The nonfiction story of four climbers’ kidnapping while on a climb in Kyrgyzstan and subsequent escape during the early 2000s. Although the journey was interesting, I thought the book was slowly paced and could be been relayed more efficiently.

Enjoyable-enough read. For the most part, Child pulls off the coloring in and fluffing up of what is ultimately not a very long story.

The last quarter leaves a bitter taste; while the updates and details on the longer-lasting effects of the experience on the climbers was appreciated, the self-congratulatory and often defensive writing from Child was not.

I went down a research rabbit hole after watching Free Solo, and this book came up. First of all, these climbers did not read the safety warnings when heading into Kyrgyzstan to climb (although pre-911, there was a rebel war going on!)—and they climbed right into terrorist territory. I wished more personal testimony was included, rather than the complete timeline of events. I found the whole situation interesting and frustrating. There is kind of a twist to the story at the end, which kept me reading.