Terror Peak by Edward J. McFadden III

​Not only did this book seemed right up my Abominable-obsessed, Yeti-loving, Sasquatch-fascinated alley, but it was perfectly suited for the first proper snow day in at least two winters. I was very excited to read it and somehow ended up quite disappointed with it. And I say somehow, because I’m not sure it’s the book’s fault or, more accurately, the book is technically too well done to find a fault with. Sometimes, it’s just one of those reader/book incompatibility things.
The plot is very straight forward - a man goes up the mountain to ski down it, like his grandfather before him. There’s a something up in the mountain that might not want company, might in fact be hostile to company altogether. Let the battle for survival begin.
Told through soul-searching hallucinatory visions, flashbacks, and copious action scenes, this one is meant to be positively cinematic. The author certainly does an excellent job of conveying the place – the peak is a character here, one of the main ones. One that is arguably more compelling than its humanoid counterparts.
The writing is perfectly decent, the pacing is technically dynamic…I can recognize it intellectually, even if it didn’t engage me emotionally. There was just something…not enough of the Abominables. Too overdone on the descriptions. I mean, I don’t get skiing or snowboarding really, and this was almost too technical, too play by play, of an account of such activities. I don’t know, it just didn’t connect and because of it slightly dragged or vice versa. Not quite as fun as the cover.
For one of the legendary giants done right/to my liking in fiction, check out Max Brooks’ Devolution. See the difference. This was just kinda sorta entertaining but that’s about it. Plus, I learned the word verglas. It’s used all over the place.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing a free ARC for reviewing purposes.