Project Mariner

By Bahhaj J. Hockley

What do you do when you've already smashed the speed and age records for climbing the 7 summits? What comes next when, by age 29, you've already topped all 14 eight-thousanders, twice? You've got to go bigger. You've got to go further. You've got to go higher.

Especially if you're a Hillary.

NASA's Project Mariner is the pinnacle of adventure for the boldest and bravest of the mountaineering elite. Its sole charter: to make a bid for the highest summit in the Solar System - the dormant volcano Olympus Mons, on Mars. Topping out at nearly 22km, it dwarfs Earth's tallest peak two and a half times over. A thrill-seeker's dream if ever there was one.

Katherine Hillary Jordan was the first in line on day one. A descendent of one of the most legendary mountaineers in history, and keen to perpetuate her family's legacy, Kat's resume for the job more than speaks for itself. She was purpose-built for this mission and she knows it.

There's just one problem. The Hillary legacy isn't the only one at stake. There's another family vying for the honor and distinction of the first summit of the tallest mountain in the Solar System - a family eager to redeem itself after the inconclusive result of their ancestor's final attempt on Everest. Mystery and deception, triumph and turmoil plague the Project Mariner expedition as a centuries-old rivalry plays out between two of the most iconic names in mountaineering history.

Who will ultimately come out on top? The legendary Hillary's?

Or the vengeful Mallory's?

Project Mariner is a story of survival and triumph through personal tragedy and familial deception as generational legacies within the close-knit climbing community are debated and fought over, even upon the very slopes of Olympus Mons itself. It is the biggest mountaineering prize up for grabs in nearly two centuries, and it has reawakened one of the oldest rivalries in all of alpinism. Artfully weaving together references to the long-standing debate as to whether or not George Mallory ever made it to the summit of Everest in 1924, Project Mariner details a gripping extraplanetary adventure filled with devious twists and turns-of-fate as the question of which family will claim the first summit of the tallest mountain in the Solar System hangs in the balance.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0BW23RYRC
• ISBN13: 9798376721254
• Release Date: March 2023
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 330 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"