Water Touching Stone
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Given the critical and commercial success of Eliot Pattison's debut The Skull Mantra, which painstakingly limned contemporary Tibet's harsh beauty and defiant fatalism through the stoic perspective of Shan Tao Yun, a Chinese bureaucrat imprisoned in a Himalayan labour camp, it's no wonder the author's second novel, Water Touching Stone, returns to this hauntingly scarred country. But Water Touching Stone also widens the author's geographical and social scope. Shan must find a killer who is stalking orphan boys in the high mountains and deserts of the Xianjiang Autonomous Region.
Gendun, the senior lama at the monastery that has given Shan sanctuary, announces to his student: "You are needed in the north. A woman named Lau has been killed. A teacher. And a lama is missing." Though reluctant to leave the gentle presence of the monks who are balm to his crippled soul, Shan realises he has no choice.
It turns out that Lau had taken upon herself the care of the zheli, a group of orphaned children from all corners of Xianjiang, and strove to help the children retain a sense of native identity in the face of the Poverty Eradication Scheme, which is Beijing-speak for the destruction of the herding clans and the transformation of the western steppes into a region of exploitable resources. Shan wonders whether officials from the People's Brigade (perhaps the "Jade Bitch", Prosecutor Xu Li), or the feared secret police "knobs" from Public Security decided to put a stop to her subversive activities. But when the children from the zheli begin dying amid horrific tales of the "demon" that came for them, bleak politics must grapple with darker imaginings.
The novel sports a practically Dickensian cast of characters, which might overwhelm the narrative by sheer numbers, yet Pattison manages to add depth to even the most minor of characters, and at the moments when the troupe threatens to become completely unwieldy, he deftly redeems the situation with moments of quiet poetry. --Kelly Flynn
Review
"Intriguing...compelling."--"The San Francisco Chronicle"
"Few mystery sequels have been awaited with as much anticipation as this one."--"Publishers Weekly"
"Water Touching Stone is a mystery but it is more than just a who-done-it...another triumph for fans of the Edgar Award-winning author."--"The Midwest Book Review"
--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
"Few mystery sequels have been awaited with as much anticipation as this one."--"Publishers Weekly"
"Water Touching Stone is a mystery but it is more than just a who-done-it...another triumph for fans of the Edgar Award-winning author."--"The Midwest Book Review"
--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A superb thriller - even better than Skull Mantra!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Water Touching Stone (Paperback)
This is a gripping and poignant thriller; it was impossible to put down. The plot centres around the sudden death of a teacher and tension mounts as her pupils start to become the focus of further attacks. Shan, a disgraced former Chinese investigator becomes involved in the race to stop the killings. But in order to do so, Shan must also overcome the inevitable suspicion and prejudices of the Tibetans.The characters are beautifully drawn and rounded and the descriptions of the landscapes vividly painted. EP manages to weave an understanding of the Tibetan culture and traditions into his plotline, and the effects of China's invasion. I can't wait for his next book....
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful,
By A Customer
This review is from: Water Touching Stone (Paperback)
Patterson is just a great writer! The scale of detail and his obvious love of Tibet make this a very evocative series - He has a more literary style than most thriller writers and that's probably affected his sales but i for one can hardly complain - a literary writer who can actually do plots as well, perfect!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riveting thriller set in Tibet,
This review is from: Water Touching Stone (Inspector Shan Tao Yun) (Mass Market Paperback)
Once I got going, I couldn't put this book down. The setting for this thriller is Tibet, and initially it took me a bit of time to learn and get accustomed to some of the customs and terms. From then on, I was completely engrossed as Shan, a disgraced former Chinese detective searches to find the killer of a small child and prevent further deaths. The plot itself is gripping, full of unexpected twists and turns. In addition to which the book gives an insight into the political, religious and cultural issues facing Tibet as China claims it as part of its territory. The characters are well drawn, convincing and sympathetic. When I got to the end of the book, I found myself missing them all!
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