• Chris Taylor

    Chris Taylor is a writer based in Bangkok and Southwest China. He wrote, co-wrote and updated Lonely Planet guides to Seoul, Tokyo, China, Tibet, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia, among other Asian destinations. He was coordinating author of the China, Japan and Southeast Asia: on a shoestring guides, and has contributed Asia-related material to other guidebook publishers. He has written for The Far Eastern Economic Review, Salon, Time, the South China Morning Post, The Age, and The Sydney Morning Herald, among many other newspapers and magazines. Harvest Season is his first novel.
    Photo © Yereth Jansen

buy the book

Harvest Season

harvest season – a novel

When a travel writer retreats to an idyllic valley in the mountains of Southwest China where the weed grows wild on the mountain slopes, he finds his vision of paradise pitted against a new breed of travelers who want to bring the party to town. The scene is set for a clash that will change the valley forever.

praise for harvest season

A great read. . . . It's obvious that Chris Taylor knows the backpacker-turned-longtermer scene inside out. I felt as if I knew these characters well
Joe Cummings, author, Lonely Planet Thailand
Gripping. . . . Chris Taylor knows China better than anyone.
Simon Lewis, author, Bad Traffic
A racy, chemical fueled parable . . . like Alex Garland's The Beach . . . except the writing is better . . . wiser [and] more poignant
Taipei Times 
A fresh take. . . . Taylor is right at home . . . navigating the shifting enigma and subtle subtext of Chinese society with a deft and natural touch
Jakarta Globe 
One of the five most interesting novels of 2010
Tony Wheeler, cofounder, Lonely Planet

an excerpt

"A gust of cold air announced their arrival. It was harvest season and the ganja was coming down off the mountain slopes in baskets. At that time of year the warmth of the days gave way to frigid cold with nightfall and a chill seeped into the bar every time the door swung open. He had pale, watery blue eyes and a punch-drunk nose; he entered the bar as if he owned it, dressed in a hoodie and faded jeans. She glided in behind him with a faraway gaze."