Great empires have risen and fallen; it's taken millennia for men to define the forces of good and evil. Contemplate that we open doors, allowing cursed deeds of man's past to be resurrected into the present. It breathes again and is among Oliver Hall and his 1923 Everest expedition team. After the unexplained disappearance of one of their porters and the grizzly death of another, the mounting evidence, combined with their native Nepali guides voicing superstitious beliefs, made their situation impossible to ignore. Hall and his second in command, Jonathan Tolbert traced their footsteps and actions and hypothesized a frightening scenario. Shortly after discovering an inscribed ancient stone tablet, they believed they had inadvertently conjured the dark past, resurrecting an ancient Nepali curse, a supernatural reality that was jeopardizing their mission to summit Mount Everest and now threatening their lives. If they were to succeed and accomplish their task, they had to focus their minds on only two goals, reach the top of the mountain and survive. The only way to do this was to find a way to combat and overcome the opposing forces stalking and working against them.1923, London, England - Hall was asked to do service in honor of his country, to do what no one had done before, to be the first to summit Mount Everest. How could he have known that he and his expedition team would resurrect an ancient Nepali curse? Selected by his close friend, Prince Albert, and commissioned and by the King of England, Hall was asked to become a participant in the monarchy's plans to boost the morale of its citizens. Though on the winning side of WWI, England paid a massive cost for victory, in addition to the countless military and civilian casualties and its post-war economic spiral, the empire found itself overextended and was indeed experiencing desperate times. Prince Albert was tasked with exploring avenues to better his country's dilemma. He established an intellectual think tank to devise conventional and unconventional approaches and strategies, this group of men included England's brightest minds, Winston Churchill and four others that were called, The Five English Gentlemen. Tried and true strategies were set in motion, including an idea intended to boost the morale of their citizens. The group decided that the best approach to accomplish this would be to create a list of categories such as industries, academics, science, athletics, and exploration, then match a shortlist of candidates within each of the groups. Through the voice and of the English government and propaganda, they would launch a national campaign to promote the accomplishments of the chosen few, heralded to the public, and celebrated as England's Heroes. In the category of exploration, Oliver Hall's name and achievements stood out from the rest and selected to volunteer to represent his country. Hall was informed and asked to be a hero for his country, to do what no one had done before, lead a handpicked team to become the first to summit Mount Everest. If successful, the news of this monumental achievement would be a world event and, by default, raise the downtrodden spirits of his countrymen to look toward a better future. First and foremost, Stephen Shields's latest book is not another rehashed story about the adventures of a climbing team set out on a quest to climb the tallest mountain on the planet and overcoming adversities. The story will surprise you with its depth in a tale that begins in ancient Nepal. The story's loosely based on George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, two English mountaineer explorers that lived in the early 20th century. Visit the Pea XV website, watch the promotional trailer and more: https: //www.peakxvstephenshields.com/