Prehistoric Refugees

The focus of this blog is Leonbergers but sometimes I post about books that are not about Leonbergers but that I want to promote. This is another one of those. I read Survival of the Fittest (Book 1 of Crossroads trilogy) the Paperback version – March 2, 2019, by Jacqui Murray. It is another of Jacqui Murray’s wonderful prehistoric novels and I loved it. It exists in three formats on Amazon.

  • Paperback –  Publisher : Structured Learning LLC (March 2, 2019), ISBN-10: 194210135X, ISBN-13: 978-1942101352, 311 pages, Item Weight : 1.01 pounds, Dimensions : 6 x 0.78 x 9 inches, it cost $14.99 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
  • Hardback –  Publisher : Structured Learning LLC (February 28, 2021), ISBN-10: 1942101708, ISBN-13: 978-1942101703, 328 pages, Item Weight : 1.24 pounds, dimensions : 6 x 0.93 x 9 inches, it cost $24.99 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
  • Kindle –  Publisher : Structured Learning LLC (March 6, 2019), ASIN: B07NKM58GB, it costs $3.99 on US Amazon, it is free with Kindle unlimited. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
The front cover feature title and author name and a picture of a wolf and a tall prehistoric girl holding a spear.
Front cover of  Survival of the Fittest. Click here or on the picture to visit the Amazon.com page for the book. Picture is scanned from the book.

Amazon’s description of the book

Five tribes. One leader. A treacherous journey across three continents in search of a new home. Written in the spirit of Jean Auel, Survival of the Fittest is an unforgettable saga of hardship and determination, conflict and passion. Chased by a ruthless enemy, Xhosa leads her People on a grueling journey through unknown and dangerous lands following a path laid out decades before by her father, to be followed only as a last resort. She is joined by other fleeing tribes from Indonesia, China, South Africa, East Africa, and the Levant, all similarly forced by timeless events to find new lives. As they struggle to overcome treachery, lies, tragedy, secrets, and Nature itself, Xhosa is forced to face the reality that her enemy doesn’t want to ruin her People. It wants to ruin her. The story is set 850,000 years ago, a time in prehistory when man populated most of Eurasia, where ‘survival of the fittest’ was not a slogan. It was a destiny. Xhosa’s People were from a violent species, one fully capable of addressing the many hardships that threatened their lives except for one: future man, a smarter version of themselves, one destined to obliterate all those who came before.

This is my Amazon review of Survival of the Fittest by Jacqui Murray

The Survival Story of Prehistoric Refugees

What does survival of the fittest mean? The most fit are not necessarily the strongest or the fastest but the ones who are the most adaptable to change. The survival of prehistoric man was helped by so many aspects of skills, health, intelligence, making tools, the ability to cooperate and the willingness to change, as well as empathy. In this book we follow a few tribes of Homo Erectus who are forced to relocate due to the encroachment and attacks of the so called “Big Heads”.

Xhosa is a Homo Erectus woman who becomes the leader of her people as well as other tribes who join them on their trip through north Africa and into the Middle East. She is a powerful, resourceful, and ruthless warrior and hunter but at the same time she is kindhearted, intelligent, and open minded. Other important characters are Nightshade, Rainbow, Zvi, Seeker, Pan-Do, Lyta and the Hawk People. These tribes are pre-historic refugees if you will. This is the first book in a series of three about her and her tribe(s).

When I was young, I read the novels written by Jean M. Auel, and I was fascinated by the suspenseful stories and the topic of prehistoric man. I’ve read so many science fiction novels set in the future as well as novels set in the past but during historic times. However, there is not much out there that takes place during pre-historic times, perhaps because we don’t know much about it. Jean M. Auel changed literature history with her novels taking place during prehistoric times.

More recently Jacqui Murray changed literature history once again by continuing this path and by writing suspenseful epic sagas taking place at different time periods. This book and the next two in the series take place 850,000 years ago. Now we know a lot more about prehistoric man and Jacqui Murray has certainly done her research. I can add that the three first books I read by Jacqui Murray was about a homo habilis woman who lived 1.8 million years ago. Her name was Lucy and there are some references to Lucy in this book through Xhosa’s dreams.

It seems like Jacqui loves to incorporate dogs or friendly wolves in her books. There was Lucy with her big dog Ump in the Dawn of Humanity series (Homo Habilis) and in this book we have a tame blue-eyed wolf, Pup later called Spirit and his rescuer and handler Zvi. I love this aspect of these books. The front cover of the paperback (what I read) shows a prehistoric woman and a wolf. The wolf is obviously Spirit, but I am not sure if the woman is Zvi or Xhosa.

The adventures recounted in this book are intense and gritty and feature a lot of violence, suffering, and cruelty but that was the reality back then. There are cannibals, crocodiles eating people, various beasts attacking people, and attacks by other tribes. Prehistoric times were cruel and violent. You had to learn how to survive. This book is filled with action-packed adventures and interesting subplots. You never know what is going to happen next and you just must find out. It is a real page turner. Without giving anything else away I can say that the book ends on a happy note after a long arduous and dangerous journey. In summary, I loved this book. It is enjoyable, fun, and action packed. The stories are creative and fascinating, and the book is very well written. I highly recommend this book.

The back cover feature a photo of Jacqui Murray, an author description and the description of the book. The text is white and the background is black.
Back cover of  Survival of the Fittest (scanned from book).

About the Author

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, and a contributor to NEA Today.

You can find her resources at Structured Learning. Read Jacqui’s tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days here on Amazon Kindle. Also, read her new series, Man vs. Nature, starting with Born in a Treacherous Time–also on Kindle.

Finally, links to the Dawn of Humanity series. Book on Amazon on the left, and my review on the right.

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

64 thoughts on “Prehistoric Refugees”

    2. Thank you Clicquot. Since your mom enjoyed Auel’s book she will enjoy these books too, and so will you since they also are about prehistoric dogs/wolves. It is great that you are a dog who knows who to read and write.

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  11. Wonderful review, Thomas. I’ve yet to read Survival of the Fittest, but I look forward to doing so. When I read Natural Selection it blew me away. Jacqui is a gifted writer and she’s an amazing researcher. Thank you for featuring her today, and congratulations to Jacqui for another great review! ⭐

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    1. I wrote this one and the others in the series to help me come to terms about how the heck man survived impossible odds arrayed against us. I didn’t think we were the fittest for the environment, and then, I found out we were!

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  17. Sounds like a very interesting read so I’ll definitely check it out. I studied history in university so even though this isn’t based on real events I think it’ll be a book I enjoy. Yeah, those times were crazy. Sometimes I think about how we survived and ended up here living such comfortable lives. I mean, I’m definitely not complaining. It’s just interesting to think about.

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    1. Yes we are certainly living peaceful, comfortable, healthy and long lives compared to our ancestors. I think history is very interesting, and I read history books for fun, but it wasn’t the subject I chose (physics/engineering).

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  20. At first glance, I thought this could be a book I would enjoy. It reminded me of Jean Auel’s Earth’s Children series which started with The Clan of the Cave Bear. I loved all those books, especially the ones where the wolf played a major role. When I read this book contains a lot of “violence, suffering, and cruelty,” I wondered if it would be too much for me. I am trying to steer away from those things these days. But I love that there’s a wolf. 🙂

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    1. Yes, I get what you are saying. I did not think of it that way. Jacqui Murray’s books are trying to be realistic, and life back then was harsh. However, Jean Auel’s books also featured violence, suffering, and cruelty, and if I remember correctly not less of it. The death rate from violence among Amazonian / New Guinea indigenous tribes today is nearly 50% if I don’t remember incorrectly. That’s worse than anywhere else on earth today. We can always remember how much things have improved. I just thought these adventure books is a good insight into how we used to be compared to where we are now. And the tame courageous wolf is definitely an uplifting element. Spirit (the wolf) comes to the rescue.

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      1. Thank you for that perspective, especially on how things have improved for most humans. I did not know about the death rate of indigenous tribes today in the Amazon/New Guinea. I was not trying to dis the book. Maybe it depends on how much detail there is in the description of violence and cruelty. Thanks again for your perspective.

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    2. Hi JoAnne, no I did not think you were trying to dis the book. I was more concerned with how I expressed myself. I do not want to give the wrong impression. The violence in the book is not graphic but like Jean Auel’s books, the Iliad and the Odyssey, or the Lord of the Flies, etc., there is a lot of violence and cruelty. It’s an intense adventure. The good news is that Xhosa is a strong woman and a hero who can save her people.

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