From Library Journal
After 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 Reviews
Sequel 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.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In Nothing Sacred Nebula Award-winning author Elizabeth Ann Scarborough wrote of spiritual hope and healing against a backdrop of nuclear catastrophe. Now a daughter of those who survived that twenty-first-century apocalypse sets out on a mission of salvation into a world gone mad. The valley of Shambala, high in the mountains of Tibet, is a magical oasis where the survivors of the nuclear Armageddon live a peaceful life. The ravages of age and radiation poisoning await any who leave the protection of Shambala - but one young woman, Chime, hears the cries of the lost souls outside the valley, and she knows she must go to them. Chime journeys forth into a blasted landscape that harbors strange creatures and unimaginable dangers, filled with countless souls who cannot be reborn, but are doomed forever to a shadowy existence. As the reincarnation of the legendary Terton, who founded the village in Shambala, Chime must now fulfill her earthly destiny: to bring peace and renewal to a shattered world. In Last Refuge, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough has written a moving novel of spirituality and redemption.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal