"An engaging exploration...leaps off the page." - Caitlin Callaghan, TheRumpus.net
A NOVEL OF THE CALIFORNIA MISSIONS
By the author of The Disagreement, winner of the 2009 Shaara Award for Civil War Fiction
Led by the zealous Fray Junípero Serra, missionaries Francisco Palóu and Juan Crespí vie for their master's fickle favor as a chain of missions creeps north up the fog-enshrouded coast of Alta California.
A master stylist and a meticulous researcher, Nick Taylor vividly captures the atmosphere of early California as he dramatizes the politics of the era: the horrifying and tragic gaps in understanding between priests and natives; the vicious power plays between crown and church; and the fervor, ambition, and desperation that fueled European settlement of the region. This novel’s publication coincides with the celebration of the 300th anniversary of Junípero Serra’s birth.
PRAISE for Nick Taylor’s The Disagreement:
The Disagreement is powerfully entertaining and moving, and Taylor captures the period nicely without burdening readers with showy displays of his hard-earned research. - Richmond Times-Dispatch
A remarkable novel...the characters are vivid, the dialogue real and the story is compelling and moving. - The Daily American
In his debut, Taylor captures the manners, mores and language of the era, sweeping the reader back in time. - Minneapolis Star Tribune