Bromley is lost and presumed dead. But these proto-Nazis – exhibiting the tenacity that made them the bane of a certain Dr. Indiana Jones – are after Deacon, J.C., and Smith, on the off-chance that they might discover Bromley’s body, and the secret it contains. 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. The Abominable Book Club is a fantastic idea that ‘just’ fell short for me. The main issue was the featured book, it seems a little odd to include a book that is so far into a series. Gradually, very gradually, we saw the great mountain sides and glaciers and aretes, now one fragment and now another through the floating rifts, until far higher in the sky than imagination had dared suggest the white summit of Everest appeared...”

The Abominables | BookTrust

Dan Simmons has always been hit or miss for me, but I have to say his historical-horror novel The Terror about Franklin's lost expedition to the arctic remains one of my all time favorite books ever. While his newest novel The Abominable may not be a follow up, it certainly can be considered a companion piece; the fact that both books seem to share the same vein made me hopeful that Simmons will blow me away again. It turns out that the secret that Bromley died for, the one that the Nazis wish to recover, is a trove of sexually explicit photographs featuring the pedophiliac behavior of a certain well-known Nazi leader. Concurrently, a British poet, aristocrat and WWI veteran Lord Percival Brombley has also disappeared on Everest's treacherous slopes. This part opens with the three friends (Jake, J.C. and Deacon) summiting Matterhorn, but if you think that this indicates that in the next couple of chapters they would be at the foot of Mt. Everest, you are wrong. They’ll have two more “practice” climbs before they sail for India and eventually trek to Tibet from Darjeeling. Moreover, you’ll know the benefits of using 12 point crampons over 10 point crampons (if you're a slow learner, don't worry. Simmons will remind you every now and then); you’ll read about dozens of modifications done by half a dozen people on oxygen tanks, same with warm clothes made out of parachutes and whatnot, etcetera etcetera, while travelling with our three friends through half of Europe. urn:oclc:876350318 Republisher_date 20170808100710 Republisher_operator [email protected] Republisher_time 398 Scandate 20170806203210 Scanner ttscribe24.hongkong.archive.org Scanningcenter hongkong SourceI’d…seen him before…In a photograph on a poster in a Munich beer hall. The face had been somewhat older, a little fuller…but the intensity of the dark gaze was the same, as was the ridiculous Charlie Chaplin mustache. At that moment, I couldn’t remember his name. Smith – who, coincidentally enough, writes a lot like Dan Simmons – begins his lengthy story in 1924. He is climbing with his two buddies on the Matterhorn when he learns of the disappearance of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine on Mount Everest. Smith’s climbing buddies are the Englishman Richard Davis Deacon (character attributes: stiff upper lip; pipe) and the Frenchman Jean-Claude Clairoux (character attributes: emotional volatility; says merde!). What a fun adventure! I've read Ibbotson's YA novels, but most of her career was built off of her juvenile fiction works. While I've read 1 of those (Platform 9 3/4. The book people claimed JK Rowling plagiarized for Harry Potter. I could see some of the claims...), this has started my journey into the rest of her works, and boy, are they fun! The characters were a bit too bland. The surrounding plot was ok, but the interactions were just ordinary.

book subscription boxes in the UK - Evening Standard Best book subscription boxes in the UK - Evening Standard

As three grieving families find themselves haunted by the voices of their dead children, they come to learn that their children are not dead, as they believed, but have been taken and hidden away at a remote compound, to be used for a single, lethal purpose. On a lonely desert road, a woman hears the voice of her dead child calling out to her, but no one is near.

I would highly recommend The Abominables to readers that are fans of the late, great Eva Ibbotson. Readers that enjoy animal stories, humor, and adventure will greatly enjoy the story. I am a little unsure on my age recommendations as I think readers around 8 and older would be my best guess. However, there is quite a bit about animal rights and cruelty so some of the youngest set might be upset by. However, (spoiler) every character gets their happy ending so that might be enough to make the mild upset worth the big happy that is sure to follow. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads. When he does get around to the action though, it can be very suspenseful. If I'd ever entertained thoughts of becoming a mountain climber, this book pretty much killed them dead. Mountain climbers are insane; I'll settle for living their adventures vicariously though books like this one, thanks. That being said, readers with a fear of heights might have a rough time with this, and of course Simmons is also the master of pushing his characters to extremes by placing them in these horrible, godforsaken situations. And it doesn't get any scarier and more extreme than on Mount Everest. If you manage to look past this sometimes silly feeling 'twist' though, the rest is pretty great. Good characters (even if the narrator is perhaps my least favorite): "The Deacon" - incredibly strong, interesting, often unreadable. "J C" - so French that not even a Frenchman can complain of him being a stereotype and Lady Katherine Christina Regina Bromley-Montfort "Reggie", well, who's not a bit smitten by Reggie?

The Abominables by Eva Ibbotson | Goodreads The Abominables by Eva Ibbotson | Goodreads

The main characters of the book are: Jake Perry himself, and his two fellow climber friends; Richard Davis Deacon aka “The Deacon” and Jean-Claude Clairoux aka “J.C.”.For an entire year, Brombley's questionable presence on Everest in 1924 has been buried in mystery and prompted a recovery expedition, funded by Brombley's aggrieved mother, to search for and return her son's remains to her. The recovery team is headed by Mallory's British contemporary Richard Deacon, whose motives for joining the expedition seem unclear, guide expert Jean-Claude Clairoux, Brombley's cousin - Lady Reggie Brombley-Montfort, and Jacob Perry - a self-described "unskilled and anxious impoverished Yank." The incomplete manuscript of this charming story was found amongst Eva Ibbotson's papers at her death in 2010. Although it has been finished by her son, this has all the familiar ingredients of a trademark Ibbotson tale: it is warm-hearted, funny and full of magical imagination. But as well as humour, there is also a powerful message here about the importance of nature and the environment, protecting endangered species, and opposing cruelty and injustice. Illustrated by Sharon Rentta, who also provided the illustrations for Ibbotson's One Dog and His Boy, this touching and engaging story is irresistible. A classic in the making. In a peaceful hidden valley, Lady Agatha sets about a happy new life bringing up the Yeti children, teaching them to speak and insisting on perfect manners. But as time moves on, the valley is threatened by the arrival of helicopters, tourists and property developers, and Agatha, now an old lady, begins to worry about the safety of her naive and innocent charges, who she fears will be captured by the Yeti-hunters.

Book Subscriptions Worth Checking Out | TheReviewGeek 10 Book Subscriptions Worth Checking Out | TheReviewGeek

Kindle Unlimited not only allows you to have access to a larger catalogue of popular new releases but also access to books from indie authors as well as comic books and manga. So, if you are looking for a service that allows you to have a wide variety of books at your fingertips this might be the subscription service for you. Dan Simmons enjoys writing about failure. In The Terror he writes about the doomed Franklin Expedition which was lost in the Arctic while searching for the North-West passage. Similarly, in The Abominable, he creates a story of “search-and-rescue” of a mountaineer who disappears at the same time on Mt. Everest when Mallory and Irvine vanish during their unsuccessful Mt. Everest summit effort (in June 1924). And while this book is not about Mallory and Irvine, their failure to summit Mt. Everest plays an important role in setting up the plot of the book. The problem with The Abominable is that it treats itself as serious literary historical fiction for two-thirds of its length, before veering into something entirely different. It is far too ponderous and self-important to be enjoyed as a breezy poolside lark. It is also far too pulpy and ridiculous to be enjoyed as believable alternative history.What would the monsters want with human women?" asked Jean-Claude in a small, almost childlike voice. Simmons presents a vivid, crisp vision of the treacherous climb in the novel, but the true protagonist is Everest: "divine and not of this world," whose steep vertical slopes wreaked by bone-chilling winds, cloudy shrouds, mists and myths would slowly relinquish her deadly mysteries to yet another team- who, in their eagerness to conquer her majesty- might be too ill-equipped to handle her perils. At this point in the book--so very early on--all I could think was "White Man's Burden" which is not a theme I want to find in a book published in 2013. The descriptions of Everest were awe inspiring. And chilling - literally. I had to put a sweater on to read most of the book. when i first saw this cover, with its snowy wilderness, i thought "oh, it is a sequel to The Terror - how wonderful!!" but it is not. wrong part of town altogether. The Terror takes place in the northwest passage where a handful of stranded seamen have to contend with the harsh polar environment, scurvy, and also some supernatural forces. this one takes place on mt everest, where a handful of climbers have to contend with the harsh mountain conditions, frostbite, and also some… well, it is more complicated than the title would have you believe.