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<\/p>\nTwo men\u2019s lives shattered by a climbing accident twenty-five years ago in Patagonia \u2014 that neither man can forget \u2014 which forms the basis of this gripping debut thriller.<\/i><\/p>\n
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Dunstan Power | The Empty Rope | Black Pear Press: \u00a310.00 Dunstan Power\u2019s debut novel, The Empty Rope<\/i>, is a gripping thriller that revolves around a tragic climbing accident and the impacts that this has on the three men involved and their families over a twenty-five-year period. The narrative focus of the novel is the fraught relationship between Craig Dawson (a semi-retired climber eking out-a-living from his failing climbing shop in Llanberis, Wales) and Doug Swanson (renowned climber and CEO of SummitSeeker \u2014 a climbing company that specialises in providing the latest in high-tech climbing gear). The two men couldn\u2019t be living more different lives, but their lives are inextricably linked together by the aforementioned climbing accident that took place in Patagonia, where it is revealed another climber lost his life. The experience left Craig Dawson with survivors\u2019 guilt; he can\u2019t remember what happened on that fateful day and his way of coping is living as semi-recluse existence in remote Wales. In stark contrast, Doug Swanson\u2019s rescue of Craig that day has become the stuff of climbing legend and resulted in the fame he enjoys. The Empty Rope<\/i> recounts his version of the accident. On the back of the book\u2019s success, SummitSeekers was launched. The company aims to specialise in high-tech climbing gear designed to avoid the type of tragic accident that the two men experienced. Both men have not spoken to each other for twenty-five years and harbour deep-seated resentment towards each other, each blaming the other for what happened. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is until American film producer Sarah Hughes wanders into Craig\u2019s climbing shop with a proposition for him to feature in the film version of The Empty Rope<\/i>. After much persuading by Sarah, Craig agrees; a dire financial situation heavily influencing the decision. Craig drives to Chamonix in France where Doug has hired a film crew to make his film adaptation of The Empty Rope<\/i>. The initial meeting between the two men is full of unspoken tension as both view each other as rivals and the friendship they once shared has been destroyed by equally felt accusations. The men meeting after twenty-five-years sets into motion Power\u2019s thriller: full of twists, shock reveals and finally the hard-won revelation of what happened on that tragic day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Power\u2019s debut novel is a darn-good thriller. The protagonists might start off a little too much like stock action film rivals, but when Craig and Doug meet their relationship is full of nuance, one-upmanship and unspoken bitterness. This tumultuous relationship is at the heart of the novel. As readers, we are left wondering if the two men can ever find peace with the accident or if they will remain haunted by the accident for the rest of their lives. Power\u2019s novel offers an unexpected detailed and brilliantly portrayed exploration of the impacts that toxic-masculinity can have on male friendship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another strength of Power\u2019s writing is its ability to capture effectively how tragedy can reverberate throughout the ages in the climbing community \u2014 turning into climbing myth and legend. The Empty Rope<\/i> demystifies this kind of mythmaking and shines an important light on the human cost of such tragedies, and the consequences of forgetting the human sacrifices that make climbing routes and climbers notorious. Power\u2019s writing comes alive when it focuses on the technicalities and the difficulties of climbing and the sense-of-adventure and exertion that climbers experience when discovering new routes. A minor criticism I have of Power\u2019s style (and this is due to it being his debut novel) is that it lacks the confidence in places to let the reader imagine for themselves. This is especially the case in his descriptions of new locations; they can feel a little heavy-handed as his writing becomes over-reliant on well-worn metaphors. It would have been more evocative if Power offered a select few key details of a location\u2019s uniquenesss, instead of being over-reliant on clich\u00e9d imagery.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Throughout The Empty Rope, <\/i>it is clear that Power cares passionately about capturing the authenticity of climbing, the climbing community and also most interestingly the narratives around climbing and how it is viewed by mainstream readers. His debut novel is a triumph \u2014 making climbing and the climbing community accessible to mainstream readers. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Power\u2019s debut novel does run the risk of being too reliant on stock stereotypes associated with 1980s action climbing films in its opening section. Fortunately, the novel finds its stride once the two men meet: after the initial meeting, the narrative becomes an exciting turn-paging thriller that offers an excellent character study on guilt, loss and toxic masculinity whilst also exploring the extraordinary lengths that people will go to in pursuit of redemption.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Reviewed by Paul Anthony Knowles\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two men\u2019s lives shattered by a climbing accident twenty-five years ago in Patagonia \u2014 that neither man can forget \u2014 which forms the basis of this gripping debut thriller. Dunstan Power | The Empty Rope | Black Pear Press: \u00a310.00Reviewed by Paul Anthony Knowles\u00a0 Dunstan Power\u2019s debut novel, The Empty Rope, is a gripping thriller […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[13,283],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/span>Reviewed by Paul Anthony Knowles\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n