- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Century; First edition (3 Feb 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0712680594
- ISBN-13: 978-0712680592
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.8 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,109,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Skull Mantra
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Once, Shan was the brightest investigator of financial corruption in Beijing; he asked the wrong questions and is serving an indefinite sentence in a labour brigade in Tibet where he has learned to love and revere the ageing monks who toil beside him. When the local prosecutor is found without his head, Shan is pulled from his barracks and obliged to investigate.
"On what grounds do you refuse, Comrade Prisoner?"Shan did not reply. On the grounds that I cannot lie for you, he wanted to say. On the grounds that my soul has been worn to thin threads by people like you. On the grounds that the last time I tried to find the truth for someone like you I was sent to the gulag for my trouble...
Tan slowly drained his tea and shrugged. "Still, you are not permitted to refuse."
With Prosecutor Jao the fourth senior official to be killed, is there a Tibetan nationalist conspiracy? Or are the monks right to fear the return of Tamdin, demon of protective vengeance? And what is the role of the American geologists Rebecca and Kincaid? Shan is determined to find the truth before the army starts shooting his labour brigade, but wherever he turns he finds himself caught up in the contradictions of Chinese rule and his own conflicting loyalties...
This is a powerful and moving thriller whose polemic against Chinese rule in Tibet and admiration for the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism never takes over from breakneck tension and the slow deliberate unravelling of a complex and ingenious plot. The more we read, the more we are caught up in the cold chill of high plateaux and betrayal; we learn with Shan to trust nobody, and be surprised by unlikely virtue. --Roz Kaveney
Sunday Telegraph
Vivid, absorbing, intriguing.
--This text refers to the
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Skull Mantra is the best read for both thillers and Tibet lovers. It keeps you reading with the intrigue of the plot itself as well as with all the magic the writer succeeds in trasmitting of Tibet, its people and buddhism. Despite the tragic set of the story - mainly a prison camp for Tibetans - and the rendering of the appalling conditions which Tibetans are submitted to by the Chinese invaders, the book is pervaded and can transmit a sense of joyful acceptance of life as it is, the joy which reaching one's true inner self represents. Besides being a good thriller, this is also the story of the protagonist, funnily a Chinese who though turns out to be a true tibetan in both way of living and way of thinking, and who, prisoner among tibetan prisoners, is forced by the Chinese authorities to solve a series of crimes perpetrated against Chinese government representatives. Eliot, please hurry up! I do look forward to your second best seller!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Eliot Pattison stands head and shoulders above most authors writing mysteries and thrillers today. No. I take that back. He towers over them. I haven't been this excited about a new author in years. Fusing elements of police procedural and pedal-to-the-metal thriller, all flawlessly integrated with the remote Tibetan setting, "The Skull Mantra" is our introduction to dogged, unassuming Shan Tao Yun, a former Inspector in Beijing who has subsequently spent years as a political prisoner alongside lamas and freedom fighters. He is temporarily released for a specific purpose: to solve a murder that has occurred near the labor camp. However, he soon comes close to despair as it begins to appear that the murder was a demon.
Pattison is a first-class prose stylist. The story flows quickly and smoothly, untangling the mystery one revelation at a time, yet the author doesn't skimp on the visual detail that is necessary to bring this remote setting to life for readers who have never been there. The characterizations are economical and realistic. The monks and lamas make utterly sympathetic martyrs -- one of the hardest literary tricks to pull off. Pattison does it effortlessly, and I think this is because he believes whereof he writes: "The Skull Mantra," like its sequels, is a field guide to the dying practices of Tibetan Buddhism, suffused with the author's political indignation over the fate of the minorities who have the misfortune to live within the boundaries of modern China. My sole reservation about Pattison's writing is that he occasionally demonizes Beijing and mainstream Chinese culture. You start to think, "Oh come on, it can't really be as bad as all that!" However, that these doubts arise at all is a testament to Pattison's intimacy with his material: it is a rare thriller that feels as convincing as nonfiction. For sheer authoritativeness, "The Skull Mantra" bears comparison to "The Constant Gardener" and "The Quiet American." Higher praise than that there is none. So, hats off to Eliot Pattison, and let's hope he keeps writing.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Wonderful story and characters that came to life - I was there as Shan tried against great odds to solve the murder - but it also told me so much about Buddhism and life in Tibet that I am now hooked and want to learn more.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Tibetan murder mystery
Shan Tao Yun fell victim to politics and now works in a prison camp in the Himalayas. He's part of a work group that mostly consists of Buddhist Monks who have greatly influenced... Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2007 by Wyvernfriend
Tibetan mystery
This is quite simply an brilliant read from first page to last. This book takes you into a whole new world cand is completely different too any other book of this genre. Read more
Published on 15 Jan 2007 by A. P. O'brien
an awesome blend of Tibet's past & present!
When a headless corpse is uncovered by a prison work gang on a windy Tibetan mountain, veteran Beijing police inspector Shan Tao Yin would seem the perfect man to solve the crime -... Read more
Published on 31 July 2001 by Rebecca Brown
A great thriller that also lets us see inside another world
The Skull Mantra will keep you hooked from the beginning. It is a delicious tense detective thriller that also introduces the reader to the beauty of the Tibetan/Chinese landscape... Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2000 by dsmith@uk.elcamino.com
Exotic setting, but poor plotting
I was expecting a lot more from this book, since it won an award in the US. While the Tibetan setting and the alien culture is interesting, the writing slips into pretentiousness... Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2000
A moving story can be confusing at times,but stick with it.
"The Skull mantra" is a very moving story, but it can become confusing and I felt a little lost at times. Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2000
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