Paradise Updated

There are precious few places still untouched by tourism. Paradise Lost? Chance would be a fine thing. More like Paradise Packaged, Marketed and Sold in Easy-to-Enjoy Portions. And if there's money to be made shining light into the darkest corners of the world, SmallWorldTM wrote the book on it.

Robert Rind is a legend in travel writing circles, fiercely independent and resolutely old school. Too old school. The Company decides he's a liability and sends young, pliable Mithra to tropical Maganda to take his place. But the guidebook writer's life isn't all bustling street markets and five-star resorts: as any seasoned traveller knows, things rarely go as planned and Robert Rind is unlikely to come quietly.

Mic Looby's masterful debut novel weaves a hilarious and hair-raising tale of compromised idealism and corporate skullduggery. You'll never open another guidebook without reading between the lines.

Mic Looby worked for many years as an author and editor for Lonely Planet Publications. This book is in no way based on those experiences. Honest. He is also a regular columnist for The Big Issue magazine and has illustrated five children's books. His work has appeared in The Australian, The Age and the Herald Sun.

This is his first novel.