THE WALL

Grover Gardner has readers clinging to Long's novel about mountain climbers endangered and trapped on El Capitan, in Yosemite. Gripping is too mild a term for the intense listening experience as a reunion of two 50-year-old climbers turns into a nightmare. Hugh and Lewis, once Yosemite legends, are compelled to join a seemingly futile rescue mission; listeners will be on pins and needles as safety seems secure again and again, only to be snatched away by fate, human folly, or weather. Grover Gardner does an excellent job with distinct voices, achieving them through slight changes in accent and tone. Gardner's narration is the voice of sanity among the most bizarre events, keeping reader pinioned. D.P.D. 2007 Audies Award Finalist © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 06]