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Event
Blue Bicycle Books Charleston Author Series Luncheon with Harry Farthing and his new novel SUMMIT
Join us Friday, August 26th at noon for Blue Bicycle Books Charleston Author Series luncheon at High Cotton, with Harry Farthing and his new, action-packed debut thriller SUMMIT.
Tickets are only $31 for the author talk and delicious three-course luncheon at High Cotton, or $61 that includes the luncheon plus a signed, hardcover copy of "Summit."
High Cotton is located at 199 East Bay Street in downtown Charleston. Of course, there is a full-service cash bar for your enjoyment.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
It is 1938, the eve World War II, when Josef Becker, a renegade member of the German mountain infantry, is caught guiding a group of Austrian Jews over the mountains to escape to freedom into Switzerland. Now, under arrest for treason and at the mercy of SS Jurgen Pfeiffer, Becker is presented with the choice to embark on a clandestine, SS-sponsored expedition up Mount Everest to bring glory to the Reich by planting the Nazi flag at the summit, or else his mother and sisters face execution. Becker, an expert climber, has no choice but to accept the challenge to secretly climb Everest.
On his long journey to Everest, Becker meets Magda, a beautiful Jewish girl escaping the Third Reich, but their romance is threatened when the watchful Nazi accompanying Becker becomes aware of the growing relationship between the two. Beckers greatest challenge lies ahead once he reaches India and begins the death-defying climb up Everest, accompanied only by Ang Noru, an accomplished Sherpa. Becker brings with him his army issued ice axe, with his initials inscribed in the handle, and a 35mm Leica 111 with which to record his climb.
Years later, both the axe and the camera will become objects that men are willing to kill for.
In the present day, Englishman Neil Quinn, an Everest-veteran, guides climbers up the formidable mountain for a living, but when an expedition with the sixteen-year-old son of a very wealthy man turns tragic, Quinns life is upended. During the fraught descent, Quinn discovers an old ice axe that whilst it may save him on the mountain soon leads him into even graver danger below.
Jean-Phillipe Sarron, Quinns violent and corrupt employer, under heavy scrutiny himself in the wake of the tragedy, is out for his blood. Nepali thugs and Russian gangsters are soon pursuing Quinn and his Sherpa colleagues, sending Quinn racing down a path that leads him into the most disturbing corners of a resurging, neo-Nazi underworld.
Luckily, Quinn encounters important allies along the way, among them the Collector, an eccentric Munich antiques dealer, and Henrietta Richards, a retired British Embassy official in Kathmandu and passionate Everest expert. Both enlighten and help Quinn as he seeks out the origins of the mysterious ice axe and Beckers Leica, the value and symbolism of which are dangerously much more than they might seem at first.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author of SUMMIT, Harry Farthing, is himself an experienced climber and has a great love of mountain climbing history, in particular that of Everest. Farthings firsthand knowledge of Everest paints a vivid picture of the majesty of the mountain and also the hellish rigors climbers face in trying to conquer it as background to an exciting story, part-thriller, part-historical novel.
Summit, his debut novel, marries his knowledge of world travel, adventure sports, mountaineering and modern history to create a gripping action story that is both compelling and thought provoking.
Farthing has had a lifelong interest in exploration, archaeology and world history, both published and alternate. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and has traveled widely to extreme environments such as the Sahara Desert, the Himalaya, the Amazon and the Arctic North. An experienced mountaineer, he has climbed Mt Blanc and the Matterhorn in the Alps, Mt McKinley in Alaska, Shishapangma, the highest mountain in Tibet, and on Mount Everest itself.
In 2010 he successfully led all thirteen members of a charity climb to the summit of Kilimanjaro in Africa. In 2011 he made a journey across North America by BMW Motorcycle that linked the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific Oceans and travelled 2000 miles of unpaved roads above the 60th Parallel. That trip was the latest in a series of long motorcycle journeys that started with a ride from the UK to the Moroccan Sahara when he was just nineteen. An accomplished public speaker, he has also raised substantial funds for charity through his climbing.
Tickets are $31 for the author talk and luncheon, or $61 that includes the luncheon plus a signed, hardcover copy of "Summit." Doors open at 11:30 AM and lunch is served promptly at noon. Limited seating provides an intimate experience with the author. There is a cash bar for your enjoyment.
High Cotton is located at 199 East Bay Street, where the luncheon and discussion will take place.
Parking is available at the Cumberland Street Garage, other municipal lots or at meters on the street.
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LocationHigh Cotton (View)
199 East Bay Street
Charleston, SC 29401
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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