Tag: Neanderthal

Review of Badlands

This is a Leonberger blog, but I also post book reviews of books that are not about Leonbergers, non-Leonberger books I love and want to promote. With this post I would like to promote a truly great novel featuring Neanderthals and other archaic humans. The book is called Badlands and is the second book in the savage land trilogy by Jacqui Murray.

To visit my review for the first book in the series, Endangered Species – Click here. To visit my contribution to the book blast for Endangered Species, Click here. To see the Neanderthal super fact post (facts given to me by Jacqui Murray) – Click here.

Below is an overview of the three formats of Badlands

  • Paperback –  Structured Learning LLC (April 15, 2025), ISBN-10 : 194210166X, ISBN-13 : 978-1942101666, 259 pages, Item Weight : 12.5 ounces, dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.59 x 9 inches, it cost $15.99 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
  • Kindle – Structured Learning LLC (January 2, 2025), ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DFCV5YFT, ISBN-13 : 978-1942101673, 311 pages. It is currently $4.99 on Amazon.com and free with Kindle unlimited. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
  • Audiobook – Structured Learning LLC (January 4, 2025), ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0F5NGVJ3H, Virtual Voice, listening length 8 hours and 22 minutes, it is currently $4.99 on Amazon.com.  Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
The front cover features the title and author, a neanderthal woman and three canines (wolves). There is an erupting volcano in the background.
Front cover of Badlands. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the paperback version of the book.

Amazon Description of Badlands

Savage Land is the third trilogy about prehistoric man in the series, Man. Vs. Nature.Written in the spirit of Jean Auel, Savage Land explores how two bands of humans survived one of the worst natural disasters in Earth’s history, when volcanic eruptions darkened the sky, massive tsunamis crossed the ocean in crushing waves, and raging fires burned the land. Each of the tribes considered themselves apex predators. Neither was. That crown belonged to Nature and she was intent on washing the blight of man from her face. Join me in this three-book fictional exploration of Neanderthals. Be ready for a world nothing like what you thought it would be, filled with clever minds, brilliant acts, and innovative solutions to life-ending problems, all based on real events. At the end of this trilogy, you’ll be proud to call Neanderthals family.

In Badlands, Book Two, the tribes must split up, each independently crossing what Nature has turned into a wasteland. They struggle against starvation, thirst, and desperate enemies more feral than human. If they quit or worse, lose, they will never reunite with their groups or escape the most deadly natural disaster ever faced by our kind.

My Amazon Review of Badlands

Once Upon a Time 75,000 Years Ago

The adventures of Yu’ung continue in this book. Yu’ung is a female Neanderthal and a healer and a leader of her tribe. The world she and her tribe inhabit is threatened by massive volcanic eruptions. The Neanderthals, referred to as The People, as well as the Tall Ones (the Homo Sapiens), and other Uprights (Home Erectus, Denisovans, etc.) are forced to relocate. Yu’ung’s tribe and many other tribes are migrating towards the shoreless sea. Unfortunately, Yu’ung has to leave her tribe as she accompanies an old member of her tribe to meet up with the mountain clan. Both groups are accompanied by smart and loyal canines. There are disasters, unexpected events as well as dangerous enemies along the way.

Like all Jacqui Murray’s novels this novel is very intense, captivating and realistic. Life was harsh back then and the author has a great way of depicting this vividly and realistically. You connect with the characters and their struggle for survival. There is kindness, generosity, heartbreak, cruelty, battles and betrayal. The importance of cooperation and belonging for survival becomes clear and you understand the advantage of everyone having a role and a purpose in the tribe. Jacqui imagines what pre-historic man must have felt and experienced and she does this very skillfully. She has also done her research regarding the way pre-historic man, including Neanderthals, lived and what they were capable of.

The novel features a number of pre-historic dogs or semi-domesticated wolves referred to as Canis, including Ocha, Ragged Ear, Blaze, White Streak and Ump. These Canis cooperate with the Neanderthals in various ways and together they are much stronger. Neanderthals may not have domesticated dogs, and the author admits to using a creative license or narrative license in this regard. However, the Canis adds a lot to the story. Her use of the loyal and smart Canis makes it easier to relate to the pre-historic tribes in the story and it allows her to add interesting plot twists. Somewhat ironically, the Canis adds humanity to the story.

At the end of the book is the first chapter of the next book in the trilogy, Balance of Nature, followed by information about Neanderthals. The beginning of the book features a helpful list and explanation of terms used in the book as well as an explanatory list of the characters in the book, including the Canis. It is a nice habit the author has, which makes it easier to follow along, especially if you forget a character, or you did not read the first book.

I loved this book just like I loved the other books written by Jacqui Murray. It is both captivating and interesting and it makes you think about all those millions of pre-historic humans who came before us long ago. Our modern civilization has existed for such a very short time, and it is easy to forget how privileged we are. I believe you can read this book standalone without getting confused, but it is better if you have already read the first book in the series (Endangered Species). I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in adventure.

Photo of the author, an overview of the author, and a description of the book.
Back cover of Badlands. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the Kindle version of the book.

About the Author of Badlands

Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also the author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. When not writing, she is grad school teacher, author of over a hundred tech ed resources including K-12 technology curricula, and an Amazon Vine Voice.

You can find her resources at her publisher, Structured Learning LLC. She lives in So. California with her husband of forty years, Labrador Casey, and lots of contact with her adult children, one a Cdr in the Navy, the other a SFC in the Army. Feel free to reach out to Jacqui at her blog, WordDreams, or her social media platforms.

Review of Endangered Species

This is a Leonberger blog, but I post about books that are not about Leonbergers but other types of books I love and want to promote. With this post I would like to promote a truly great novel featuring Neanderthals. The book is called Endangered Species by Jacqui Murray. I recently participated in a so-called virtual book blast for this book. It is a special promotion. This post is just about my review for this book. The virtual book blast is the important post and if you did not see it yet please click here. Below is a list of some additional book blast posts for this book. If you know of additional ones, please tell me in the comments.

  • Virtual Book Blast for Endangered Species – Darlene Foster – Click here
  • Virtual Book Blast for Endangered Species – Liz Gauffreau – Click here
  • Virtual Book Blast for Endangered Species – Carol Cooks – Click here
  • Virtual Book Blast for Endangered Species – John Howell – Click here
  • Virtual Book Blast for Endangered Species – Booomcha, Kymber Hawke – Click here
  • Virtual Book Blast for Endangered Species – Miriam Hurdle – click here.

To see the Neanderthal super fact post (given to me by Jacqui Murray) – Click here

Below is an overview of the three formats of Endangered Species

  • Paperback –  Structured Learning LLC (January 2, 2025), ISBN-10 : 1942101643, ISBN-13 : 978-1942101642, 301 pages, Item Weight : 1.15 pounds, dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.68 x 9 inches, it cost $15.99 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
  • Kindle – Structured Learning LLC (January 2, 2025), ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DJ9Y7PQ8, 323 pages. It is currently $4.99 on Amazon.com and free with Kindle unlimited. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
  • Audiobook – Structured Learning LLC (January 4, 2025), ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CY6YQL83, It is currently $1.99 on Amazon.com.  Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
The front cover features the title and author, a neanderthal woman and her canine/wolf and there is an erupting volcano in the background.
Front cover of Endangered Species. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the paperback version of the book.

Amazon Description of Endangered Species

Savage Land is the third trilogy about prehistoric man in the series, Man. Vs. Nature.Written in the spirit of Jean Auel, Savage Land explores how two bands of humans survived one of the worst natural disasters in Earth’s history, when volcanic eruptions darkened the sky, massive tsunamis crossed the ocean in crushing waves, and raging fires burned the land. Each of the tribes considered themselves apex predators. Neither was. That crown belonged to Nature and she was intent on washing the blight of man from her face.

Endangered Species is Book One of the trilogy. Yu’ung and her Neanderthal tribe must align with Fierce and his Tall Ones—an advanced tribe of humans. Even then, survival is not ensured. The story starts in the Altai Mountains of Siberia as they prepare for a cross-continent journey to a new home away from the volcano’s devastation.

Join me in this three-book fictional exploration of Neanderthals. Be ready for a world nothing like what you thought it would be, filled with clever minds, brilliant acts, and innovative solutions to life-ending problems, all based on real events. At the end of this trilogy, you’ll be proud to call Neanderthals family.

My Amazon Review of Endangered Species

Something Big Happened 75,000 Years Ago. We The People Are Still Here.

When I was a teenager, I read a few of Jean M. Auels novels about pre-historic humans. I loved them and I saw the movie. Now I am reading Jacqui Murray’s novels about pre-historic humans. Jacqui Murray’s books are even more fascinating and very realistic and well researched. Her books also cover a larger time interval starting 1.8 million years ago. The story in this fairly new book takes place 75,000 years ago when our planet was home to several human species including Homo neanderthalensis or Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens. The focus of the story is on a tribe of Neanderthals calling themselves “the people”. Homo Sapiens (people like us) are referred to as “tall ones”. There were also other humanoid species alive at the time such as Homo erectus and Denisovans and they are referred to as “uprights” in this book. Well, all homo species are referred to as uprights in this book.

Something very bad is about to happen. Something that threatens the survival of all homo species. You can guess what from the front cover. There is a vision, or a spirit, of a Homo erectus woman called Xhosa who provide help and wisdom from the spiritual realm. Some central characters are Yu’ung, a female Neanderthal who is a healer and the leader of her tribe, Fierce the leader of a Homo sapiens tribe, Jun or Shanadar a young Neanderthal man and his canines Ump, White Streak (and a few more), who are sent by Xhosa on a special mission. I loved the canines (related to wolves). As a side note I can add that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens could interbreed despite being considered different species because the concept of species is complex.

The many adventures recounted in this book are fascinating, intense and captivating and there is something interesting and fun happening on every page. The character development is detailed and well done. Despite being so ancient and so different from us modern people, the humanoids in the book come alive in your imagination and you are transported into a different world from long ago. I found myself cheering for and caring for a Neanderthal woman and loving a wild dog. One passage that I found to be so intense that I was breathless was when Jun/Shanadar saved the life of a drowning canine pup called Blaze. What a job he had, saving a pup and saving the world. Did all this happen for real? I don’t know, but it could have. I loved this book. It is a page turner, and I highly recommend this book as well as her previous books.

Photo of the author, an overview of the author, and a description of the book
Back cover of Endangered Species. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the Kindle version of the book.

About the Author of Endangered Species

Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also the author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy.

When not writing, she is grad school teacher, author of over a hundred tech ed resources including K-12 technology curricula, and an Amazon Vine Voice. You can find her resources at her publisher, Structured Learning LLC. She lives in So. California with her husband of forty years, Labrador Casey, and lots of contact with her adult children, one a Cdr in the Navy, the other a SFC in the Army. Feel free to reach out to Jacqui at her blog, WordDreams, or her social media platforms.