Summit by Harry Farthing is an extraordinary first novel, combining mountain climbing thrills, historical fiction and a compelling mystery that beckons to be answered! The author expertly blends two timelines: 1939 and Josef Becker has been blackmailed by the Nazi party to try to be the first person to scale Mount Everest to beat the British for propaganda purposes.  2009 and Neil Quinn has been hired by a ruthless Mount Everest employer to guide a rich teenager to the top of Everest safely. During this disastrous attempt Quinn finds proof of the German's attempt. We follow them across two continents as their stories intertwine across history. We have everything including conspiracy, danger and over the top adventure with an evil villain, Neo Nazis and Russian assassins all determined to get revenge.

At the heart of this story are the well-developed and compelling characters that are situated cleanly in the historical contexts. But the real star of this novel is Mount Everest and what it means to climb this iconic mountain.  Farthing describes in great detail the climbs to and from Mt Everest in a way that would make Jon Krakauer proud.  The reader not only cares deeply for the main characters, but feels part of the experience, from the deep cold to the lack of oxygen, for a taste of what extreme climbing must be like.