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Tibet
Nothing Sacred
A war-ravaged Asia one hundred years in the future sets the backdrop for Viveka Jeng Vanachek, whose mission to the Himalayas reveals important things about the future of the world
348 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
7 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
125 books211 followersElizabeth Ann Scarborough was born March 23, 1947, and lives in the Puget Sound area of Washington. Elizabeth won a Nebula Award in 1989 for her novel The Healer's War, and has written more than a dozen other novels. She has collaborated with Anne McCaffrey, best-known for creating the Dragonriders of Pern, to produce the Petaybee Series and the Acorna Series.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 16, 2018
Another excellent book from this author. Prison camp war survival adventure in Tibet, I like books with slow evolving plots this one progressed nicely along didn't realize it was a disaster end of world type of book till well into it, found the story even more interesting as it progressed. Don't wish to put out any spoilers but I will say I find this author's work to be one of the most unique and psychologically interesting of any that I've read, her book the Healer's war deserve's all the acclaim it has received and this one turned out to be a really fine novel. Look forward to reading something else from her.
December 29, 2008
I loved this book, though I don't think it would be everyone's cup of tea. Think Tibet.
April 29, 2021
Taking place in the 21st century, a 42 year old woman Viveka Jan Vanachek (Viv for short) joins the army and is a warrant officer in the North American Continental Allied Forces and is keeping journal entries though it all. She did this because the economy in the states was going bad and there weren't enough jobs/resources for everyone in the economy. For example it took a PHD in engineering to drive a truck, and a masters in restaurant management to work in the fast food service. On September 15, 2069, while on her first mapping mission as a computer specialist in geocartography, her helicopter was shot down near the KunLun mountains and she was captured. Being brought to her first p.o.w camp, she was taken advantage of for her intel about the war and was quickly moved on to her next camp after meeting The Doctor. To go to the next camp, it required Viv to trek up a snow covered mountain. Since Viv was so weak from her time at the camp, the Dr hypnotized her to help and get her up the mountain to the next prison compound.
Once at the compound, she shared a cell with three men; Thibideaux (Marsh), Danielson, and Colonel who were also prisoners of war, who had been there for a long time. Being at the compound, Viv meets Wu who is commandant of the compound and in charge and who tells her to keep journal entries of her time there. Viv exclaims that she doesn't understand why she would want her to and believed that Wu didn’t know either. Viv, notices that she doesn’t know how long she or the others have been at the compound and tries to figure this out. While being forced to work, she meets Tea, who is Wu’s husband and who sets Viv up into scenarios to see if she will tell him any info that she gets and tell him about it and she eventually does. After a while, the three p.o.w’s including Viv try to set up a plan and try to escape the compound, Viv,Colonel, and Marsh are caught while Danielson is nowhere to be found. Wu asked Viv if she knew anything about his whereabouts and was very worried but she gave no intel, simply because she didn’t know but didn’t want to rat out her friend. About a month goes by and a nuke goes off just outside the valley of the mountain where the compound is. While everyones working, they spot refugees from an outside village who have come to seek shelter and they notice someone was on a stretcher. On the stretcher was a very old, very aged Danielson and Viv, Colonel, and Marsh were all confused as to what could have happened.
Wu and the doctor exclaim that when he escaped, Danielson crossed a border just outside of the valley and that a hypnotic suggestion had worn off. They exclaimed that all three men were very old and a deterrent was placed in their subconscious to make time literal instead of a psychological painful concept for them. So, once he crossed the border, this wore off and he aged in a matter of seconds and his body went to his natural age. Commandant Wu then exclaimed how each of the “p.o.w’s” were actually those who were chosen to be at the “camp” because of their capabilities. Viv was someone who was logical and had very great mapping and anthropological skills to which she could contribute to their community. Viv and the others were then taught about reincarnation and how each member had lived before and came back as someone different. But, a little while after, Colonel was determined to escape the “prison” and took the doctor with him as a hostage or a guide. Once everyone had set out to find him, they shortly did but they had reached the boundary line. Colonel was determined to leave to Ama La (the doctor) first since he was so persistent. Once crossing the border her body aged and she collapsed and died. Following her, Wu did the same thing. Fast forward to a little later, 2080, Viv is cleaning the compound and they come across Ama La’s Tibet language book. One of the members of the community had a baby with them. When Vivs hand was holding the book, the baby stretched toward the book and stated, “mine”.
I chose this book because I thought it would be an interesting read taking place in a distopian type society and it was about a woman in the military who gets captured into a prisoner of war camp. But there are many twist and turns that take place. It illustrates the class material because it shows many instances of misogony, and toxic masculinity-even 4o years from now. It also shows intstitutional inequality within the p.o.w. compounds and there is also an instance of rape culture and in the end, the whole book is revolved around the idea of false consciousness. I would not reccommend reading this book. During the beginning, it was an interesting read and you wanted to read more, but it soon became predictable, especially because of all the misogonistic ideas that take place because she is a woman in the military. Also, the plot is rushed at the end, becoming very confusing and hard to interpret.
Once at the compound, she shared a cell with three men; Thibideaux (Marsh), Danielson, and Colonel who were also prisoners of war, who had been there for a long time. Being at the compound, Viv meets Wu who is commandant of the compound and in charge and who tells her to keep journal entries of her time there. Viv exclaims that she doesn't understand why she would want her to and believed that Wu didn’t know either. Viv, notices that she doesn’t know how long she or the others have been at the compound and tries to figure this out. While being forced to work, she meets Tea, who is Wu’s husband and who sets Viv up into scenarios to see if she will tell him any info that she gets and tell him about it and she eventually does. After a while, the three p.o.w’s including Viv try to set up a plan and try to escape the compound, Viv,Colonel, and Marsh are caught while Danielson is nowhere to be found. Wu asked Viv if she knew anything about his whereabouts and was very worried but she gave no intel, simply because she didn’t know but didn’t want to rat out her friend. About a month goes by and a nuke goes off just outside the valley of the mountain where the compound is. While everyones working, they spot refugees from an outside village who have come to seek shelter and they notice someone was on a stretcher. On the stretcher was a very old, very aged Danielson and Viv, Colonel, and Marsh were all confused as to what could have happened.
Wu and the doctor exclaim that when he escaped, Danielson crossed a border just outside of the valley and that a hypnotic suggestion had worn off. They exclaimed that all three men were very old and a deterrent was placed in their subconscious to make time literal instead of a psychological painful concept for them. So, once he crossed the border, this wore off and he aged in a matter of seconds and his body went to his natural age. Commandant Wu then exclaimed how each of the “p.o.w’s” were actually those who were chosen to be at the “camp” because of their capabilities. Viv was someone who was logical and had very great mapping and anthropological skills to which she could contribute to their community. Viv and the others were then taught about reincarnation and how each member had lived before and came back as someone different. But, a little while after, Colonel was determined to escape the “prison” and took the doctor with him as a hostage or a guide. Once everyone had set out to find him, they shortly did but they had reached the boundary line. Colonel was determined to leave to Ama La (the doctor) first since he was so persistent. Once crossing the border her body aged and she collapsed and died. Following her, Wu did the same thing. Fast forward to a little later, 2080, Viv is cleaning the compound and they come across Ama La’s Tibet language book. One of the members of the community had a baby with them. When Vivs hand was holding the book, the baby stretched toward the book and stated, “mine”.
I chose this book because I thought it would be an interesting read taking place in a distopian type society and it was about a woman in the military who gets captured into a prisoner of war camp. But there are many twist and turns that take place. It illustrates the class material because it shows many instances of misogony, and toxic masculinity-even 4o years from now. It also shows intstitutional inequality within the p.o.w. compounds and there is also an instance of rape culture and in the end, the whole book is revolved around the idea of false consciousness. I would not reccommend reading this book. During the beginning, it was an interesting read and you wanted to read more, but it soon became predictable, especially because of all the misogonistic ideas that take place because she is a woman in the military. Also, the plot is rushed at the end, becoming very confusing and hard to interpret.
April 1, 2019
4.5*. There is darkness and hope in this beautiful story shrouded in Tibetan lore. I loved the way it unfolded as observations in the protaganist's POW journal and how each character's back story was revealed.
Oh, and yeah! "Free Tibet"!!
Oh, and yeah! "Free Tibet"!!
July 28, 2025
for being virtually unheard of this was so shockingly good. I would very much recommend
October 26, 2023
The 3 stars is just for me - it really should be higher. It is very well written, has good characters and a good story. It was just a bit grim for me. - Though not, overall, a depressing book. Uplift, especially towards the end.
April 28, 2013
This is an excellent read - a fantasy / SF that's a bit different from the norm.
It's the story of Viveka Jeg Vanachek, a 21st century girl with too many qualifications and no job. Her only choice is to join the army, but when her first mission goes wrong and she is shot down, her life really changes. She is taken to a camp high in the mountains of Tibet, where strange things occur. None of the prisoners can remember how long they've been there and while some work hard rebuilding, others are sent to translate documents in the ancient ruins that hide the camp from the outside. Then she starts dreaming, of singing, of monks, of the ruins whole and populated by hundreds of people. As she begins to face what is happening to her, questioning her view of the world and her beliefs, the war outside is escalating and its effects are being felt.
Although it's pretty easy to guess where this camp really is, I couldn't stop reading until I'd found out why it was in such a mess and what was going to happen to the people there. I read it in a handful of sittings.
It's the story of Viveka Jeg Vanachek, a 21st century girl with too many qualifications and no job. Her only choice is to join the army, but when her first mission goes wrong and she is shot down, her life really changes. She is taken to a camp high in the mountains of Tibet, where strange things occur. None of the prisoners can remember how long they've been there and while some work hard rebuilding, others are sent to translate documents in the ancient ruins that hide the camp from the outside. Then she starts dreaming, of singing, of monks, of the ruins whole and populated by hundreds of people. As she begins to face what is happening to her, questioning her view of the world and her beliefs, the war outside is escalating and its effects are being felt.
Although it's pretty easy to guess where this camp really is, I couldn't stop reading until I'd found out why it was in such a mess and what was going to happen to the people there. I read it in a handful of sittings.
September 4, 2014
I wasn't sure I was going to like this book at first. It was told in first person point of view, and sometimes those don't appeal to me. As I listened though, I was engrossed in the story. It is set in a near future and the politics and settings were all too plausible. I'm not going to talk about the plot point or characters, since I think this book would best be enjoyed by reading/listening to it with no preconceptions.
The narrator, Suzanne Toren, did an excellent job. Her accents for the various ethnicities of the characters were good, and helped keep clear who was speaking.
I was most familiar with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough through her works written with Anne McCaffrey. She is a great author in her own right, and I look forward to reading more by her.
The narrator, Suzanne Toren, did an excellent job. Her accents for the various ethnicities of the characters were good, and helped keep clear who was speaking.
I was most familiar with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough through her works written with Anne McCaffrey. She is a great author in her own right, and I look forward to reading more by her.
February 17, 2013
I always had it in mind that I'd like to write about Shangri-La at the time a nuclear holocaust seems imminent, but fortunately I discovered Scarborough's book--she did it first, and certainly much better than I likely would have!
January 25, 2008
a good airplane read
April 8, 2011
Lost Horizon revisted; my favorite Scarborough book.
June 13, 2012
Good and enjoyable, but I've been reading so many other good books recently I"m trying to put more variation in my ratings comparing the books....
January 4, 2012
This was an amazing book that I read years ago. I think she was prescient.
December 24, 2013
One of my faves, although I was disappointed to see that the new cover contains a spoiler and the sequel is not worth the bother.
February 8, 2017
A story of life after hope, based in the legends of Shambalah. For more thoughts: http://winsomegates.jenevivedesroches...
January 24, 2017
Imagine a mapmaker from a future war being shot down somewhere over the Tibetan mountains and captured by opposing Chinese soldiers. Viv finds herself among several other Western Prisoners of War kept in a ruined lamasery far away from any civilization. Dates are impossible to remember for any of them but the daily fight to survive and escape is impossible to forget! This book is completely unlike anything Elizabeth Ann Scarborough wrote with Anne McAfrey. I really enjoyed it!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews