Race to Tibet by Sophie Schiller(historical fiction)
Self-Published: January 26, 2015 by Tradewins Publishing
336 pages
ISBN: 978-0-692-25409-7
This book was unlike anything I've ever read before. I've read book that take place in the late 1800s before. I've even read books that take place in Tibet before, but really, nothing could have prepared me for what I was getting into here. And I truly do mean that in the best way possible.
This book tells the adventure of a group of explorers, including a Prince and a woman looking for her lost husband, who travel from France to Tibet in the late 1800s in a quest to be the first Europeans to make it to Lhasa. It's a risky and pretty miserable journey traveling in freezing cold temperatures over mountains. Not only are the elements standing in the way of their trip, but there are the Tibetans who don't want anyone to have access to their holy city.
This book had so much potential, and in a lot of ways it was met. You really did feel yourself in the barren lands with the travelers. And like the freezing cold days must have dragged on for them, unfortunately much of the book did as well. There just seemed to be so many scenes that repeated themselves, that I think if the book was a little more concise it would have packed a more meaningful tale.
Still I don't think this is one I'm going to forget, and I'd love to hear more about Tibet during this time period. I would have expected that 150 years ago Tibet wasn't such a secret to Westerners, and I'd love to read more about how that slowly changed.
3.5/5
Disclosure: I was provided this book through France Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.
SYNOPSIS
An intrepid band of explorers headed by Gabriel Bonvalot, France's greatest explorer, and his partner, Prince Henri d'Orleans, attempt to be the first living Europeans to reach Lhasa. Before they leave Paris, Bonvalot meets Camille Dancourt, the beautiful, strong-willed wife of a French surveyor who disappeared in Tibet, who desperately wishes to join the expedition. When the caravan sets out they face freezing temperatures, violent winds, mountain sickness, hostile Tibetans, duplicitous Chinese Mandarins, and a beguiling Tibetan Buddhist princess with a deadly secret. When the explorers reach Tibet, they discover a land of mystery and intrigue, a land of danger that promises them only one thing: death. On the verge of collapse, Bonvalot realizes they must resort to deadly force if they ever wish to escape Tibet alive. (provided by the author)***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sophie Schiller was born in Paterson, NJ and grew up in the West Indies. Among other oddities her family tree contains a Nobel prize-winning physicist and a French pop singer. She loves stories that carry the reader back in time to exotic and far-flung locations. She was educated at American University, Washington, DC and lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is currently at work on a new historical thriller set in the Caribbean.Visit her website. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter
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thanks for highlighting both what you liked and what you thought could be improved in this book. Emma at FBT
ReplyDeleteI loved reading Marco Polo. It's been awhile. I think the title is "The Travels Of Marco Polo."
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting. I've only read more modern books set in Tibet.
ReplyDeleteThis was a book that I could have reviewed if I had kept reviewing books... It sounds like it had great promise, it's too bad the editing wasn't more tight!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really interesting book about a country I know very little about.
ReplyDelete