Product Description

Deep in the heart of Tibet, disgraced ex-Beijing police inspector Shan Tao Yun is on the run from the brutal Chinese army. He has agreed to lead an expedition to return a long-missing stone eye to the idol from which it was stolen an act that, according to Tibetan prophecy, will save the sacred place where it rests. But the pilgrimage to this distant valley turns into a desperate flight when the monk guiding them is murdered and Shan learns that the stone eye was stolen back from a Chinese army brigade, who is now in hot pursuit.

Tense and moving, filled with the spiritual and geographic landscapes of the oppressed land of modern Tibet, Bone Mountain is a spectacular achievement from a major voice in crime fiction.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #167187 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780312330897
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Shan, an ex-police inspector who spent years in a Chinese prison, is the intriguing protagonist of this literary thriller set in the stunning and rarely portrayed landscape of modern Tibet. While Shan's search for a stolen sacred relic in a Himalayan valley whose underground wealth is the center of explorations by a Sino-American oil consortium provides the novel's central plot, the real crime, Beijing's efforts to eradicate the remnants of Tibet's spiritual and cultural heritage, is more fully and engagingly portrayed. The central motif of the novel--Shan's travels with a salt caravan, at first guarding and then searching for the relic after it mysteriously disappears-- becomes a journey toward enlightenment whose denouement is more than worth the trip for readers who opt to suspend disbelief and travel with Shan and his companions to the centuries-old cave of the medicine lamas. Bone Mountain is a rich, complicated, and original exploration into the extraordinary power of belief, faith, and the triumph of the human spirit, as complex and compelling as Tibet itself. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly
In this third suspenseful mystery-thriller from Edgar winner Pattison (The Skull Mantra; Water Touching Stone), discredited former Beijing police investigator Shan Tao Yun, unofficially released from a central Tibetan gulag, is now living with a group of outlaw Buddhist monks, some of whom helped him through his most unbearable prison experiences. In gratitude he and his friend, the renegade monk Lokesh, agree to escort a stolen religious artifact to the remote Yapchi Valley, the site, coincidentally, of international oil explorations, from which an American engineer has disappeared. Chinese plans to clear the valley and relocate its farmers and sheepherders to cities will profit the mining project and aid the Chinese "in another effort to pry Tibet's collective fingers from its rosary." Just as the holy artifact is a mystical symbol of Tibetan culture and Buddhism, so the multilayered story is imbued with Tibetan belief, civilization and politics. Readers with little knowledge of Tibet's religion and history may have difficulty following the plot with its large cast of varied, well-drawn Tibetans, Chinese and Americans, countless treks through rugged, stunning landscapes and the numerous side plots including several murders some of which are red herrings. Pattison's empathy for the cause of Tibetan independence is admirable, but it often overwhelms his story. The book, which is far too long and discursive, becomes a polemic that dilutes Shan's search for the truth.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Edgar Award winner Pattison continues the adventures of Shan in this intense and captivating exploration of modern Tibet. Shan is on a pilgrimage when he witnesses the beating death of his friend Drakte. Shan is not one to let a crime go unpunished, so he goes after the murderer. During his investigation, he clashes with the Chinese 54th Mountain Brigade, an army whose leader would love to see Shan a prisoner again. In addition, he helps an American ambassador named Winslow look for a woman geologist who mysteriously vanished. The oil company she worked for is determined to obtain its product at any cost, even if it decimates land in the process. All these events converge against the background of a harsh landscape. Much like an sf, Pattison has taken an unknown world and made it come alive. For all fiction collections. Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Mr. Pattison amazes his readers with some compelling prose
Once in a while a great novel receives recognition for its inherent stature. Such was the case when Eliot Pattison's debut novel THE SKULL MANTRA won the prestigious Edgar Award. His second novel, WATER TOUCHING STONE, would have won if THE SKULL MANTRA hadn't; I mean, you can't keep handing the trophy over to the same guy, even if he deserves it. But the plain and simple truth is that no one is doing quite what Pattison is doing, and no one is doing what they do quite as well as what Pattison is doing.

If you are by chance unfamiliar with Pattison, or either of the aforementioned novels, you could certainly jump on with BONE MOUNTAIN. Although BONE MOUNTAIN is a continuation of the themes and characters introduced and explored in THE SKULL MANTRA and WATER TOUCHING STONE, BONE MOUNTAIN stands quite well on its own, as Pattison continues to amaze and astound with some of the most compelling prose out there This is a man who has a love for the written language. while his words flow with a poetic verve that is by turns beatific and terrible --- depending on his subject matter --- this is not prose that lends itself to a hurried or cursory reading. Pattison does not satisfy accuracy at the altar of experience. The reader comes away from each sitting with BONE MOUNTAIN intellectually challenged and culturally richer, as Pattison continues to explore the land, the mystery, and the tragedy that is Tibet.

BONE MOUNTAIN continues the process of shouldering Pattison out of genre adulation and into mainstream attention. And if he brings attention through these novels to the plight of the Tibetan people, then he will accomplish the task that he perhaps set out to perform to begin with.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

A warm, inspiring reading experience
Eliot Pattison's books are unlike any other books that I have ever read. Having thoroughly enjoyed his two recent works set in Tibet and adjacent regions, entitled The Skull Mantra, and Water Touching Stone, I was very eager to read Bone Mountain.

The main impression one gets is of a gentle religious teaching disguised as a mystery novel. If one is open to Mr. Pattison's exposition of Tibetan Buddhism, which seems entirely consistent with the other readings and experiences of your reviewer, an admitted outsider, one cannot help but admire the compassion and gentleness of most of the Tibetan characters, and indeed of many of the Han Chinese. There are quiet miracles, small answered prayers, and descriptions of meditation that are calming to read. The cumulative effect is like walking in the mountains or hearing beautiful music, completely independent of the who-killed-the-guys theme.

The pacing of the book is better, I thought, than in Water Touching Stone. Again, there are several key geographical locations that are introduced and described. An eco-consciousness theme is more obvious than in the previous novels. The action shifts back and forth between these various locales, but this time they are close together, accessed on foot, and related historically, religously, and even geologically to each other. The modern world again intrudes, and, in fact, the integration of the timeless Tibetan religious themes with helicopters, computers, and Westerners is a real challange which by and large is handled convincingly.

The book can be read and enjoyed on several levels. Personally, I enjoyed "the journey" of Shan and his companions so much I really did not care whether the mystery was solved. I intend to buy several copies as gifts. It certainly does not shy away from politics, and I have been struggling with whether or not, and how, to present this books to Chinese people I have been priviliged to get to know. This book reminds us of one of the many horrific wars that grip our world, and points to a path that may be of great value in reducing the suffering.

deep cerebral look at Buddhism and Communism
Disgraced Chines police investigator Shan Tao Yun knows he owes the Buddhist monks his life as they have made his insufferable prison exile tolerable. So when they ask him to deliver a religious idol to a sacred place in the Yapchi Valley, he readily assents to taking the artifact to its home. Renegade monk Lokesh also agrees to accompany Shan on the trek.

However, the journey, which is arduous, turns tragic when someone murders the guide. Shan learns that in Yapchi Valley, the Americans drill for oil, but the female engineer has fled the area. Adding to his bewilderment is that the Chinese army wants the return of the idol stolen from them before it fosters Buddhist teachings over Party lessons and in turn nurture dissent. In this mess, Shan seeks justice, but the Americans, the Chinese, and the Tibetans each have their own definition.

The third Shan tale provides the audience with an interesting mystery that is overshadowed by insight into the region, especially the Tibetan question, but the story line can be difficult to follow because of the deep cerebral look at Buddhism and Communism. Still the who-done-it is intriguing and Shan remains a fascinating lead protagonist, but Eliot Pattison's novel is more for those in the audience wanting a better understanding of life at the top of the world.

Harriet Klausner