Dalmacio’s novel tracks the reincarnated Dalai Lama to Seattle and his tragic return to Tibet.

After three Tibetan lamas enlist a computer-savvy novice monk to determine who will be the 15th Dalai Lama, they conclude that he will be reborn in Seattle. The monks travel there and find him in the form of a baby named Jesse Criss. Jesse’s bewildered parents are given sacred relics and instructed to wait until he “comes of age.” The Chinese government is aware of the succession and installs its own puppet, hoping the American selection will fade into irrelevance. (“China can elevate a monk or someone to a higher position as lip homage to Tibetan traditional beliefs and autonomy without the authority and prestige that go with the Dalai Lama.”) Three decades later, Jesse is an ordinary civil engineer in Seattle. One day, he receives the lamas’ gifts and is formally confirmed by the lamasas the reincarnated Dalai Lama. He finds himself suddenly famous in the United States and the object of diplomatic protests in Beijing. Feeling spiritually unsatisfied, he takes a risky trip through the Himalayas on foot. After being secretly enthroned in Potala Palace, he declines to lead an armed uprising and is arrested after refusing an ultimatum from the Chinese authorities, leading to tragic consequences. Several appendices further develop the novel’s religious currents and the author’s case for Tibetan self-determination. Dalmacio’s text is well researched and dense, featuring long passages about Buddhist doctrine and Tibetan history alongside trivia about Seattle. Jesse largely serves as a vessel for prophecy and the author’s views on contemporary geopolitics; readers learn little of his inner life as he moves along his hero’s journey. The novel’s true subject is the friction between realpolitik and Buddhist and Christian notions of morality, but its themes are broadly stated rather than dramatized. The characters mostly function as mouthpieces for political positions and historical facts—still, the events the book describes are genuinely dramatic.

An earnest, informed travelogue that falls short on human drama.