Fiva: An Adventure That Went Wrong by Stainforth, Gordon (2012) Paperback

"Fiva: An Adventure That Went Wrong" is the epic true account from Gordon Stainforth of a near-death experience on a mountain in Norway in 1969. In the summer of 1969, as Apollo 11 was blasting off to the moon, two teenage twin brothers, with only three years' mountaineering experience, set off to climb one of the highest rock faces in Europe. With just two bars of chocolate, some sandwiches, a four-sentence route description and an old sketch map, they left their tent early one morning with the full expectation of being back in time for tea. Within a few hours things had gone badly wrong, they were looking death in the face, and the English Home Counties seemed very far away...

I love the period details, and the way the gentle self-deprecating humour defuses the tension yet never hides the mounting trauma. I identify with so much of it, and wish Gordon all the best with this wonderful read. It deserves to win many, many awards. Joe Simpson, author of Touching the Void --Joe Simpson

The breathless teenage voice that leaps off the first page never waivers. Not once. Rather, it becomes an unrelenting force, sweeping the reader ever higher on Norway s Store Trolltind as events spiral out of control for two young, bold, and grossly inexperienced twins. An evocative period piece, Fiva is human, innocent, and unflinchingly believable. This little, unassuming book stands among the classic tales of climbing epics . Bruce Kirkby, judges citation, Mountain & Wilderness Literature Prize, Banff Mountain Book Competition, November 2012 --Bruce Kirkby, Banff Mountain Book Competition

'What a brilliant and refreshing read! Once started you just can't put it down.' Sir Chris Bonington CBE. 'Absolutely superb and totally gripping from the first few pages until the end. What an adventure! I think it's a future classic.' Richard Else, TV Producer. 'This magnificent book, enjoyed enormously during wet leaf delays at Clapham, was a breath of civilised fresh air. I love the period detail, the humour, the visceral sense of wild landscape and the nail-biting denouement.' Stephen Venables, mountaineer and author. 'It's tremendous; and also a very accessible read for a non-climber. The pace is excellent - no slack in the rope! It made me laugh. It's a cracking story.' Hilary McKay, winner of The Whitbread Prize.Sir Chris Bonington and others. What a story! ... Things get bad, and then they get worse. By a third of the way through the book, I was absorbed, finishing it in one sitting and worn out by the end. Daniel Neilson, The Great Outdoors Fiva, by Gordon Stainforth falls squarely into the sticky book category - a book so adhesive that no matter how hard you try, you simply can t put it down until you ve finished it.... The pace is flat out from the very first page. This is a high octane read. Gareth Hanson, Rock Climbing UK Climber's brush with death is a thrilling read - every step of the terrifying, life-changing journey has been chronicled in thrilling and frank fashion in Gordon's latest book. Fiva: An Adventure That Went Wrong, which hit the shelves yesterday, has already garnered significant praise from reviewers, whether they know about climbing or not; testament to Gordon's ability to write in an engaging and accessible way. Jonny Birkin, The Derby Telegraph A Boys' Own adventure gone wrong to which we can all relate, it succeeds wonderfully in strapping the reader into the emotional roller coaster of the participants. Nick Gregory, Climber Once or twice in a lifetime a mountaineering story crosses the divide between pure mountaineering and human interest, bridging the gap and becoming a mainstream hit. Writing from the perspective of a teenager, forty years on, the author does an amazing job ... Each single sentence is individually honed and crafted in such a way that the book, like the climb, becomes all consuming... Fiva is a work of art that once read will never be forgotten. Dave Mycroft, MyOutdoors.co.uk As an epic climb this one really delivers the goods, and as near-death goes they got as near as you can and write a book about it ... Andy Kirkpatrick, UKClimbing.com The Great Outdoors Fiva, by Gordon Stainforth falls squarely into the sticky book category - a book so adhesive that no matter how hard you try, you simply can t put it down until you ve finished it.... The pace is flat out from the very first page. --Andy Kirkpatrick, Derby Telegraph and others