Mountain of the Dead (World's Scariest Places)

I’ve read a few of his books now and what he does with these stories and folklore keeps you guessing and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I first learned about the tragedy of the Dyatlov Pass incident on a cryptozoology site describing the hairy hominid theory for what happened to those poor people in 1959. My interest was immediately piqued, and I’ve read a lot about the doomed hiking expedition since.Fresh from watching Liam Le Guillou’s documentary, An Unknown Compelling Force, I started reading Mountain of the Dead. After the documentary the ten hikers of the Dyatlov party were fresh in my mind, so I loved that Bates included photographs of their trip and even some real excerpts from their journal. I found their chapters the most compelling in the book and I was interested how he explained their deaths.While I loved the story revolving around the modern day expedition- it gave me exactly what I was looking for - I found the characters hard to like. Corey, Disco and Olivia seemed like grotesque caricatures rather than real people, and even Corey’s tragic backstory rang hollow. However, I really enjoyed what happened to them in the Urals and I loved the world building around their experiences.

I've been fascinated with the Dyatlov group for years. This book tells their story while weaving in ideas from the present. Even though fictionalized I found the history interesting and heartbreaking, and I was invested in Corey and his friends. I do have one question - did the guide survive?

This book was very interesting I know it was based on true events now I want to research it :). Will be ordering another book soon by this author. I already read suicide forest that one was really good as well. Highly recommend

An exciting read

In 1959, Nine russian hikers camping in a remote part of Siberia, led by Igor Dyatlov, leave their tent during a blizzard and a few days later rescuers find all nine dead in mysterious. circumstances. Despite numerous investigations the mysery has never been satisfactorily solved. So far the story is true. Look up Dyatlov Pass on Wikipedia. The book splits into two overlapping narratives. The first follows the journey of the doomed hikers from their start in Yekateringurg Siberia to their deaths at Death Mountain Pass, renamed Dyatlorv pass in their memory. You can still see their memorial there today (See picture above from Wikipedia) . The other strand follows a modern party who are on an expedition to visit the pass and solve the mystery where previous investigations have failed. Throughout the story is illustrated by genuine photographs from 1959 many taken by the hikers themselves as their expedition proceeds. We come to identify with them on their journey and this really adds to our ivolvement in their story and their deaths. The modern expedition finally solves the mystery. Is this the true answer? Read the book and decide for yourselves. I have given this five stars for the plot, the ingenious way reality and fiction are blended, the characters, who are both well-drawn and engage our sympathy, the excellent written style and the descriptions of the Siberian landscapes. The book is billed as horror, but, despite some violent scenes, I think this is not correct. To my mind it is an ingenious and sensitive tale well told and well worth reading. I recommend it highly.

Everything I've read from Jeremy Bates has been awesome, but I think this one is my new favorite!! Everything I want in a great horror novel was in this. There was intensity throughout, suspense, mystery, and horror!! The real life Dyatlov Pass incident is my favorite unsolved mystery and Bates really paid the hikers respect while also weaving a truly fantastic horror story. Easily 5/5 hiker skulls 💀

I read a lot...a lot. Jeremy Bates is the real deal. I’ve read three of his novels and am impressed by his research and added twists of his novels.

This book was a mixture of fact, conjecture and fiction. The story was based upon the famous Dyatlov mystery of 1959, when 9 experienced Russian hikers disappeared on a trip to the Ural mountains in Siberia. Their semi naked bodies, severely damaged, were eventually discovered by rescue parties. The victims were found lying in deep snow with temperatures well below freezing. Just what had killed them? Many conspiracy theories have circulated since then but nothing has been proved. This book attempts, in a unique way, to offer a solution to the mystery. It may seem far fetched and fanciful but, who really knows. The Russian authorities perhaps, but they are not saying. An excellent read!

Just like the characters in the book, I've been fascinated by the Dyatlov Case for years so this was a must-read book for me. The story of mysterious deaths of the 9 hikers in 1959 is intertwined with the present day story of an American author and his friend who travel to the Ural Mountains to investigate the case themselves. What follows is nail-biting stuff with a number of twists along the way.I've read all but one of the World's Scariest Places books by Jeremy Bates and he delivers every time. I find myself still thinking about the stories weeks or months later. He has a knack of drawing readers in and the story becomes all-absorbing.

Initially this book started really well, the Dyatlov Pass incident is a fascinating mystery. However once i reached the halfway mark i rolled my eyes and started skim reading the rest of the book.I lost interest pretty quickly once the reveal occurred, I feel like something more intriguing could have been plotted considering the setup beforehand. This author always reels me in due to the real life settings, but the endings always leave me disappointed - more fool me for keeping on downloading his books 😆

Couldn't decide whether to give 3 or 4, so ideally 3.5 but let's be generous.This was a great page-turner and I thought that for most of the book he handled the alternating stories very well, although towards the end the earlier drama really wasn't a drama at all (we knew pretty much what had happened.)Characters much more three-dimensional than I expected in this kind of novel - don't mean to sound patronising, but when things are all scary and action-packed, it's a pleasant surprise to find a bit of depth.Overall, really enjoyed it.One big problem (maybe editorial.) Discrete and discreet mean totally different things, and was there really a palatable sense of whatever it was? Palpable, surely. There were a couple of others which I've forgotten. Sorry to sound like your English teacher, but my disbelief came crashing down from its willing suspension!Still enjoyed it though.

Again, this is very difficult to review this book. The real Dyatlov's group story is well researched by the author, and he follows it pretty diligently apart from a couple of dialogues and situations I found unlikely. The fictional modern part of the story is a wonderful flight of imagination which is unfortunately hugely unbelievable. If this is not a problem and you don't mind gory horror mixed in with a decent prose than you will probably like it. For me the story didn't work because I instantly disliked one of the characters and was glad when the person was killed in the end. To those unfamiliar with the real Dyatlov mystery I would recommend non-fictional books on the subject.