Eclectic crime fiction & informed, irreverent non-fiction from Asia & beyond
In the 1990s and 2000s, I recorded & documented disappearing musical traditions from South and Southeast Asia for The British Library. British Library Audio Project Cataloguer Jim Hickson has written a wonderful article about one of my recordings from India – music performed not only in a temple, but also on a temple. The Shri […]
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Was Stanley reviewed Kolkata Noir this week. Thanks! At 148 pages in paperback, 150 pages in hardcover, and an estimated 208 swipes on your favourite eReader, Kolkata Noir is anything but a lengthy read. When picking up the book, I had only intended to read part one, then return to it later, for parts two […]
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Coming soon – A Blackthorn Book Tour of: The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu ‘Acid trips, border crossings, road weariness, the adventurous optimism of youth and the limitations of middle aged wisdom…’ Buy The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu here.
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Writer Isobel Blackthorn dropped a wonderful review of The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu. The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu is as much an atmospheric and absorbing read as it is fast-paced entertainment. It’s 1975, and four young men in an old Bedford van pull up in the Hindu Kush on the Peshawar-Kabul road to follow through […]
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The Audio Book edition of The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu is out!! In 1976, four friends – Dan, Fred, Tim, and Thierry – are on a bus along the hippie trail from London to Kathmandu. But everything is not going according to plan. After a drug deal goes wrong, the boys barely escape with their […]
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David W. Berner published a wonderful and erudite review of The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu at Medium. Hippies, drugs, a road trip, and crime. What could go wrong? Not much, in terms of literary missteps. The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu by author Tom Vater is a throttle to the floor story. It’s a crime novel, […]
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This was a wild read! There is a lot of excitement that kept me wondering what would happen next. Although there are quite a few humorous parts, I had two favorites: where the four stopped the bus and found water to take a swim in, Fred excitedly jumps in and announces that he forgot that […]
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Kolkata received a great first review on Amazon. This book is a gripping crime fiction and from reading the first pages I was drawn in by the colourful characters and vivid description of Kolkata and Puri.The crowds,the sounds,smells, chaotic festivals and mobs,the depths of depravity and the searing pain of love, the horror and the […]
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An intriguing new review of The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu. “The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu tells the story of four men during a fateful trip in Asia that culminates 25 years later as each faces the repercussions of their initial trip and choices. Broken up into 6 parts that time jump between the initial trip […]
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Laura at Bookscaretc wrote a great review for The Devil’s Rod to Kathmandu. ….Author Tom Vater is described as working predominantly in Asia, and as well as fiction has been a travel writer. And it is clear from his writing that he has both a deep knowledge and a great love for the environments he […]
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