Paths of Glory - Sir Jeffery Archer

 Jeffery Archer is a fine story teller and one of my first beloved novelists having read a few of his early works, "Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less" and "Shall We Tell the President' before I even attended college.  I looked forward with great interest, some 25 odd years later, to digging into an engaging story about a great mystery on an exciting topic, mountaineering and the early attempts at climbing the unclimbable, Mt Everest.  "Paths of Glory" is a quick and inspiring read.  However, it is far too superficial in it's treatment of the characters to build anything more than a Harlequin type romance and the subsequent tragedy of lost love to equate this historical fiction to a real world account of George Mallory's life and times.  Mallory's story, from the perspective of his possible victory over Everest, had to be told nevertheless.  And I am glad someone as esteemed as Archer took on the burden for the Mallory fans and for England.  I am a Mallory fan, I wish in my heart that he actually made the summit, but I know in practical reality that the victory of his expeditions were not in reaching the summit but in providing all the lower rungs of the ladder necessary for future expeditions, and in fact Hillary and Norgays successful bid almost 30 years later.  If you read about Hillary's bid one understands how truly difficult it is to climb Mt Everest. 

I was disappointed in this book because I thought perhaps, or was lead to believe early on, that this book was really a mystery novel that delved deep into the evidence of the case, a forensics examination for instance.  As it turns out, there is still very little evidence to support even a modest claim that Mallory made the summit.  The eye witness testimony of Dr. Odell and the hearsay account of Mallory's daughter that Mallory always carried a picture of his wife intent on leaving the picture at the Summit.  The fact that the picture was not with Mallory when is body was discovered in 1999 seems to be the only compelling argument that he made the summit, which of course, is based on nothing factual at all.  Nevertheless the intrigue of the mystery remains. 

In the end this a light novel that introduces the drama of early mountaineering along with the politics and personalities of the Royal Geological Society in England during this time period...not a penny more, not a penny less.