The Mountain Story

By: Lori Lansens

Narrated by: Corey Brill

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

From New York Times best-selling author Lori Lansens comes a harrowing survival story about four strangers who spend five days lost in the mountain wilderness above Palm Springs.

Four go up the mountain, but only three will come down.

On the morning of Wolf Truly's 18th birthday, he boards the first cable car to head up the mountains just a few miles from his sun-bleached trailer home in the desert community outside of Palm Springs. Armed with nothing but the clothes on his back, Wolf's intention that morning was to give up on life - specifically at the mountain site of his best friend's tragic accident one year ago. But on that shaky ride up the mountain, fate intervenes and Wolf meets three women that will leave an indelible imprint on the rest of his life. Through a series of missteps, the four wind up lost and stranded among the forested cliffs - in sight of the desert city below, but unable to find a way down.

As the days pass without rescue, we come to learn how each of them came to be on the mountain that morning. And as their situation shifts from misadventure to nightmare, the lost hikers forge an inextricable bond, pushing themselves, and each other, beyond their limits.

Reminiscent of John Krakauer's modern classic Into the Wild and Cheryl Strayed's number-one best-selling Oprah-endorsed Wild, Lori Lansen's The Mountain Story is a deeply affecting novel that pays homage to the rugged beauty - and utterly unforgiving nature - of the wilderness, and considers the question: What price are you willing to pay not only for the ones you love, but for a complete stranger?

©2015 LLMT, Inc. All rights reserved. (P)2015 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Takes you through some loops

You go back and forth from present and part throughout the entire book. Many parts wondering how it all comes together. It really came to be a fantastic book. Hang in there. All ties together beautifully

Intense story of survival

This was an intense story, but there were slow spots where the narrative went into flashbacks. The characters made some terrible decisions,which became annoying. The big "reveal" at the end just didn't ring true for me. And finally, the narration wasnt the best. So, overall, a low-ish rating.

Awesome story

This is one of the best I’ve listened to! Get it! You won’t be sorry!

Good Story

The story was a little slow in the middle, but glad I stuck it out.

Loved it!

The start was a bit slow, but then became mesmerizing. I loved the ending. The narrator was very good.

Good but not great

This was billed to me as a nail biter but it really wasn't. It was pretty slow paced, although pretty well-written, and I had pretty much decided to would/should be the one to die early on. I also didn't like that we knew in advance how many survivors there were. Took away some of the suspense. But I will say I cried when the three got rescued. So it's not like I was completely emotionally detached.

In the end, I recommend this book but I wouldn't rave about it.

Very engaging. Beautifully interwoven narrative with threads the reader was eager to follow! Couldn't stop listening!

Very engaging. Beautifully interwoven narrative with threads the reader was eager to follow! Couldn't stop listening!

Grabbed me and held me to the end!

What did you love best about The Mountain Story?

Story of loss, love, and how healing can occur even at the darkest of moments. One of the few books I've read that handles moving back and forward in time seamlessly. Beautiful story, tied up perfectly in the end.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Wolf-sympathy for the difficult life he lead.

Hikers will love this survival story.

Where does The Mountain Story rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I loved this book. I am an avid hiker and the things that happen in this book are any hikers worst nightmare. It kept me involved and talking about the story to anyone who would listen. And I learned some new situations I need to be aware of when I am hiking.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Mountain Story?

I think the most memorable moment is the moment when everything goes wrong. When food, water, and climate work against the hikers it becomes quite the survival story. The story had me guessing the whole time.

What does Corey Brill bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Corey Brill brings out each character and gives them life and individuality.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I found myself finding excuses to go and finish this book as soon as I could. It was torture waiting to see what happened to the hikers and who survived the ordeal.

Any additional comments?

If you like survival stories this one is a good read. I enjoyed it very much.

Red Bird in the sky

Red Bird flew so high...

Allow me to first begin by stating that the voice actor, Corey Brill was NOT a voice that my mind was willing to concede too. I was immediately brought to mind of John Malkovich. And had a moment where I didn't think I could see beyond that... suffice it to say... I apologize & am NOW scouring the Internet for any and ALL of Corey Brill's works! Wow! Such a talented voice actor!!!
Now... the (unprofessional) review of the novel;
Rarely.
RARELY, do I feel as much emotion reading/listening to a story as I have with The Mountain Story...
Truth be told, I had two other books in line to be experienced. As well as this one. I couldn't decide so I asked my 18 yr old (ironically) son to listen to all three of the 'samples', then choose for me!!! He chose this one. And I am SO VERY GRATEFUL that he did choose Lori Lansens's The Mountain Story!!!
It was breathtaking in its picture creation! The character build was absolutely incredible! Each and every, EVERY single personality so well defined! So much so that I can STILL close my eyes and pull up the persons visual and character with each one being a whole and completely unique actor in this brilliant novel!
The entire story was artfully and utterly beautiful. I experienced so many emotions listening to this story! I haven't enough words to adequately describe, express, convey my feelings about the story!
The last few chapters quite literally had me standing, pacing, praying and (YES) crying!
The Mountain Story was definitely a book which plunged Wolf into the deep end of adulthood!
Highly
HIGHLY recommend this to any & everyone!
Thank you Lori Lansens for the life changing story! And thank you Corey Brill for helping to build this novel into a work of art!
Cannot wait for more from this author and this actor!
~ C. Diaz