A fantasy about four people who crash land in the Tibetan mountains and journeyed to Shangri-La. I thought the author did a fantastic job of pulling the reader into the story, and I found myself intrigued throughout by the mystery that surrounded the main characters. The ending was especially powerful: The internal conflict that swept through Conway (the protagonist) was illustrated superbly!

A recurring idea presented in the book is the state of being "passionless." This is a basic theme in Buddhist thought, and it wasn't clear to me if the author was referencing this. I took it to mean the ability to live free, and thus choosing what to be passionate about. Living "passionlessly," literally, would be a chore I think.

I thought this was nicely said (an excerpt near the end of the book):

"Her beauty, Mallinson, like all other beauty in the world, lies at the mercy of those who do not know how to value it. It is a fragile thing that can only live where fragile things are loved. Take it away from this valley and you will see it fade like an echo."