The Shadows of Owls
A Novel
Published on 1. November 2013
Book
Hardback
460 pages
978-0-295-99315-7 (ISBN)
Description
In a literary thriller about science, power, and the lives of ordinary people, John Keeble tells the story of a woman whose passion for her work puts herself and her family at serious risk.
Kate DeShazer is a marine biologist whose research threatens the construction of an oil pipeline in Alaska's Chukchi Sea. A group of extremists, hired by an international petroleum conglomerate, intimidate her, steal her records, and leave her fighting for her life. Her husband Jack and son Travis are pulled into a web of international intrigue and violence as they try to save her.
With vivid prose, Keeble brings to life the winter landscape of northern Idaho and southern British Columbia and reveals the interconnectedness of the people within it-from scientists to loggers to white supremacists-as each must answer to the demands of corporate power.
Visit the author's website: http://www.keeblefiction.com/
Kate DeShazer is a marine biologist whose research threatens the construction of an oil pipeline in Alaska's Chukchi Sea. A group of extremists, hired by an international petroleum conglomerate, intimidate her, steal her records, and leave her fighting for her life. Her husband Jack and son Travis are pulled into a web of international intrigue and violence as they try to save her.
With vivid prose, Keeble brings to life the winter landscape of northern Idaho and southern British Columbia and reveals the interconnectedness of the people within it-from scientists to loggers to white supremacists-as each must answer to the demands of corporate power.
Visit the author's website: http://www.keeblefiction.com/
Reviews / Votes
"Against the backdrop of blizzards in an unforgiving landscape, Keeble keeps the pages turning . . . it's the unsettling end of the book that leans most toward 'literary' in this ambitious thriller."- Suzy Vitello (The Oregonian) "It's kind of reductive to call John Keeble's novel The Shadows of Owls an eco-thriller. That's what it's been billed as, but . . . Keeble's imagination is too poetic, wandering and engrossing to be confined to a thriller's format."
- Kate Whittle (Missoula Independent) "Keeble's prose and descriptions of the landscape in the Northwest are stunning, and he takes every opportunity to slow the narrative and observe the beauty of what surrounds the characters. Even so, the story is riveting and suspenseful, full of surprises behind every bend in the scenery-strewn road."
- Heather Paulson (Booklist) "With The Shadows of Owls, novelist John Keeble has unleashed a sprawling storm of a novel that has all the elements of a Northwest classic. Keeble has crafted an armchair-gripping eco-thriller that is broad and generous in its portrayal of ordinary people caught in the grip of unchecked power."
- Tim McNulty (Seattle Times) "Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing at Eastern Washington University, John Keeble is himself a master wordsmith with a gift of narrative fiction and the creation of identifiable and memorable characters. A solid entertainment from beginning to end, The Shadow of Owls is highly recommended for both personal reading lists and community library contemporary fiction collections."
- Jack Mason (The Midwest Book Review)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Seattle
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
1 map
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
662 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-295-99315-7 (9780295993157)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2013
1st Edition
University of Washington Press
€28.99
Available for download
Person
John Keeble is professor emeritus of creative writing at Eastern Washington University. He is the author of four novels, including Yellowfish and Broken Ground, both recently reissued; a collection of short stories; and a work of nonfiction, Out of the Channel: The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Prince William Sound.