of animal rescue. Smith continued to draw upon his zoo experiences for other non-fiction titles, including Journey of the Red Wolf, which won an Oregon Book Award in 1996.
In 1997, Smith published his first novel, Thundercave. The book continues Smith's theme, as teenage protagonist Jacob Lansa follows his biologist father to Africa where the father is researching elephants. The Lansa character also appears in 1999
s Jaguar and 2001's The Last Lobo. Other novels by Smith include The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe, Zach's Lie, Jack's Run, Cryptid Hunters, Sasquatch (novel), about a boy who searches for Bigfoot. Peak, the story of a teenage boy obsessed with climbing mountains, Elephant Run and Tentacles(novel). In 2008, Smith published the first book in the series I, Q, titled Independence Hall. Smith's books have won "Book of the Year" awards in Colorado, Nevada, South Carolina, and Florida, as well as in his native Oregon. Smith lives in Tualatin, Oregon with his wife and stepchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 15, 2024
The first book in the series remains my favorite, but I enjoyed and flew through all of these.
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March 10, 2021I highly recommend Descent by Roland Smith because it is very suspenseful and enjoyable to read throughout the whole book. After committing multiple crimes against the government of China, Peak Marcello and his climbing party try to flee the country. They are chased by a disgraced and ruthless Chinese official the entire way and it makes for a good game of cat and mouse. The theme is to always persevere and help each other make it through difficult times. This is important, especially now, because so many people are going through hard times. One moment in the text that was particularly powerful was when Peak’s father was captured and the team had to work together to free him. It was a very intense moment in the book and it led to a lot of further action for the characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading adventure books, especially about climbing and being in nature. This book fits into our world because it is very realistic and situations like this have actually happened in China. Readers should pick it up because it is a great book that they will not want to put down, and it will make readers appreciate the work that the author has done to write a realistic story.
May 27, 2024
Highly entertaining continuation of the series, with quite a few new twists, yet countless ties back to and memories from the earlier books.
Looks like Smith appropriately gave up on the idea of this ever becoming a movie in China, and I applaud that. I love how he portrays the Buddhist monks, and I pray for places like he describes to still survive in Tibet.
Are some of the depictions of the monastery too fantastic to be believed? Partial control over the weather? Such wilderness survival? Such lifelong loyalty? Preference for simple life? Perhaps… But an excellent vision for young readers with more flexible imagination!
Peak is a tremendous lead character, inspiring and genuine, and I love the values espoused in this series. I do wish for a little more character depth for the bad guy, and maybe we’ll get that in the next installment..
Looks like Smith appropriately gave up on the idea of this ever becoming a movie in China, and I applaud that. I love how he portrays the Buddhist monks, and I pray for places like he describes to still survive in Tibet.
Are some of the depictions of the monastery too fantastic to be believed? Partial control over the weather? Such wilderness survival? Such lifelong loyalty? Preference for simple life? Perhaps… But an excellent vision for young readers with more flexible imagination!
Peak is a tremendous lead character, inspiring and genuine, and I love the values espoused in this series. I do wish for a little more character depth for the bad guy, and maybe we’ll get that in the next installment..
November 11, 2020
I am not a big reader of YA lit, but I genuinely enjoyed this adventure story. While it would have helped to have read the earlier books in the series, I found myself pretty much speed reading through the exciting narrative. (Somehow reminded me of a Dirk Pitt story.) Recommended for YA readers who love the outdoors and adventure.
December 10, 2020
*3.5
This is the fourth installment in the Peak series, which is a fun younger YA series about climbing mountains and adventures in South Asia. Descent was a fun and fast book to read, however it was my least favorite book so far. My main issue with it was that some of my favorite characters (Alessia and Ethan) weren’t in it, I was looking forward to reading more about them after the events of Ascent, but this book really didn’t include them. Instead there was Josh (Peak’s dad) as a main character which was fine, just not as good as the other characters.
I liked Zopa’s arc, and I hope that it’s his conclusion. It was fun to see him as a monk rather than a mysterious mountain climber. Although, this book especially, had more “magical” acts from Zopa which don’t add to the story.
I like that Peak seems older in this book, he was leading the expedition, and was by himself for a little while. He was making smart decisions and I really liked his reflection about how being arrested turned out for the best, otherwise he might have still just been climbing skyscrapers, instead of mountains in Tibet.
I was hoping that this book would include more romance between Peak and Alessia, since the last one began it, but this was another disappointment. Even though this will probably not happen, I REALLY want more books that focus on Alessia and Peak and their romance as they climb mountains around the world together.
I feel so conflicted about the length of the book, it felt both too short, but too long for the subject matter. I liked the different plot of escaping from Tibet/China, but it felt drawn out, especially with the Buddhist monastery stuff. I also didn’t really like the new characters, they felt pretty bland and I didn’t care about them at all. These are such short books, that instead of adding new characters, the previous ones should have been more developed.
I did like how the relationship with Peak and Josh was at it’s best and they didn’t have conflict between them.
Peak should have complained more, they were almost starving at some points, getting no sleep, and walking ridiculous amounts through the jungle. He was almost too happy at some points.
This sounds terrible but I like that characters do get injured in the book, they’re doing dangerous things, after all. It also shows the consequences of these injuries, which was nice.
This includes vague spoilers: The scene where they are climbing up the wall with the Chinese army chasing them up it, was one of my favorites. Peak is such a good person to still help the Captain even though they’re trying to imprison them, it really showed his good nature as a character. It was also enjoyable to read about some people who didn’t have extensive climbing experience and knowledge have to climb up that wall.
Anyways I hope that the series continues and improves in the next book. It’s so good and so underrated!
Here is my review for the rest of the series.
https://nebulousreading.wordpress.com...
This is the fourth installment in the Peak series, which is a fun younger YA series about climbing mountains and adventures in South Asia. Descent was a fun and fast book to read, however it was my least favorite book so far. My main issue with it was that some of my favorite characters (Alessia and Ethan) weren’t in it, I was looking forward to reading more about them after the events of Ascent, but this book really didn’t include them. Instead there was Josh (Peak’s dad) as a main character which was fine, just not as good as the other characters.
I liked Zopa’s arc, and I hope that it’s his conclusion. It was fun to see him as a monk rather than a mysterious mountain climber. Although, this book especially, had more “magical” acts from Zopa which don’t add to the story.
I like that Peak seems older in this book, he was leading the expedition, and was by himself for a little while. He was making smart decisions and I really liked his reflection about how being arrested turned out for the best, otherwise he might have still just been climbing skyscrapers, instead of mountains in Tibet.
I was hoping that this book would include more romance between Peak and Alessia, since the last one began it, but this was another disappointment. Even though this will probably not happen, I REALLY want more books that focus on Alessia and Peak and their romance as they climb mountains around the world together.
I feel so conflicted about the length of the book, it felt both too short, but too long for the subject matter. I liked the different plot of escaping from Tibet/China, but it felt drawn out, especially with the Buddhist monastery stuff. I also didn’t really like the new characters, they felt pretty bland and I didn’t care about them at all. These are such short books, that instead of adding new characters, the previous ones should have been more developed.
I did like how the relationship with Peak and Josh was at it’s best and they didn’t have conflict between them.
Peak should have complained more, they were almost starving at some points, getting no sleep, and walking ridiculous amounts through the jungle. He was almost too happy at some points.
This sounds terrible but I like that characters do get injured in the book, they’re doing dangerous things, after all. It also shows the consequences of these injuries, which was nice.
This includes vague spoilers: The scene where they are climbing up the wall with the Chinese army chasing them up it, was one of my favorites. Peak is such a good person to still help the Captain even though they’re trying to imprison them, it really showed his good nature as a character. It was also enjoyable to read about some people who didn’t have extensive climbing experience and knowledge have to climb up that wall.
Anyways I hope that the series continues and improves in the next book. It’s so good and so underrated!
Here is my review for the rest of the series.
https://nebulousreading.wordpress.com...
October 13, 2020
Descent is the fourth book in Roland Smith's series featuring teenage mountain climber Peak Marcello. I received an advance reader copy of this book through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I first became aware of Roland Smith when my son got a copy of his book Jaguar through our library system's summer reading program. A year or two later, he made a school appearance at his elementary school. Smith's Cryptid Hunters series had just been published, and my son (along with my wife and I) began reading more and more of his books.
My wife insisted that I read all of the previous volumes in the Peak Marcello series before reading this ARC. This book is basically a continuation of the story that began in Ascent, the third book in the series. The plot begins after Peak and his group of climbers descend after summitting Hkakabo Razi, and follows their struggle to get safely back home. It doesn't feature quite as much climbing action as the prior books, but still has a lot of conflict and suspense.
I gave Descent five stars. This book is a representative sample of Roland Smith's work and I recommend it highly, especially for 'reluctant' tween readers who may have difficulty identifying books to interest them.
I first became aware of Roland Smith when my son got a copy of his book Jaguar through our library system's summer reading program. A year or two later, he made a school appearance at his elementary school. Smith's Cryptid Hunters series had just been published, and my son (along with my wife and I) began reading more and more of his books.
My wife insisted that I read all of the previous volumes in the Peak Marcello series before reading this ARC. This book is basically a continuation of the story that began in Ascent, the third book in the series. The plot begins after Peak and his group of climbers descend after summitting Hkakabo Razi, and follows their struggle to get safely back home. It doesn't feature quite as much climbing action as the prior books, but still has a lot of conflict and suspense.
I gave Descent five stars. This book is a representative sample of Roland Smith's work and I recommend it highly, especially for 'reluctant' tween readers who may have difficulty identifying books to interest them.
October 19, 2020
Peak has survived an avalanche on the mountain of Hkakabo Razi and is trying to descend into Tibet. This wouldn’t be easy for most people, but it is even harder since Peak’s father and climbing guide are both wanted by the Chinese government. This team may be skilled mountain climbers, but they aren’t ready to face Mother Nature and man at the same time. Will Peak ever make it back to the United States?
Descent is the fourth book in the Peak adventure series. Events in this book pick up shortly after the events of Ascent and readers will have few issues remembering the dynamic personalities of these characters. This is a quick read and even the most reluctant reader will be turning the pages to see what will happen next. Descent is a great finale for a strong series and I am glad that Smith brought us along for the ride. I strongly recommend this book to everyone. You don’t need to have read the first three, but you also might want to get the full experience by backing up and starting at the beginning.
Descent is the fourth book in the Peak adventure series. Events in this book pick up shortly after the events of Ascent and readers will have few issues remembering the dynamic personalities of these characters. This is a quick read and even the most reluctant reader will be turning the pages to see what will happen next. Descent is a great finale for a strong series and I am glad that Smith brought us along for the ride. I strongly recommend this book to everyone. You don’t need to have read the first three, but you also might want to get the full experience by backing up and starting at the beginning.
January 30, 2022
4 1/2* for this 3rd book in the Peak series. Each one exciting and engaging.
Few authors write books that are as exciting for middle readers (and even young YAs) than Roland does. This one could be a stand-alone, but it's better if you know the other adventures first I think.
The book includes so much excitement problem-solving, and interest (helped by the inclusion of some mystic monks).
One thing I really appreciated was the inclusion of an adult character (Peak's dad who is a well-known mountain climber) who does not know how to read. In this book, he finally does learn. Kids would learn a lot about Tibet and a totally different culture by reading this book.
Good from start to finish.
Few authors write books that are as exciting for middle readers (and even young YAs) than Roland does. This one could be a stand-alone, but it's better if you know the other adventures first I think.
The book includes so much excitement problem-solving, and interest (helped by the inclusion of some mystic monks).
One thing I really appreciated was the inclusion of an adult character (Peak's dad who is a well-known mountain climber) who does not know how to read. In this book, he finally does learn. Kids would learn a lot about Tibet and a totally different culture by reading this book.
Good from start to finish.
May 15, 2020
Roland Smith does not disappoint with his fourth Peak Marcello book. All the climbing and adventure are here, and better, in my opinion, than the previous book. Peak, Josh and Zopa are back, with guest appearances by characters from the other books in the series, and are on the run from Captain Shek. This book was a quick, exciting read and a solid addition to the series. I'll be adding it to my classroom library this fall.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.
October 18, 2020
Great ending to a great series
I have enjoyed the Peak Marcello series, and with Descent, a lot of questions are answered. In keeping with his other books, Roland Smith has crafted a fast paced action novel that spotlights political and ecological issues. After reading his books, I am always inspired by the desire to “Go out and do good things”.
I have enjoyed the Peak Marcello series, and with Descent, a lot of questions are answered. In keeping with his other books, Roland Smith has crafted a fast paced action novel that spotlights political and ecological issues. After reading his books, I am always inspired by the desire to “Go out and do good things”.
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January 9, 2021When I borrowed this book from the library, I didn't realize that it was part of a series. Although it was okay to read out of sequence, I feel that I would have enjoyed it much more if I'd read the previous book so I could appreciate the tense history that existed between Josh and Shrek. Because I didn't read the other books, I don't feel right giving it a rating.
January 21, 2021
Enjoyable YA book. I’ve enjoyed the whole series. Requires some stretch to the imagination, esp the mystic/magic around the monks and being basically tracked down across the country, but it’s easy to suspend reality and just enjoy this 4th book in the series.
January 30, 2021
I think that this was my favorite one in the series after the first one. I only wish that the ending had been a bit longer and drawn out. It seemed like the climax of the story was cut a little short.
January 11, 2022
Fun…all the loose ends tied up a little too neatly though…you know, one of those books where every character that appears ends up coming up or appearing again? But then, it is a YA book, and I’m an adult, soooooo
December 19, 2020
A 3.5. Not quite as good as the previous books in the series. Also, It just didn’t feel like a wrap up of the series as it claims to be
December 23, 2020
A fitting end to the series.
May 6, 2021
I loved the ending.
July 9, 2021
I love the way he details a climb. He makes it understandable and fun. (I am not a climber)
August 8, 2021
Entertaining.
September 12, 2021
My favorite of the series. I want to go visit this phenomenal place!
June 22, 2022
This book was fun> i liked the ending to the series.
December 25, 2022
hohum
better than Ascend, not quite in the same league as Peak or Edge
better than Ascend, not quite in the same league as Peak or Edge
August 30, 2023
Absolutely epic 4th installment
December 17, 2024
I really liked this series!
June 15, 2025
This was such a fun series. The first book was the best and this one comes in second for me! Fun read!
December 23, 2021
Great end to the book. I hope there will be more stories about Peak, but that felt like the end.
December 17, 2020
I already received this book from my library before I got the notification from NetGalley. In general, I did not like this book as much as the first on ein the series because it had very little mountain climbing in it, but more cultural things. Still, it was okay.
July 19, 2021
I really enjoyed the story - there were definitely parts that I didn’t find believable - similarly to the rest of the series, but overall a very enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews