THE LORD OF DEATH

Shan Tao Yun, a Chinese investigator who is a survivor of a Tibetan gulag, is now exiled in the shadow of Mt. Everest after years of torture. Accused of murdering the Chinese minister of tourism, he is compelled to solve the mystery of her death. At the same time, he is searching for his son, Shan Ko, who has been imprisoned by the Chinese. Jason Chen uses a flat American accent for the character of Shan Tao Yun, interspersed with subtly different Asian accents depicting Chinese and Tibetan characters. Chen draws the listener into the brutality of torture in Chinese prisons and the realities of China’s suppression of Tibetan culture. Details on Tibetan lamas, the Tibetan god of death, and tourism surrounding Mt. Everest provide relief from the violence and oppression at the heart of this mystery. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2009]