The Ascent Audiobook By Ronald Malfi cover art

The Ascent

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The Ascent

By: Ronald Malfi
Narrated by: Joe Hempel
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An "adventure story of man against the elements with man being the most dangerous element of all" by the award-winning author of Bone White (Publishers Weekly).

Six months after he almost died in a caving accident, sculptor Tim Overleigh spends his time crutching his broken body from bar to bar in downtown Annapolis. He has told no one that it was his dead wife, Hannah, who helped him survive—and that he's still seeing her . . .

But a chance meeting with an old friend—and a plane ticket to Kathmandu—reawaken Tim's passion for adventure. He agrees to join an expedition to one of the last unexplored places on earth: the Canyon of Souls in the Himalayas. The daunting climb will pit Tim and the other climbers against icy winds, mysterious forces, and the ghosts that live within each of them.

©2010 Ronald Malfi (P)2023 Tantor Action & Adventure Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Psychological Thriller & Suspense Suspense Fiction Adventure
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This is surprising one of my favorite Malfi novels. The story explores themes of trauma, loss, and spirituality. These themes are explored through an action survival adventure.

Haunting Thriller

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I love this story. I wish I can get a physical paperback on this thats affordable I had to do the audible which was good.

The extreme rush of the story

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I always have enjoyed Ronald Malfi’s books. This was a really good story with a couple of twists. I definitely wasn’t disappointed!!

Different

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Part of this negative review might be due to previously listening to a great story, beautifully written, with an amazing narrator (We're All the Same in the Dark). The Ascent has none of those things. Unfortunately there is not a single character you root for, the dialogue is sometimes laughable and the narrator was barely passable. I actually felt sorry for Joe Hempel being stuck with such pedestrian writing. Here are just a few of the things that bugged me:
1. How many times can the main character almost die? It became laughable after a while.
2. I don't really care or need to know about the characters urination breaks.
3. The author describes how cold it is by telling us the lead character's nipples are hard. Really? That's the best you can do?
4. The spiritual mumbo jumbo inserted to make the protagonist keep going was just ridiculous.
I also could not remotely believe that all of these guys would go on this extremely dangerous expedition into the Himalayas without knowing basic climbing and survival techniques. Just because a guy worked hard on a fishing boat doesn't mean he has any of the skills needed to survive in the mountains. One guy is there apparently because he is big and muscular. Anyway, if you just want some dumb action with horrible characters, I guess this book is for you.

Never ascended for me

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