Paths of Glory

January 5, 2009
A real-life mountaineering mystery serves as the springboard for bestseller Archer’s abysmal latest. The plot begins promisingly with the body of mountaineer George Mallory discovered on the slopes of Mt. Everest in 1999, possibly having been the first man to have reached the summit. But hopes of an adventurous yarn are soon dashed as the novel becomes a long flashback, offering stock vignettes of Mallory’s childhood, Cambridge days and mountaineering adventures. These passages are hampered by phoned-in writing, clumsy attempts at verisimilitude and a notable lack of psychological depth. Along the way, Mallory marries, becomes a father, serves in WWI and finds himself pitted against Australian mountaineer George Finch as a potential leader of Britain’s push to conquer Everest. Archer does eventually offer his opinion as to whether Mallory summited Everest, but by that point all but his most devoted fans will have fled the icy crags of this lifeless novel.

January 15, 2009
Fictionalized account of the mountain climber who may or may not have been the first man to conquer Everest.

George Mallory (1886 –1924) was an Englishman very much of his time: a history teacher who enlisted in the Great War when two of his pupils were reported killed, a faithful husband to his devoted wife Ruth, a team member loyal to his mates despite their personal failings. What set him apart were his utter fearlessness and his extraordinary gift for climbing. When he vanished with fellow climber Andrew Irvine during a 1924 assault on Everest, some 30 years before Sir Edmund Hillary 's successful ascent, a rapt public was divided over whether he 'd reached the peak before his presumed death, a controversy the discovery of his frozen body in 1999 did nothing to resolve. Archer (Prisoner of Birth, 2008, etc.) turns Mallory 's life into the tale of an unimpeachably good and heroic man. His most interesting battles aren 't with the elements, but with petty bureaucrats who scheme against George Finch, the caddish but accomplished Australian climber Mallory wants as his partner, and with himself, torn between his responsibilities to his long-suffering wife back home and his desire to climb Everest "because it is there. " Mountaineering technocrats can look elsewhere: The mountaineering sequences are marred by Archer 's apparent ignorance of the mechanics of climbing, reduced here to the debate about whether it 's cheating to use bottled oxygen. Nor are the characters especially compelling, since the author seems to feel no need to flesh out real-life figures.

A bland yarn in the Boys ' Own Adventure mold about an old-fashioned hero from the days when the Empire demanded nothing less.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 15, 2009
Best known for his thrillers, deft storyteller Archer ("A Prisoner of Birth") tries something different with this entertaining novel based on the life of famed British climber George Mallory, who disappeared along with climbing partner Andrew Irvine on Mount Everest in 1924 while attempting to become the first man to reach the world's highest peak. Mallory's body was found on Everest in 1999, but whether he succeeded in reaching the top before his death remains one of mountaineering's greatest mysteries. In creating his own imaginative answer to this enigma, Archer provides a readable tale that traces Mallory's path from an adventurous childhood to his education at Cambridge, followed by marriage and military service in World War I. Throughout, Archer interweaves the overarching theme of Mallory's passion for the mountains, which leads him inexorably toward Everest. Although Archer's prose occasionally feels flat and overly workmanlike, this quality is offset by the frequent inclusion of heartfelt and moving letters from Mallory to his beloved wife. This novel is best suited for general readers who enjoy popular fiction, while climbing or adventure devotees may prefer Jochen Hemmleb and others' "Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory and Irvine". Biography fans may like Peter and Leni Gillman's "The Wildest Dream: The Biography of George Mallory". Recommended for larger public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 11/15/08.]Ingrid Levin, Salve Regina Univ. Lib., Newport, RI

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2009
This historical-adventure novel is a bit of a change of pace for the author of such best-selling contemporary thrillers as Kane & Abel (1979) and The Fourth Estate (1996). Its subject is George Mallory, the famed mountaineer who disappeared while attempting to climb Mount Everest in 1924. (Mallory is the source of the famous line because it is therehis answer to the inevitable question asking why one would climb a mountain.) Archer portrays Mallory as an adventurer at heart, a charming, impulsive young man who matures into a dedicated and careful climber. The book shows evidence of exhaustive research. Archer could easily have written a traditional biography, but that wouldnt have permitted him to take the literary license necessary to turn Mallory from a historical figure into a living, breathing human being. This is one of Archers best efforts, and its highly recommended to fans of classic adventure fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)