Uptown Oracle Reads… The White Road

After a cave expedition gone wrong, Simon finds himself the sole survivor. His near-death experience being filmed means he’s now famous. Which means he has more to prove. Simon must now climb Mount Everest and film it all whilst trying to keep himself sane.

I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy The White Road at first but at less than 300 pages I decided to give it a shot. First I was worried the writing would be full of technical terms. I was wrong. Simon, our main character, often walks us through experiences as he’s also new to high altitude climbing.

We’re straight into action for the caving incident. It’s horrifying, detailed and really draws you in. The aftermath also makes you want to know more and how Simon is going to cope on Everest. There’s a strong focus on mental health after both ‘incidents’ within the book. The PTSD that Simon suffers from is written really well. I was sympathetic and intrigued on how it would affect the rest of the book.

I enjoyed that there were diary elements for Juliet’s POV. There were also emails during Simon’s POV. The different formats of writing helped to differentiate the two, but also helped to increase intrigue. Having two POV’s was originally a shock as Juliet isn’t mentioned on the blurb. But I did enjoy the very different experiences they were having at the start. Also, it’s not clear how the two are linked until very late on in the book. Wanting to know the link between them made me want to continue reading faster.

It was thoroughly creepy nearing the end. I questioned whether there was a logical explanation.Many explanations were given within the book as a whole, but none fit completely. The White Road finishes with an ambiguous ending. As I finished this right before bed, I found it extra creepy.

I received The White Road* by Sarah Lotz as an e-book from the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, via Bookbridgr. This is an unbiased and honest review.