Had me a nervous wreck. I'll be thinking about this book for a LONG time. Our main character has a tragic loss and while he is healing (not well) he encounters a person from his past who invites him along for a journey. All the twist and turns you could hope for.

I think the weakest part of this book was the characters themselves. Some of their motivation is a little bit muddy and hard to understand. But, their personal and internal struggles are realistic. That can be the hardest thing to achieve sometimes,

The story was compelling and gripping, and the climax was honestly surprising. I hadn't expected it.

The narrator did different voices well, but he could have changed his tone slightly to make the book more interesting to listeners.

This one was hard to follow. It may have just been me but the fancy words really got in the way of what the story was about.

Do you want to know what it is like to try to survive in the Himalayas? Is the heat getting to you and you want to be chilled to the bone? This is your book.
Tension filled and riddled with gut punches, this may be an older book by Malfi but it is a good one.

I wanted this to be scarier. More thrilling. While it was interesting, I feel like I’ve read more engaging accounts in non fiction tales. To fix this I would’ve loved to hear more about the Canyon of Souls. Give me something fictional that I cannot compare to real life. History of the canyon. Tales of other groups that hadn’t made it out. Remains of others who had died there? Maybe that wasn’t the purpose of this story, and if that’s the case, then I guess this is just a case of me not vibing with the story. The pacing was off. The beginning was too slow, and it was near the end that the explanations finally started to come out, but I was bored / underwhelmed at that point. I do appreciate the opportunity to listen and review this story. (Thank you Net Galley & RB Media The narrator was great. I had zero problems with them. Maybe I will try to re read in the future (cold season maybe?) and see if it hits differently. This story definitely has a market, it’s just not really me at the moment.

The Ascent tells the story of Tim, who tragically lost his wife, Hannah, in a car accident. Since her death, Tim has thrown himself into extreme sports and has had a few near misses.

Tim is then invited out on a challenging expedition, but there is more to the journey than he first imagined.

I really struggled to get into this story, and I'm not entirely sure why. I enjoyed reading about Tim's story and learning how he ended up in his current situation. However, I just didn't feel much of an affinity with the characters and wasn't atall emotionally invested.


It's a shame as the general premise of the book and the writing were good. Something just didn't click for me with this one.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.


I have finished several of Ronald Malfi's books that were also narrated by Joe Hempel.  They have always been fantastic and this is no different.  

The Ascent follows Tim as he reconvenes with an old friend to venture into the unexplored Canyon of Souls in the Himilayas.  Throughout the adventure and battling the elements, Tim is also battling his own demons.  It started as a gut-wrenching story of survival but quickly flew completely off the rails in the most spectacular way!  If you're a fan of horror, thrillers, suspense, and survival stories, this is the one! 


Joe Hempel delivers an incredible experience and is quickly becoming one of my favorite narrators.

The Ascent follows Tim. Tim survived a climbing accident with the help of his dead wife. Tim becomes an alcoholic spiraling out of control until an old friend of his wife invites him on an expedition. The expedition is to climb the unexplored Canyon of Souls in the Himalayas.

I'm not a climber but have always enjoyed movies that focus on rough terrain and climbing. This book never seemed to capture any of that for me. This was a boring plot with uninteresting characters. Tim lost his wife and is a character you should feel some emotions towards but I found myself just not caring.

The whole group of characters that are on the expedition were all like this for me. I did not find one character interesting.

This is my first book by the author and I would love to try another book by the author. Unfortunately, I can not recommend the Ascent.

Tim Overleigh survived a terrible climbing accident with the help of his wife. His dead wife. He’s saved from his slow decline into alcoholism by an old friend of his wife’s who invites him on a climbing expedition in the Himalayas, a climb to the remote and unknown Canyon of Souls. Tim and the other climbers face not only the brutal and unforgiving terrain but also the specters of their past. I love Malfi, but this was not one of his best books. The characters were juvenile and hard to like even though the tension and the setting of the book were great