Pride of Eden

The enthralling new novel from the acclaimed author of Fallen Land, The River of Kings, and Gods of Howl Mountain Retired racehorse jockey and Vietnam veteran Anse Caulfield rescues exotic big cats, elephants, and other creatures for Little Eden, a wildlife sanctuary near the abandoned ruins of a failed development on the Georgia coast. But when Anse's prized lion escapes, he becomes obsessed with replacing her--even if the means of rescue aren't exactly legal. Anse is joined by Malaya, a former soldier who hunted rhino and elephant poachers in Africa; Lope, whose training in falconry taught him to pilot surveillance drones; and Tyler, a veterinarian who has found a place in Anse's obsessive world. From the rhino wars of Africa to the battle for the Baghdad Zoo, from the edges of the Okefenokee Swamp to a remote private island off the Georgia coast, Anse and his team battle an underworld of smugglers, gamblers, breeders, trophy hunters, and others who exploit exotic game. Pride of Eden is Taylor Brown's brilliant fever dream of a novel: set on the eroding edge of civilization, rooted in dramatic events linked not only with each character's past, but to the prehistory of America, where great creatures roamed the continent and continue to inhabit our collective imagination.

About the Author :
Taylor Brown is the author of six books of historical fiction. His books have won the Southern Book Prize and the Montana Prize in Fiction, been finalists for several other awards, and have been named among the Best Books of the Year by the Atlanta Journal Constitution and NPR. His work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the North Carolina Literary Review, the Southwest Review, Baltimore Review, Chautauqua, Garden & Gun, The Rumpus, CutBank, storySouth, and many others. He grew up on the Georgia coast and has lived in Buenos Aires, San Francisco, and the mountains of western North Carolina. Mark Bramhall has won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration, more than thirty AudioFile Earphones Awards, and has repeatedly been named by AudioFile magazine and Publishers Weekly among their "Best Voices of the Year." He is also an award-winning actor whose acting credits include off-Broadway, regional, and many Los Angeles venues as well as television, animation, and feature films. He has taught and directed at the American Academy of Dramatic Art.

Review :
"Pride of Eden is a beautifully written, visionary novel of scarred souls seeking redemption not only for themselves but, in their limited way, for us all. Taylor Brown is clearly one of the best American writers of his generation. We are fortunate to have his voice in these dark times." -- "Ron Rash, New York Times bestselling author" "Pride of Eden is intimate in detail and thematically epic. Beautifully written and hard to put down, this book fairly bursts with a sense of place so rich you feel as if you are stepping into this lush world and characters―including the animals―with whom you don't want to stop spending time. Taylor Brown has firmly established himself as one of our finest novelists." -- "Silas House, author of Southernmost" "Haunting, empathetic...Couched in a thrilling narrative, Brown's heartbreaking yet hopeful message of humanity's moral responsibility for the natural world and its magnificent creatures will linger with readers." -- "Publishers Weekly" "In prose that sings, Taylor Brown has written a crackling and propulsive new myth of environmentalism. Pride of Eden is an ode to all that is fierce, wild and resilient in this shifting world of ours, and a reminder to fight hard for the things we love." -- "Robin MacArthur, author of Half Wild" "Stellar...Brown excels at capturing the beauty and mystery of the wild Georgian coast and the characters who eke out means of survival along the swamps and rivers, but what makes this riveting nail-biter most impressive is Brown's knowledge and passion." -- "Booklist" "Taylor Brown has accomplished something truly unique with this remarkable novel, telling a story that's both gripping and tender, with prose as savagely beautiful as the apex predators it celebrates. Pride of Eden is simply a pleasure to read." -- "Dane Huckelbridge, author of No Beast So Fierce"