Ascent by Roland Smith

From Goodreads,

"A few months after returning from Afghanistan, Peak Marcello is in Myanmar visiting Alessia. Myanmar has been in the grips of a brutal military regime for more than fifty years, but recently the government has allowed more tourists to enter.   While there, Peak is invited to climb Hkakabo Razi, one of the most isolated mountains in the world, to discover the exact elevation of the mountain. But getting to the mountain will involve a four-week trek through tropical rain forests rife with hazards—from venomous reptiles and leeches to corrupt police and military. In the end, summiting Hkakabo Razi may be the easiest thing Peak does."

Goodreads - Ascent

I read Peak when I was in high school.  I found the book at a thrift store last summer and decided to reread it.  That lead to me discovering that Roland Smith had published a second book titled, The Edge.  In ordering that book I found that Smith was publishing ANOTHER book titled Ascent.  I ordered was able to get it and quickly started reading it while the story of Peak and his friends were still fairly fresh in my memory. 

Ascent starts just months after where The Edge leaves off.  Peak gets the opportunity to go climb Hkakabo Razi with his friend Aleesia and her bodyguard Ethan.  But to get to the mountain they must first endure the hardships of the tropical rainforest from the animals and insects living within to the murderous mad man hunting them.  The book and Peak continue to ascend in hopes he reaches the summit. 

I absolutely loved Peak when I read it, and I thought that The Edge was okay.  But Ascent was a whole new level.  When the book first started in the rainforest I felt like I was just dropped off in the middle of a book with no back story on how or why we were where we were.  So naturally I hated this book when it first started.  It was slow and I was trudging through it, much like the characters were in the book.  Things picked up in the middle of the book, and I found myself getting a little more invested in it.  But once the third part of the book started I was so pumped up and excited for Peak to climb Hkakabo Razi.  It wasn't until the day after I finished the book that I realized Smith had written this so that the reader was feeling the same way as the characters in the book, and that they too were making the ascent to the summit.  I don't know if he meant for this to happen, but I definitely loved that the book started slow and picked up pace as we went on until we reached the top or the end of the book.

The only thing I absolutely despised was the beginning and ending of this book.  As I said earlier I felt like I picked up a book and started reading in the middle without getting a solid back story.  But the ending killed me.  I was so excited to see what happened on the climb back down and what obstacles they would encounter.  Did I get that?  No.  The book ended.  It just ended with everyone standing all happily overlooking the mountain.  I needed more after the summit.  I wanted there to be danger and excitement well after the summit had been reached.  I seriously hope that Smith decides to write a fourth book to give me more about Peak and his team. 

I am a big fan of the Peak Marcello series and this book did not disappoint.  I give this 5 stars and would love to get a set of the Peak series to put in my classroom.  (I rarely let students get their hands on my personal copies.)  I would recommend this to fans of the Peak series or people who enjoy adventure books.