Codex Orféo - by Michael Tobias (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Explore shattering ethical, political and practical quagmires in this gripping ecological thriller. A tense plot deals with devastating scientific, secret intelligence and geopolitical issues. "You alright, Professor?" Mal asked in a whisper.
"Yeah, I'll be alright."
World renowned ecologist, UCLA Professor David Lev, aged 84, has just begun a contemporary odyssey. From delivering a plenary address on climate change at the Rio+20 UN Summit, he must prevail on a journey through sub-zero hurricane-force gales, impenetrable bogs and twelve foot drifts of ice in the forests of Belarus. Along the way, Lev's journey directs us to consider such profound questions as: Are we our Brother's Keeper? What are the ethical limits of science? And, finally, at what price, glory? It is not only Lev's story that is the key to this page-turner but also an account from the days of World War IIand the Holocaust, which hinges on survival. A constellation of richly nuanced, deeply drawn characters whose enmeshed lives and unique circumstances speak with resonance, melancholy, inspiration and unrelenting drama are all part of this complex and thought-provoking novel - including cutting-edge biochemist Dr Taman Chernichevsky. What has he discovered?

From the Back Cover

Explore shattering ethical, political and practical quagmires in this gripping ecological thriller. A tense plot deals with devastating scientific, secret intelligence and geopolitical issues. "You alright, Professor?" Mal asked in a whisper.
"Yeah, I'll be alright."
World renowned ecologist, UCLA Professor David Lev, aged 84, has just begun a contemporary odyssey. From delivering a plenary address on climate change at the Rio+20 UN Summit, he must prevail on a journey through sub-zero hurricane-force gales, impenetrable bogs and twelve foot drifts of ice in the forests of Belarus. Along the way, Lev's journey directs us to consider such profound questions as: Are we our Brother's Keeper? What are the ethical limits of science? And, finally, at what price, glory? It is not only Lev's story that is the key to this page-turner but also an account from the days of World War II andthe Holocaust, which hinges on survival. A constellation of richly nuanced, deeply drawn characters whose enmeshed lives and unique circumstances speak with resonance, melancholy, inspiration and unrelenting drama are all part of this complex and thought-provoking novel - including cutting-edge biochemist Dr Taman Chernichevsky. What has he discovered?

Review Quotes

"This is a thriller about geo-terrorism, anti-Semitism, the Holocaust as it reverberates decades later, and grasping global pharmaceutical syndicates. ... In his novel Tobias connects the Holocaust, the Anthropocene, and the Sixth Extinction Spasm. ... This is a crackerjack of a read. You will learn a lot about zoology, population extinction, Belarus, wilderness survival, and the love of family." (Bob Sanchez, The Internet Review of Books, Internetreviewofbooks.blogspot.de, November, 2016)

"I highly recommend Codex Orféo. But be prepared! What awaits the reader is a riveting literary expedition. Solid science, animal behavior, conservation biology, and human psychology all within a fictional odyssey by a very wise scientist. It's an unrelenting and powerful drama, the result of which we can all hope will be a true renaissance of virtue." (Marc Bekoff, MAHB Millennium Alliance for Humanity and Biosphere, mahb.stanford.edu, July, 2016)

About the Author

Michael Charles Tobias, Ph.D., is an internationally renowned ecologist, philosopher, anthropologist, author of fiction and non-fiction; an explorer, filmmaker, educator and head of a major international ecological NGO. Tobias has written more than 200 books, films, plays and librettos, as well as more than 1,000 published articles/essays, including more than 80essays published in Forbes in the last few years.