"Poe deftly guides this engaging story, describing the band of marauding former soldiers as they pillage the countryside. Poe's portrayal of the lovely but tragic Ava is most affecting. He uses pacing and pauses to build tension during showdowns and softens his delivery in the tender scenes between the two lovers." — AudioFile Magazine Fallen Land is Taylor Brown's debut audiobook, set in the final year of the Civil War, as a young couple on horseback flees a dangerous band of marauders who seek a bounty reward. Callum, a seasoned horse thief at fifteen years old, came to America from his native Ireland as an orphan. Ava, her father and brother lost to the war, hides in her crumbling home until Callum determines to rescue her from the bands of hungry soldiers pillaging the land, leaving destruction in their wake. Ava and Callum have only each other in the world and their remarkable horse, Reiver, who carries them through the destruction that is the South. Pursued relentlessly by a murderous slave hunter, tracking dogs, and ruthless ex-partisan rangers, the couple race through a beautiful but ruined land, surviving on food they glean from abandoned farms and the occasional kindness of strangers. In the end, as they intersect with the scorching destruction of Sherman's March, the couple seek a safe haven where they can make a home and begin to rebuild their lives. Dramatic and thrillingly narrated, Fallen Land is a love story at its core. With an uncanny eye for glimpses of beauty in a ravaged landscape, award-winning young author Taylor Brown delivers an unusually assured debut.
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“This debut novel showcases Brown’s exquisite prose and powerful storytelling ability. The story flows effortlessly, maintaining a constant quick pace, yet readers come to know the characters well enough to care about them and will be riveted from beginning to end. The horror of war is juxtaposed with the beauty of young love, and because of Brown’s wonderful writing, the reader is uplifted and satisfied.”
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RT Book Reviews (4½ stars, Top Pick!)