William Magee has a PhD in Buddhist Studies from the University of Virginia. For the past twelve years, he has taught the University of Virginia's internationally famed summer Tibetan language program. Magee currently teaches at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
"She Still Lives is a welcome supplement—a sweetmeat, perhaps—to
the regular diet of serious Buddhist books from Snow Lion. Tibetan
Studies scholar Bill Magee's short, readable work of speculative
fiction imagines twenty-second-century Tibet. While the cultural
and physical landscape are familiar (the story follows the
protagonist Mila Lakpa, a rebel who supports his religious leader
in the struggle against Chinese Communist rule), Magee throws in a
few twists that make the imaginative exercise worthwhile, including
a female Dalai Lama. She Still Lives has a little bit for every
reader: adventure, sex, body-swapping—even genetically enhanced
dogs. And those who like a little bit of Buddhism with their
fiction will appreciate the characters' discussions of karma and
nonviolence."—Shambhala Sun
"Dr. Magee has written an original and compelling book about a
future female Dalai Lama and a man whose love for her is inspiring
and transcendent. The action is suspenseful and the characters are
intensely human. She Still Lives is both a grippingly entertaining
novel and an indictment of the false gods of war, a reminder that
love and nonviolence are more powerful forces than tyranny and
oppression."—Jeffrey Hopkins
"This wildly imaginative novel about a female Dalai Lama will
fascinate not only Buddhist readers suspense junkies and travelers
drawn to the mystery of Tibet, but anyone who has asked the
question, 'What would this suffering world be like if women were
finally in charge?' Read this book—and be amazed."—Mark Matousek,
author of Sex, Death, Enlightenment and The Boy He Left Behind
"Highly original. . . . A page-turning adventure story with
mystical overtones by a Tibetan scholar and fiction
writer."—Mandala Magazine
"Buddhist love stories are rare. They are wildly outnumbered by
didactic Buddhist books absent of love, politics, intrigue, and
suspense. This brief but outstanding novel contains all four, and a
female Dalai Lama. It takes place in Tibet 108 years from now. Tara
Gyatso and her adviser, Mila, are in prison for leading a freedom
movement that the Communists have crushed. Mila is released because
he is no longer perceived as a threat. In fact, he sets out to
reignite the movement with a secret plan. It involves not just a
clever strategy, but a special ability to exchange consciousness
with others, including a bear. Eventually he arrives at the prison
where his beloved Dalai Lama is being held and where his secret
plan will be carried out. The dramatic ending is riveting and
illuminates love's power to conquer and prevail."—Inquiring Mind
Ask a Question About this Product More... |