The Seventh Mountain
Here it is! Our 31st podiobook!
A dream, surreal and frightening, begins the path of 12 year old Mark Young’s future; a path set long before he was even born. Fortunately, it’s not a path he’s doomed to walk alone. His course leads to true friends, fortune, and a place where he learns to wield great power.
This place is The Seventh Mountain, the place where Magi train. The Seventh Mountain conceals the direst legend known to man. Mark’s fate lies within.
“The Seventh Mountain by Gene Curtis is pure delight. Curtis wields a tremendous imagination and uses it to transport the reader to another world, where sword wielding Magi fight for good, evil lurks just out of sight and a young hero searches for his destiny. Sure to be compared to Harry Potter, but undeniably more compelling.” – Jeremy Robinson, bestselling author of The Didymus Contingency
March 6th, 2006 at 10:25 am
Do I see a theme here? 7th son, Seventh Mountain, The Seven Scrolls Of Scallose … all with the word seven in the title…
March 10th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
This is one of the best I’ve heard so far! More…………neeed more………
March 23rd, 2006 at 1:43 pm
audio quality is kinda poor. story line is ok so far (only on 5th chap) the pace is picking up. pretty good book
April 9th, 2006 at 7:17 pm
I really enjoy this book, thanks!
April 10th, 2006 at 12:26 am
seems like the link to the MP3 for the new chapter “Classes Begin” may be wrong, I keep getting errors from Libsyn. this is the link i’m using
http://www.podiobooks.com/chapter/18876/10/3806/PB-7thMountain-10.mp3
I want to hear it soon so any help would be great. Thanks Podiopersons I’m listening to like 5 now!
April 10th, 2006 at 1:03 am
yeah im having problems downloading classes begin and tents……itsays theres some sort of error……would really like to get back to the story…any help would be appreciated.
April 10th, 2006 at 5:41 am
Sorry, folks. The files were truncated, and so I had to pull them. It was an FTP problem, but I’ll have new copies up as soon as possible.
-Chris
May 1st, 2006 at 10:01 am
Revenge is a dish best not smelled had a whole load of glitches for me, not sure if its the file or a bad download.
Also hole in the wall and So thats what it is are mixed up on the feed, I was really confused about that ’til I figured it out
Keep it up I can’t wait for more episodes!
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:31 pm
The chapter titled A Hole in the Wall begins by saying it is chapter 18. It should be chapter 17, or is there a chapter missing that should be in there in between the two?
May 2nd, 2006 at 3:23 pm
I’ve pulled these file, and am consulting with the author to see what the issue is. Sorry, folks.
May 7th, 2006 at 4:14 pm
So, were those two files reposted? I now have them twice, yet still backwards.
Enjoying the story very much!
May 8th, 2006 at 7:23 pm
Have enjoyed this book so far. Although the begining was a bit slow and plodding it certainly has picked up and held my interest and I am in the swing fully.
Thanks for sharing this with us…
May 15th, 2006 at 8:08 am
have i missed chapter 16???? Hole in the wall begins “chapter 17″…or is this chapter 16 just labelled wrongly??? REally enjoying the story and really keen to carry it on…so i need to know if im missing something…anyone….
May 15th, 2006 at 8:20 am
I do not believe so…I’ve checked, and everything seems to be there. One of the other episodes probably combined two chapters
May 19th, 2006 at 11:52 am
Thought I’d say thank you to the 7th Mountain listeners. The hardcopy book debuted at Barnes&Noble.com as #26 on the Sword and Savagery list, #111 on the Teen Fantasy-Quest list, and #149 on the Christian SF&F list. Not bad for a first novel. Thank you to everyone that talks about it. I’m sure that helps with the numbers.
May 24th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
Nice Site. Very informative.
Thanks
Adam, New Balance
June 14th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
I love the world you have created here in the 7th mountain (on Ep 13). Oddly enough the Christian component of the book added to the story for me as I went to a Church of England School (although I now follow a different path) this provides an additional link between me and the characters, now if only my school had Flags matches (way better than Quidditch BTW).
My only grip so far is if the Magi have hover cars why do they still use MIG’s? Or will I find out in later chapters?
Keep up the good work! when is book 2 comming out?
June 20th, 2006 at 8:48 am
As a young person’s book I give this an ‘A’.
I’m sure Gene Curtis has heard a few dozen comparisons between this work and the Harry Potter books, and I’m afraid that the comparisons are unavoidable. Having said that, let me add a large HOWEVER…While there are lots of similarities, there exist many delightful differences, as well. I find it easier to relate to the American ‘flavor’ of the characters a lot easier than to the British ‘flavor’ found in the HP books. Additionally, I think Curtis deals with technology/magic interactions better than Rowling.
There are some things that I did not like that I must comment on.
NARRATION:
The narrator’s southern accent was a bit disconcerting, especially as it seemed to increase and decrease in waves. Sometimes it was just plain annoying. (The word “saliva” is just one of many instances. It is suh-LYE-vuh and not sih-LA-vah. Nit-picky, I’ll admit, but I’m a lover of the English language and like to hear it spoken well.)
On the positive side, some of her voice characterizations were quite entertaining.
SOUND QUALITY:
Another thing that I found troubling was that the volume between episodes was not consistent. One episode seemed to be barely audible and the next was blaring. Annoying.
All in all, I enjoyed The Seventh Mountain a great deal. I liked the story and the characters and looked forward to each new episode. I’m recommending this to many friends and eagerly await subsequent books in the series.
-Bear
July 22nd, 2006 at 4:28 pm
It’s a great story, but there seems to be a problem with the available chapters. I listened to the first five (5) chapters and the next chapter I recieved was chapter seven (7). It goes from the chapter titled “The Cadre Begins”, to the chapter titled “Dimmer ‘n Dirt”. Chapter six (6) is missing. The missing chapter is titled “Let’s Go Shopping”. Is that chapter going to be put up, or is it just going to be skipped over?
July 25th, 2006 at 7:23 pm
J.T., Ch. 5&6 are short chapters so I combined them into 1 episode. I’m glad you like the story so far!
July 30th, 2006 at 11:46 am
Oh. Ok. My mistake. Thanks for letting me know though! I love the story! Will there be another one?
July 30th, 2006 at 6:46 pm
Book 2 is well underway.
August 9th, 2006 at 5:35 am
About half way through and really enjoying it. Bring it on.
August 15th, 2006 at 12:28 am
A Lot of books make you laugh and fewer still make you cry, but it takes a truly masterful writer to make you furious at the enemies of the characters and despair when they are in trouble. Gene Curtis is one of these writers. There were elements here and there that were similar to another adolescent magic user you may have heard of, but the world in whole is truly original and imaginative. I can’t praise “The Seventh Mountain†high enough, and I can’t wait for the new books arrival.
September 25th, 2006 at 5:34 am
I finished the book and I liked it.
I thought that perhaps there were too many seperate things. If felt a bit like a SOAP in that there were a number of vaguely linked episodes rather than a single plot line.
The reading was good enough, but a better reader could have improved it.
I found the opening and the ending strong, with the middle a little weaker.
Like I said, I enjoyed listening.
October 3rd, 2006 at 5:32 am
Phenomenal!!! An excellent story, well told.
Thank you for giving us an alternative (Superior Alterative) to the HP books.
And thank you for creating a story that is safe for our kids to read. Can’t wait for more from you.
Tillman
October 10th, 2006 at 12:02 am
Definitely a good book, but sometimes it sounds like a middle school language arts project… The actual writing I don’t think would be a problem, but the oration is almost painful. The reader attempts to change her voice and inflection with each character but it just doesn’t happen. Those characters obviously from different states should have been read with more differentiation in accents, and while I love a southern accent, the monotone way in which she reads the book prevents you from really getting into each character’s situation. Overall a good story that you wait for the sequal to, but you’re stuck with the reader.
December 22nd, 2006 at 7:54 am
I’ve got a bet going with my wife. She think’s that because “The Seventh Mountain” is a free Podiobook it won’t sell 500 copies. I just lowered the ebook price to $1.50. If you like to help a guy win a bet with his wife, the link to the ebook is on my website.
http://www.GeneCurtis.com/
December 22nd, 2006 at 12:12 pm
Aiee.
I stumbled onto this book (and podiobooks) mostly by happenstance, and took a listen.
I agree with a previous commenter, Carter. The reading is terrible.
Not because of the accent. But she’s making such a painful effort to speak clearly that it’s taking away my ability to focus on the story. Which is bad.
I’ll remember the title if I stumble over it in bookform (which, in Europe, is not that likely), but I’m likely going to avoid it. Personal preference against christian themes and books ‘safe for children’.
December 22nd, 2006 at 1:10 pm
Thanks Seswu for an honest opinion. I also have books and themes I’m not particularly fond of reading. Seswu is an unusual name; do you mind me asking where (what country) you’re from?
December 23rd, 2006 at 7:18 pm
I loved this book. I enjoyed it very much. I would love to know where I can get the second installment of this book? Is it on shelves now or will it be available soon? Angel
December 23rd, 2006 at 8:01 pm
Thank you Angel for your kind comments. Book 2 is well underway and should be available in the not too distant future. If you like you can email me at GeneCurtis@gcronline.com and I’ll add you to the notification list.
December 24th, 2006 at 7:49 am
Merry Christmas!
February 8th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
I’m enjoying the book so far. Almost done!
The only thing that is discouraging is the narrator. Especially when she says, “Idear” instead of “idea.” That word is used pretty often, so I cringe pretty often, and even sometimes want to turn it off.
She says “idear” no matter which character is speaking and seems to be reading word for word as if it is a difficulty. Sorry!
February 9th, 2007 at 8:59 am
I had my wife read the story and since we’re both Southern-US, the accent shows no matter how hard we try. Her accent is much less than mine.
I’m glad you like the story, Dana.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Ya know this kinda sounds like Harry Potter, i hope, matter a fact it sounds a LOT like harry potter, i couldnt finish it…
May 24th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
The story has been a little confusing in parts and disjointed when it comes to Harry, I mean the main character. I’m a couple of chapters into the story and Hogwarts, oops, the Mountain is a little interesting. I’m not sure if it’s something with Podiobooks or the authors, but the last two books I’ve listened to were of terrible audio quality. This one is about the same. Volume levels go up and down and I often need to turn up the volume on my player the whole way to listen. She also does not change her voice much when reading the different characters. I have had a hard time following conversations between Ron and Harry a few times…. sorry I guess I did it again. Her take on the Harry Potter books has been a little interesting so far. I’ve been tempted to stop listening because I figure I already know how it will end because I’ve read the Harry Potter series. But, once I start a book I don’t like to stop it. I’ll give it a little more time, and then see.
June 2nd, 2007 at 8:34 pm
I am easily entertained. I listened to as much as I could, but it came across to me as a rather preachy version of H.Potter. It was the repetition of the same phrases over and over that got me. It was hard to tell characters apart by their personality. I really tried to enjoy this book but found I could put it down too easily. Good luck on the next one.
July 26th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
As other have pointed out I feel the author has borrowed from the Harry Potter books but I dont feel thats a bad thing. All authors must be influenced by book they have read and as long as its doesnt become a blatant rip off thats fine. I found the bits with the headmaster speaking (I forget his name now) a little tedious. I listened to this book while at work today and have to say I enjoyed it. It certainly made my day seem to go a little quicker.
I would grade it about 7/10
July 30th, 2007 at 9:44 am
This story is a nice one to listen to with my children. They are enjoying it very much. One big complaint I have is the way Mr. Defindefor’s voice is read. The pauses are very annoying and tedious to listen to, even my 10 year old commented on how hard it is to listen to at any length. Also the soft whispery voice of Mrs. Van Mein is hard to hear in comparison to the other voices. Those two things are my main problems with the story so far.
September 7th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
this book and its one true god thing was offensive at best…..
October 1st, 2007 at 11:53 am
Aside from the Harry Potter similarities I found this book to be quite interesting. I am looking forward to the sequel.
October 2nd, 2007 at 1:26 pm
i hope there will be a sequel. been waiting for the sequel for months now, and as time goes on, hope fades away. what’s going on, gene?
November 7th, 2007 at 6:20 am
Loved the book. I hope there will be a sequel. Thanks a lot!
December 5th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
where’s book 2?
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:20 pm
I liked the book, and sure hey, maybe there are Harry Potter similarities, but at the same time the differences from Harry Potter outnumber the similarities. I enjoyed it, though it was a little bit hard to focus on in parts, it was still a fun little adventure to go on
Plus, I liked the fact that each chapter was fairly long, so I could get a great deal more listening pleasure out of it, rather than a lot of the other authors who end up splitting their books into 10-15 minute chapters in which 5 minutes of it is theme music and chatting. I especially don’t like that for the amount of work it takes just to download and listen to the darn thing, and I don’t like that you end up with anywhere between 40 to 50 chapters!! In this regard, Seventh Mountain completely wins in my opinion 
I do have just one real complaint… the music! For some reason I found the theme music pretty terrible. I really hope we can get some non-midi theme music on the next one
By the way, i’m looking forward to the next one!!!
April 16th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I mean no disrespect to either the author or the narrator (his wife), but I had a really, really hard time getting through this. I finished only because I don’t like to quit in the middle of something.
Aside from this being an “Americanized” version of the Harry Potter stories (it is an obvious copycat), I like to listen to stories where I’m not wincing either from bad writing, bad language (which doesn’t exist in this story), or bad narration. I highly recommend that the author get someone else to narrate his books. I physically cringed every time I heard the word “idear.” I realize this, as well as some others, are idioms of the south, but when was the last time you heard a newscaster pronounce the word “idea” with an “R?” Or, for that matter, the word “wash” (hint: it isn’t warsh)? Also, the word strewn rhymes with prune not throne. Not only that, but birTHday came out birFday. Aargh!
As for the story, as stated, it is a Harry Potter copy-cat. In my opinion, there are more similarities than there are differences. (Mark=Harry, Chenoa (sp?)=Hermoine, James=Dudley (with a nicer twist), 7th Mountain=Hogwarts, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum). I also have a few other nits about the story. First, Shirley (mom) is 29, yes? She’s been married for almost 13 years (as stated in the first chapter). Mark is 12. Do the math. Do you REALLY want to advocate teenage marriage and pregnancy? Get real. In addition, Steve (the father) is initially said to have spent his formative years in Scotland, leaving one with the impression that daddy is a Scottish. How is it then, that great-great-great-great granddaddy was from Germany? Puh-lease! The leap was made without explanation. Lastly, is the nit with the four greats. Exactly why was it necessary for the legacy to be four greats deep? Could not the story have been accomplished with just a couple of greats?
Okay, I’m sorry to trash the book, but this is the forum for opinions and that is all this is. The story is great for younger children that won’t be able to tell, or care, about the discrepancies. Bottom line, the story and narration (IMNSHO) need serious improvement. Unless I can be assured that some changes have been made, I probably won’t listen to any sequels.
June 6th, 2008 at 5:53 am
I wouldn’t recommend this book for children without parental guidance. Or, to put it a bit less courteous: this is fundamentalist Christian propaganda riding on the Harry Potter horse with a sprinkling of US-American self-aggrandisement.
If any book ever described the differences between the ideal of Hegelian synthesis of different opinions to the greater good of all (Europe) and the my-way-or-the-highway-attitude of the USA, this is it.
As such, it was educational and should be used in history classes. It would fit well as an example when working on Hannah Arendt.
August 2nd, 2009 at 9:15 pm
I am 5 chapters into this book, and I’m loving it. The music at the beginning is a bit cheesy. But in a low-tech, retro, homespun kind of way it does grow on you. It would be wrong to let it put one off of the story.
Harry Potter wasn’t the first story of a boy being taken from a mundane, normal life to be trained by masters in the ways of magic and wonder. That theme is probably as old as the archetype of the Library/School/Hall of Masters. Making use of a familiar theme does not by itself impoverish a work of art. (See Still-lifes, for example).
I’m enjoying the story immensely.
One major criticism though, which is kind of driving me nuts. The word ‘Magi’ is a plural form. The singular form is ‘mage’ or ‘magus’. Everytime I hear a character say, ‘a magi’, there is a small part of me that gets tasered.
October 16th, 2009 at 6:14 am
I really like this book. I was sad to hear it end. Hopefully the next one will be coming soon. I look forward to reading this to my kids when they are a little older. Yes, I did buy the hard copy.
December 7th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
This book is in many ways a clumsy ripoff of Harry Potter. That being said it’s not a bad story. The narration however is TRULY AWFUL. This book is told from the perspective of young teenage boys. Now imagine it being read by their mom. Imagine the word “idea” being pronounced constantly “idear” by a midwestern mom.
PLEASE, PLEASE get someone else to read the next one.
November 1st, 2011 at 2:24 pm
Is the 2nd book completed yet? and when can we expect it??
January 28th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
What is the theme song in it?