FICTION

Code of the Forest

by Jon Buchan
Joggling Board. May 2012. c.374p. ISBN 9780984107353. $24. F
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Georgetown, SC, is a sleepy town with many of the leftover traditions of the old South. When a mining corporation proposes a phosphate mine along the nearby Waccamaw River, politicians and environmentalists engage in serious dispute, and the politicians seem to hold the winning hand. Then Wade McNabb, owner of the Georgetown Pilot, publishes a related exposé involving a local senator, his son, and a massive land deal. Refusing to reveal his sources, Wade risks his newspaper and his personal freedom in court.
VERDICT A former journalist and attorney specializing in First Amendment rights has written a fine first novel of political shenanigans and freedom of the press, in a locale still smarting from the civil rights strife of the 1960s. A compelling read for environmentalists or enthusiasts of courtroom drama, with a hint of romance to take off the edge. Readers who enjoyed James W. Hall's Hell's Bay will recognize a similar theme, with a very different execution.
Reviewed by Thomas L. Kilpatrick, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ. at Carbondale Lib. , May 15, 2012
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