Eliot Pattison
| British Pbk Original - Century (2003) |
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Bone Mountain
Which will come first; enlightenment or death?
When disgraced former inspector, Shan Tao Yun joins a group of reverent Tibetans returning a sacred artefact to its home, it seems he has at last found the peace he has struggled for since leaving prison. What starts as a spiritual pilgrimage, however, quickly turns into a desperate flight through the Tibetan wilderness as the outlawed monk who guides them is murdered and Shan discovers that the artefact has recently been stolen from the Chinese army.
But why is the army so desperate to find the artefact entrusted to Shan? Why is an aged medicine lama being stalked by government agents? Why has an American woman, a geologist for an oil company, abandoned the project and fled into the mountains?
Shan discovers not answers, but only new mysteries as he is drawn to such unexpected places as the raucous headquarters base of the Western oil venture and a monastery that seems more attuned to the teachings of the party than those of Buddha. And the further he travels into the mountains, the more Shan realises that what is at stake is not only justice but the spiritual survival of those who have joined his strange quest.
| British Pbk Original - Century (2001) |
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Water Touching Stone
In a land of secrecy, an evil is unfolding...
The news that a venerated teacher has been murdered and a lama is missing sends an unlikely band of outcasts into the remote northern reaches of the Tibetan plateau. Two old Tibetans travel to restore the spiritual balance disturbed by violent death. A sullen resistance fighter races to battle a new foe. But Shan Tao Yun, former Beijing investigator and newly released from four years of prison camp, sets out to find justice.
In the dangerous borderlands of western China, however, justice is elusive. Vengeful officials, soldiers, smugglers; secret Buddhists and the remnants of the proud Muslim clans all stand in the way of Shan’s pursuit of a serial killer whose terrible motives lie buried in the Tibetan struggle.
| Paperback - Arrow (2000) |
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First British Edition Century (2000) |
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The Skull Mantra
See Review by
Cath Staincliffe
- Author of the highly acclaimed Sal Kilkenny Mysteries set on the Mean Streets of Manchester
A headless corpse. A disgraced investigator. A conspiracy of silence.
'Nothing that happens in life is random...’
When a headless corpse is found by a prison work gang on a windy Tibetan mountainside, veteran police inspector Shan Tao Yun might seem the perfect man to solve the crime - except that he himself is serving an indefinite sentence in the gulag for offending the Party in Beijing. Desperate to close the case before an American tourist delegation arrives, the district commander has no choice but to grant him a temporary release. Embittered about everything except his compulsion to find the truth, the brilliant Shan faces an ultimatum: solve the case fast and in a politically expedient fashion, or the Tibetan priests in his work brigade will be punished.
When the early evidence shows that the killer was an ancient Buddhist demon and party officials try to thwart his investigation by arresting an innocent monk, Shan is thrown into a maelstrom of political and religious intrigue involving American mining interests, Tibetan sorcerers, corrupt party officials, a secret illegal monastery and the Buddhist resistance movement.
With the epic struggles of the Tibetan people as a backdrop, The Skull Mantra stands as a story of great hope and great tragedy, of incredible greed and stalwart selflessness, of the gulf between East and West - and of the wider gulf between those who live for enlightenment and those who live for power.
‘Vivid, absorbing, intriguing’ Sunday Telegraph
A cocktail of action adventure… a great read’ Guardian
`Complex, crammed with Tibetan and Buddhist lore and legend, and utterly fascinating’ Telegraph
'Once in a while a stunning book completely breaks the mould - Gorky Pork did it, so does the Skull Mantra’ Malcolm Gibson, James Thin
'A great debut novel with the sales potential of Déjà Dead’ Adrian Stimpson, Bertrams
'A thriller with a great sense of history and landscape - it will have wide customer appeal and join Kathy Reichs on the best-seller lists' Sue Baker, Hammicks
'A powerful, fascinating thriller which grips right from the start' Tim Manderson, Publishing News
'The most original thriller I've come across for a long time’ Peter Donaldson, Red Lion Books
'This is so much more than a thriller. It is a stunning evocation of a different way of life. Powerfully written.’ Gaynor Thomas, Ottakars
About The Author
Eliot Pattison's numerous books and articles on international policy issues have been published on three continents. He is a frequent visitor to China. The Skull Mantra is his first work of fiction.
In his own words…
The Origins of The Skull Mantra
Nearly twenty years ago I sat in a Tibetan Buddhist temple in China, hoping to spend a peaceful hour as the monks paid homage to a giant sandalwood Buddha. But I soon noticed that several monks kept nervously shifting their eyes towards the uniformed officers of the Public Security Bureau who were positioned conspicuously throughout the temple. I was saddened by the way the government had disturbed the serenity, but I soon realised that what was happening within those temple walls was part of a far bigger human drama. The eyes of the monks sometimes showed fear but they also showed vast determination and dedication and hope. As much as anything, that afternoon was the beginning of The Skull Mantra.
Repeated visits to China, when I sought out opportunities to visit temples, speak with monks and talk to ordinary Chinese about life in the People's Republic helped me to see the vast complexity of this drama, and then any perspectives that define it. When, after writing four books on international law and global business topics, I decided to undertake a novel, I knew that this struggle, and the rich heritage of China and Tibet, would be it's backdrop.
I tried to capture as many dimensions of the Tibet/China struggle as possible in The Skull Mantra, based not only on my many visits to China, but also on extensive research into the Tibet that existed before Beijing's "liberation" nearly fifty years ago. Obviously it touched upon the wonderfully complex world of Tibetan Buddhism, not so much in its modern theological elements as in the way it has defined culture and human behaviour. The Buddhists in this novel are rooted in the very old, unreformed sects of Tibet, not simply because their beliefs lend themselves to the mystery of the book but because they reflect most vividly how remote and starkly different Tibetan culture was before the People's Liberation Army arrived. Also, because I have acquired such a deep respect for the people of China - not their government, but the people - the story is balanced with the perspectives of Shan, a Chinese protagonist who himself has been victimised by the government and is as shaken by what Beijing has done in Tibet as any Tibetan native. Finally, I did not want to ignore the gnawing, dehumanising effect that Beijing's occupation of Tibet has had on the Chinese officials who administer it. Shan has a mystery to solve but, as he learned from his Tibetan friends, his challenge isn't simply to find an answer but to find it with dignity and compassion.
Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.
Bone Mountain
(Century Pbk,
2003)
Water Touching Stone
(Century Pbk,
2001)
The Skull Mantra
(Century,
2000)
Arrow Pbk Nov 00
Bone Mountain
pbk 02 Jan 03
by Eliot Pattison
