Rating: 
Summary: Offbeat and Charming
Review: I've read most of Robinson's science fiction novels, and have enjoyed most of them. However, this book is a whole different kettle of fish! A series of stories about the misadventures of two jaded American climbers in the Himalayas, this book is wacky and laugh-out-loud funny. Interweaving such elements as Buddhism, yetis (abominable snowmen), exploitation of third-world countries by the West, and very believable descriptions of climbing expeditions in the Himalayas and the crazy people who undertake them, this book has a warm and gentle heart. I enjoyed it so much the first time I read it that I re-read it every couple of years to enjoy it again. The yeti in a Dodger's baseball cap encountering a surprised ex-president Jimmy Carter in a Kathmandu hotel stairway still makes me laugh.
Rating: 
Summary: Read it for fun, it's not a guidebook
Review: 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).
Rating: 
Summary: Some great stuff here -- and some not so great
Review: The book actually contains four novellas, with linked characters. The first two are really good. The "intercepted letter" is a standard plot technique, but Robinson pulls it off in the first novella as good as anyone ever has. And the rest of the story is just as good. Unfortunately, it is all downhill from there. The second story is almost as good, and then the third and fourth devolve into shambles. Robinson starts getting into his spiritual quest for the perfect form of society (eg. Mars trilogy, Antarctica, Years Of Rice And Salt, et al.). And it just doesn't work, especially with these characters.
But read the book for the first two stories. And who knows, the second two might fit your fancy better than they fit mine.
Rating:
Summary: It was so offbeat I loved it.
Review: There are many westerners living in Kathmandu, Nepal. One of the expatriates George Fergusson works as a guide. He receives a letter addressed to George F. After opening his mail, he realizes that the content is intended for the American George "Freds" Fredericks. Soon the two Georges team up to rescue a captured Yeti, sneak into Tibet to aid a llama, and find time to get into other adventures that highlight the stark, beautiful geography of Nepal and Tibet, and the people who reside in the Himalayas. This book is actually four related novellas that highlight the adventures and misadventures of the two Georges. The title tale and the second story "Mother Goddess of the World" are very exciting otherworldly action thriller with an emphasis on the heroes. The final two tales provide more adventures, but center on the natives and the geography. All four stories are well written, making for an insightful look at the countries at the top of the world. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Bill & Ted's Excellent Nepalese Adventures!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Bill & Ted's Excellent Nepalese Adventures!
Review: 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.
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