Escape From Kathmandu [Mass Market Paperback]

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates (1989)
• ASIN: B001E2YEC8
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Kim Stanley Robinson is a winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards. He is the author of eleven previous books, including the bestselling Mars trilogy and the critically acclaimed Fifty Degrees Below, Forty Signs of Rain, The Years of Rice and Salt, and Antarctica--for which he was sent to the Antarctic by the U.S. National Science Foundation as part of their Antarctic Artists and Writers' Program. He lives in Davis, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bill & Ted's Excellent Nepalese Adventures!, July 20, 2001

By 

Rodney Meek (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Escape From Kathmandu (Paperback)

Well, this is certainly a change of pace for the fans of Kim Stanley Robinson's epic "Mars" trilogy. That series, of course, was an intricate meshing of hard science, ecological musings, adventure, and sociological speculations. In its scope and in the wealth of issues with which it dealt, it was not unlike Frank Herbert's classic "Dune" trilogy.

"Escape from Kathmandu" is something far different.

For one thing, it is set in the Nepal of our own timeframe (or close thereto...the four stories were originally written in the mid-'80s). For another, the protagonists are not colonizers or scientists or eco-rebels...they're hash-smoking Western expatriates who hang about the Himalayas in a rather carefree fashion, living for the thrill of climbing. Happily enough, for those with eyes to see, the area is rife with yetis, hidden cities and tunnels, and reincarnated lamas. So adventure is never too far away.

The plots themselves are rather slight and uncompelling, and they creak somewhat under the weight of the political views heaped upon them. Tibet and the Dalai Lama = good, China = bad (the Chinese are portrayed as genocidal militant oppressors and poachers to boot, although in the current political climes, many would tend to agree with this assessment). The ruling elite of Nepal are villains. Governments are almost uniformly bad, but luckily they will someday be overthrown by enlightened spiritual types.

Nevertheless, the book does offer some insight into the impoverished country of Nepal, although an earlier reviewer notes that most of the information is wrong or misleading, so don't take any of the descriptions of conditions as gospel truth.

It's especially weird to read this book now, given the very recent upheavals in the country in June and July of this year (the crown prince's killing spree and the resignation of the prime minister). Since some of the members of the royal family actually appear as characters in the stories, it's rather unsettling to find out their real-life fates lately.

On the whole, the books seems dated, but KSR fans might want to check it out.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun change, January 22, 2002

By 

Jerry Vincent "Jerry Vincent" (Chiang Mai, Thailand) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Escape From Kathmandu (Paperback)

I enjoyed Kim Stanley Robinson's shorter works, but had mixed feelings about the Mars trilogy, so when I found a copy of this book at the local used book shop, I was not sure what to expect.

Hard science was absent in this modern day tale of hash smoking expatriates set in Nepal. Using Yeti's and other local lore while taking big swipes at China, governmental corruption, NGO's and other likely targets, this book did not cover new territory.

However, this book is FUN. As an old Asian expatriate hand, and as a jaded NGO representative, I am typically unimpressed by writers touching on these topics. This enjoyable read had me laughing out loud.

The writing itself was fairly crisp and to the point. No overall plot to speak of, parts of this book could have served as independant short stories.

Put this on your "just for fun" list but do read it!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read it for fun, it's not a guidebook, December 19, 2000

By 

Carl Coon (Washington, VA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Escape From Kathmandu (Paperback)

Kim Robinson's spoof on life in Nepal is fast and funny, a great romp. It's also reasonably accurate as concerns places and names, and its descriptions of the scenery at high altitudes is evocative. Always remember, though, the main story is pure fiction. Like the yeti itself. Read the book for pleasure, but don't expect to become informed about Nepal in any detailed sense. The author evidently has only visited the area, he hasn't lived there long enough to get to know it in depth. He doesn't know enough about caste and tribal distinctions and he has a rather naive slant on internal politics. But I don't want to be too harsh, for at least in an allegorical sense he provides some useful insights about clashes between the modernization the Nepalese want and the traditional values they don't want to lose, and about some of the environmental problems and paradoxes that bedevil the whole modernization process. (Note: I was US Ambassador to Nepal, 1981-84).