When Kelvin takes the wrong road heading out of Melbourne, he ends up in Eden, the town he was born in. Now, though, he doesn’t belong and doesn’t particularly want to. He takes a job planting trees then finds himself staying with a group of hippies. He is drawn to the beautifully Jessica, a would-be writer who is passionate about the environment, and soon finds himself caught up in the anti-logging movement. The drama builds as characters with much to hide work against each other with devastating consequences.
An Accidental Terrorist is an exciting debut novel, set in rural New South Wales in the early 1980s. Whilst it gathers pace in the second half, it is not immediately obvious that this is a book moving towards very dramatic moments – but that is the pleasure of it. There is plenty of time to get to know the flawed yet intriguing characters who populate its pages, to explore their relationships and to be drawn into the events as they unfold.
An Accidental Terrorist was the winner of the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award for Best Manuscript from an Emerging Queensland Author in 2004. Readers will look forward to more quality offerings from Steven Lang.
An Accidental Terrorist, by Steven Lang
UQP, 2005