Last Refuge

In the sequel to Nothing Sacred, Chime, a young woman from Shambala, a magical oasis where the survivors of nuclear Armageddon live peacefully, ventures out into the surrounding devastation to bring renewal to a shattered world.

From Library JournalAfter the nuclear destruction of the world, the residents of the magically hidden land of Shambala realize that they may be humanity's sole survivors. When the women of Shambala begin bearing babies without souls, however, one young woman decides that the time has come to offer refuge to the homeless spirits of the world. Scarborough's sequel to Nothing Sacred ( LJ 3/15/91) blends Tibetan mysticism with various world myths, producing a strangely satisfying real-world fantasy with moments of humor, horror, and ecstatic vision. A good purchase for fantasy collections.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus ReviewsSequel to Nothing Sacred (1991), continuing the tale of Shambala, a Shangri-La-like magical paradise hidden in the Himalayas. Nuclear war has ravaged the world, but Shambala has been protected by its enchantments. Nearly 20 years have passed, however, and disaster has struck in Shambala: New babies are being born without souls. Chime Cincinnati, the reincarnation of the Terton, Shambala's emissary to the outside world, decides she must venture into the wastelands to discover what's gone wrong. Along with Mike (son of Viveka Vanachek, the previous book's heroine), she enters a world populated by the ghosts of the billion dead (and a few degenerated survivors). Eventually, they reach another protected valley, ruled by the distinctly unholy Master Meru. It's up to Chime to outwit Meru and guide the living and the dead to safety in Shambala. Despite the colorful setting, the story has little energy, and the pace is further slowed by a long and pointless subplot. Any exoticism the Buddhist background might have added is lost in Scarborough's paradoxically rationalistic portrayal of the supernatural (the ghosts retain their lifetime identities, even such expressions as ``Sheesh!''), and the humor meshes poorly with the darker images and the apocalyptic landscape. The novelties that made the first book interesting cannot rescue this one. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.