Pride of Eden: A Novel
Mar 2020 · St. Martin's Press
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About this eBook
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.
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.
Ratings and reviews
5.0
1 review
brf1948
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18 March 2020
I received a free ARC electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Taylor Brown, and St. Martin's Press. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Taylor Brown should be on your 'must-read' list, too. He puts you there, in the story, as a participant with an investment in the outcome. It is said by several sources that there are more tigers in private captivity in the state of Texas than are left in the wild in the rest of the world. Many species of big cats are going extinct right in front of our eyes. As are elephants, rhinos, chimps - thousands of bird species and many more critters - too many to count. Just because it's legal to own exotics, doesn't make it right. Hopefully, they will not have to tell that to the judge. Wealthy ex-jockey and Vietnam veteran Anderson 'Anse' Caulfield owns an animal rescue called 'Little Eden' in coastal Georgia; Malaya is a former US Army vet with two Iraqi tours and a post-military stint in Africa hunting elephant and rhino traffickers; Recce Commando of South African Defence Force, Jaager de Vaal; an American fireman, Lope, who brings to the group falconry and drone maneuvers; and 'Little Eden' employee, Anse's love interest, and veterinarian Tyler are doing everything in their power to add those abused and endangered exotic 'pets' to the circus and zoo retirees, abandoned or lost critters, who are already a part of Anse's Little Eden. This can only end badly... Right?
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About the author
TAYLOR BROWN grew up on the Georgia coast. He has lived in Buenos Aires, San Francisco, and the mountains of western North Carolina. He is the recipient of the Montana Prize in Fiction and a finalist for the Southern Book Prize. His novels include Fallen Land, The River of Kings, and Gods of Howl Mountain. He lives in Savannah, Georgia.
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