Customer Reviews

This Game of Ghosts

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a delightful book. Not that the writer's more well-known TOUCHING THE VOID is badly written; it isn't, and it remians on my short list of the best mountaineering/adventure books I've read. But in THIS GAME OF GHOSTS Simpson stretches out more fully, more autobiographically (is that a wrod?) in an attempt to explain (to himself, to the reader) what it is about climbing that is so attractive, so essential to his existence. While he is honest almost to a fault, Simpson is smart enough to not fall (no pun intended) into the cliches and pseudo-mystical parrot talk that waters down an awful lot of mountaineering lit. For Simpson, there is no short, definitive answer as to why he is drawn to steep, icy mountain walls. On the other hand, the whole book is an answer to this question, which he poses, dismisses, returns to, and obliquely answers over and over.

This is not just a good mountaineering book; it is a bood book, period. At first I thought Simpson was being a bit self-indulgent by detailing his early life. ("Who does this guy think he is?" I asked myself. "This isn't Winston Churchill or even Frank McCourt, but an unknown Brit who thinks we care about his schoolboy years.") But he won me over through his strong sense of humor and good storytelling. And the whole thing is full of good stories. Part of the book's appeal is in the stupidity of Simpson's climbing mistakes, many of which lead to life-threatening accidents. But through all his many incidents, Simpson proves to be as resilient as a rubber ball.

From Simpson's introduction to this book we realize that it is perhaps fear, and overcoming fear and the accompanying exhiliration that drives him. Or is it?
Touching the Void was a brilliant book, detailing a horrific climb and fall in the Peruvian Andes. But at the end, you do wish you could know more about this guy. This Game of Ghosts fills in the blanks. Beginning with his upbringing as the youngest of 5 children, we get to come along as he is introduced to climbing, and adopts it more as a lifestyle than a hobby. Simpson comes of age literally and figuratively in this book. His writing is more polished than in his first book, he is older and wiser, and has gone on to experience more peaks, more true friends, more loss. He explores these things in an effort to describe the allure climbing holds for him, while admonishing us not to assume all adrenaline junkies are the same.
Don't worry, this isn't a philosophy book. It's chock full of fantastic adventures and once again we get to accompany him to dangerous places where we feel the cold, the fear, and the companionship of like minds. This is a must read for anyone who liked Touching the Void. Highly recommended.

"This Game of Ghosts" is about 10 times better than "Touching the Void". The writing is so much better, it's hard to believe that it's the same author. Simpson touches on his childhood as well as his early climbing years. You really get to know the author thorough many events instead of just one covered in his first book. His narratives are extremely funny and entertaining. What an incredible cast of characters. Simpson talks about what climbing meant to him, and how in changed his life. Truly a fantastic read.

The honesty of the author in "This Game of Ghosts" is startling, and refreshing. Joe looks at the experiences that have shaped his life, both before and after the accident, and is not afraid to criticise. Throughout the book, he comments on the loss of climbing friends, and the confusion this causes. The brutal honesty coupled with the questions raised by the deaths to which there are no easy answers make this a stunning book.

About 10 times better than "Touching the Void", the writing is so much better, it's hard to believe that it's the same author. Simpson touches on his childhood as well as his early climbing years. You really get to know the author thorough many events instead of just one covered in his first book. His narratives are extremely funny and entertaining. What an incredible cast of characters. Simpson talks about what climbing meant to him, and how in changed his life. Truly a fantastic read.

As the follow-up book to 'Touching the Voids' Simpson details his life with the emotion and detail you would expect from a truely remarkable individual. From his early childhood to his most advanced expeditions this book takes you on a journey through the highest and lowest points of Simpsons life. Truely blessed with the ability to write with a fine balance of humour and compassion 'This game of ghosts' captured me with three basic emotions; extreme happiness, sadness and a great deal of dispondoncy to finish the book, Perfect!

After being stunned by "Touching the Void", I read this book with keen interest to understand why and how he survived, and if he had progressed in his life. I was more than impressed with the improvement in writing style and story telling. Joe Simpson handles a personal and controversial subject masterfully with horrifying, poignant and hilarious episodes. A must read for all current or potential outdoor "adventure" types.

Prepare for a switch in gears if you read this after "Touching the Void". It details not one rivetting account, but several harrowing events that possibly give the reader a better idea about who Simpson really is... at a party and on the mountain.

Cliche in that it joins other climber's autobiographies on the bookshelf, but strongly needed after we kept scratching our heads in "Touching the Void" and asking: who is this guy anyway?

If you read "Touching The Void" and finished in record time like most people you might have felt it ended a bit quickly, that there was clearly more to say about the trek back to civilization or Joe's recovery and subsequent life. This book should fill in all those holes for you. Simpson is a great writer.

I have read many self centered, often gratuitous mountain adventure books. Joe Simson really brings us home to an obsession, which for him happens to be climbing. For all readers, the book could serve as a great insight into our dreams, passions or habits, for that matter. Although, the book is categorized as a " climbing " book it far outranks others of that genre. Climbing is an important element in it and there is lots of it. However, it is Simpson's way with words, his style and the retrospective flashes from his past which really makes us all wonder about our goals and aspirations in life. Thumbs up, five stars, fantastic, what else can I say ? Peter Chrzanowski