From the New York Times Bestselling Author of The Reckoning
On the vast, sunlit walls of the world's greatest monolith, two veteran climbers unwittingly ascend into a vertical underworld. In a place where obsession kills, they quickly fall prey to past loves, old demons, and ghostly revenge.
Hugh and Lewis were Yosemite legends. El Capitan was their holy grail, and their destiny seemed written on its big walls. Here they met the women who married, then left them. Now, 35 years later, Hugh's wife has long since mysteriously disappeared into the desert and Lewis's wife is divorcing him. The old friends reunite to climb El Cap one last time and make a fresh start.
But "the Captain" seems cursed this time around. Even before the aging "wall rats" leave the ground, disaster strikes three young women high on a neighboring route. Hugh discovers one body in the forest and spies a second dangling a half mile overhead. He and Lewis launch their ascent, desperate to leave the terrible omens behind. But there is no escape. Doubts haunt them, the elements plague them, and an eerie reptilian woman invades their sleep. Every vertical inch, the men must battle the stone, their aging bodies, fear, and the memories of great loves lost.
"Grover Gardner has readers clinging to Long's novel about mountain climbers endangered and trapped on El Capitan, in Yosemite. Gripping is too mild a term for the intense listening experience as a reunion of two 50-year-old climbers turns into a nightmare... Gardner's narration is the voice of sanity among the most bizarre events, keeping reader pinioned. "—AudioFile
"Heart-stopping vertical adventure."—Kirkus Reviews
"The surprise ending is a true shocker in this hurtling, gripping read."—Publishers Weekly
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"Similar to his other book that i read. The Decent. Lots of things that appear to not be connected, things that come back from earlier chapters. Quite an abrupt ending and closure. "
— Nicole (4 out of 5 stars)
Gripping is too mild a term for the intense listening experience.
— AudioFile“Long casts the dramatic natural setting as a major player in the story and imparts fascinating facts about the art of rock-climbing…The surprise ending is a true shocker in this hurtling, gripping read.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)" This book felt like the author had his ending from square one and went back to write the story. That's fine, but there were a few, how do I say, cheats and oddities which made sense once I read the ending. "
— S.A., 12/15/2013" Why does an action-packed climbing novel have to get into supernatural retribution right at the end? "
— Ben, 12/11/2013" sort of action/adventure with a supernatural twist...a fun read "
— Jenn, 12/10/2013" Not as genius as his series. If you climb you'll probably enjoy it. I don't so I found myself skimming a lot of the technical stuff. "
— Greta, 11/25/2013" I don't read fiction - i didn't know this was fiction until the last page. "
— Steve, 11/3/2013" Great climbing novel. Very exciting. A bit of a stretch with one of the story lines... but still a very enjoyable book. "
— Phil, 10/7/2013" Studying the nature of good and evil while climbing up El Capitan in Yosemite? But somehow it works. Love the author "
— Vicki, 8/31/2013" This book attracted my attention because of the location - Yosemite. My favorite place. The story, climbing El Cap was also intriguing. The plot was very weak but my interest was kept by the little bits along the way that I learned about climbing and what goes on in the mind of a climber. "
— Janis, 7/25/2013" Similar to his other book that i read. The Decent. Lots of things that appear to not be connected, things that come back from earlier chapters. Quite an abrupt ending and closure. "
— Nicole, 7/24/2013" creepy and disturbing on many levels. "
— Barbara, 6/21/2013" Good book about a mountain climbing rescue. (I really enjoy reading this author, his book Year Zero is one of my fav's.) Has a great ending... didn't see it coming! "
— Amy, 11/2/2012" great book ! stephen king goes big wall climbing. "
— Daniel, 5/29/2012" I have read and really enjoyed all of Long's books previously, and I absolutely hated this one. The plot was just poor, long, and drawn out. I continuously force myself to finish every book I start, and I genuinely suffered for having done that with this one. "
— Huntley, 4/5/2012" Holy SHIZ was this book creepy. And I HATE creepy. But I KNEW it would be creepy from the beginning, and I was hooked from the first page!!!! Stole it from my dad for awhile to take back to my place to read...don't tell him...but it was worth it and still irrepressibly creepy. AAAAAAA!! "
— Erin, 3/16/2012" No one scares me like Jeff Long. "
— Deborah, 12/3/2011" This is one of the eeriest books I had read in a very long time. Jeff Long writes some very intellectually creepy stuff... "
— Jamie, 8/9/2010" I don't read fiction - i didn't know this was fiction until the last page. "
— Steve, 4/14/2010" No one scares me like Jeff Long. <br/> "
— Deborah, 1/17/2010" Great climbing novel. Very exciting. A bit of a stretch with one of the story lines... but still a very enjoyable book. "
— Phil, 10/11/2009" Well it gave me nightmares for a week because I used to climb and my daughter climbs now. The graphic details were a bit much for me is all. <br/>Otherwise it was a good story with a very unexpected ending. <br/>More of a wacko thriller in a way. "
— Jana, 6/29/2009" Good book about a mountain climbing rescue. (I really enjoy reading this author, his book Year Zero is one of my fav's.) Has a great ending... didn't see it coming! "
— Amy, 8/25/2008" Studying the nature of good and evil while climbing up El Capitan in Yosemite? But somehow it works. Love the author "
— Vicki, 1/18/2008" I have read and really enjoyed all of Long's books previously, and I absolutely hated this one. The plot was just poor, long, and drawn out. I continuously force myself to finish every book I start, and I genuinely suffered for having done that with this one. "
— Huntley, 1/2/2008" sort of action/adventure with a supernatural twist...a fun read "
— Jenn, 6/25/2007Jeff Long has climbed in Yosemite, Colorado, the Alps, and the Himalayas. He has worked as a journalist, historian, travel guide, and stone mason. His seven novels include The Descent, Year Zero, and The Reckoning.
Grover Gardner (a.k.a. Tom Parker) is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards, was chosen Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly, and has earned more than thirty Earphones Awards.