The Activist

When Thomas Durand embarks on a cycling trip around Britain with two fellow students, his life changes forever. A chance encounter inspires Thomas to leave home and drop out of university. As he roams, his eyes are opened to the harm inflicted by humans on the natural world. Driven by an increasingly passionate interest in marine conservation, what begins as a typical gap-year turns into a decade's worth of activism on the open ocean. Here the stakes are highest of all: Thomas enlists with Sea Shepherd, a controversial organisation dedicated to the protection of marine life. It is a commitment that will soon place his life in danger. The story follows Thomas, from his first tentative steps into the life of an activist in Vancouver, to his battles with a Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean. An ecological thriller, The Activist will shock and inspire anyone with an interest in marine life, conservation and the splendour of the natural world. Without preaching, it is also a clear-eyed demonstration of why this cause is worth fighting for.

About the Author :
Alec Connon grew up in the small village Symington in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. He is a freelance writer, author and activist. In 2009, he graduated from the University of Glasgow with a BA in English, Scottish and Irish Literature. Since then, he has roamed extensively around the globe, stopping for extended periods of time to volunteer in Nepal, Laos and Malaysia. He has lived in New Zealand, Canada and Colorado, and currently lives in Seattle in the U.S. His work has appeared in The Guardian, Crosscut, The Seattle Weekly, Common Dreams, Scotland Outdoors, Adventure, The Great Outdoors and more. The Activist is his first novel.

Review :
'A cracking good adventure, but it also gets deep toward the heart of the greatest questions facing our planet and our species. Be careful - if you read it, you will find yourself asking, "What am I supposed to be doing with my life?"' - Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Co-Founder of 350.org. /// 'Alec Connon's extraordinary adventures into the world of the whale epitomise the vast disconnect between the human and natural world.' - Philip Hoare, winner of the 2009 BBC Samuel Johnson prize and author of Leviathan or, The Whale and The Sea Inside. /// 'A bold and deeply affecting book - sharply atmospheric, the reader feels the ever-shifting setting with total immediacy . . . Connon has found a new and invigorating way forward for the nature writing novel.' - Peter Mountford, Washington State Book Award Winner, and author of A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism. /// 'A beautiful and compelling book - part bildungsroman, part swashbuckling adventure.' - Emily Johnston, author of Her Animals. /// 'The book makes for compelling but uncomfortable reading. Compelling because its well-written, uncomfortable because its forces you to confront grim truths about humanity and our future.' - Alex Roddie, review in TGO Magazine