Feb-March 2012 Theme Read: Prehistory

This time period ends at different dates in different parts of the world. One definition often used is that prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Using this definition prehistory only ended in large parts of Europe when the Romans conquered it. But I do not agree with that definition and therefore use the definition that prehistory ends when hunters and gatherers make way for farming and cities. And while some let prehistory begin when early humans started to appear, I think prehistory does not necessarily mean that humans need to be present: the Age of Dinosaurs and the Rise of the Mammals are still part of prehistory – there are even books about that!

Some book suggestions:

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel (and the rest of the series)
Dance of the Tiger by Bjorn Jurten
Raptor Red by Robert Bakker
First North American series by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear
Daughter of Kura by Debra Austin

The wiki page for the quarterly theme reads is here: http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Reading_Through_Time_Quarterly_Theme_...

My planned reads

Raptor Red (It’s been on my TBR stack for far too long!)
Promise of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst
The Plains of Passage by Jean Auel (if I have the time, which I probably won’t)

Funnily enough, two out of three of my planned reads have no humans as main characters :D.

I read a book a couple of years ago called Great Sky Woman by Steven Barnes. I really liked it and if I can fit it in, I would like to read the sequel called Shadow Valley.

I'd never heard of Great Sky Woman before, but it's definitely on my TBR list now! It sounds great.

Oh, Steven Barnes is the author of Lion's Blood! I've been trying to remember that title for ages! Great Sky Woman and Raptor Red both sound like great books...I look forward to your reviews. I'll be reading Picture Maker by Penina Spinka...a friend gave it to me and said it's a thousand times better than Clan of the Cave Bear which I loved many years ago.

a friend gave it to me and said it's a thousand times better than Clan of the Cave Bear which I loved many years ago.

Now that's made me very curious to see your review!

I like the sound of Great Sky Woman and Picture Maker also. But this sounds like the perfect reason to finish the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel, so I will be reading The Land of the Painted Caves.

Is part of the deal to write an actual review on the book page or is it fine to just have a chat here?

It's fine to just have a chat here, or write a review and post a link to it, or just post the review here. Or even to just drop in and say you read it! Whatever works for you.

I'm afraid I don't have any prehistory books on the massive TBR pile (surprising really). But I do have a few for later on. Enjoy the reading!

ETA: Well, unless I can use the Pliocene Exile Saga by Julian May. I'm always up for a re-read of that, and in fact have found an audio version of it I'd like to listen to.

I don't see why you couldn't use the Pliocene Exile Saga for this theme. Sure, it's also science fiction, but then historical fantasy is also fantasy. Go for it! I'd be interested in hearing about it at any rate.

oh cool! I will then!

I just noticed that I have Bernard Cornwell's Stonehenge sitting on my bookshelf. I might get into that as well.

This sure is a great way to get me to read all those books sitting in my bookshelves just waiting to be read. Thanks!

Ohhh, Stonehenge! I've been looking at that one for awhile now, but am still not sure whether to put it on my TBR list or not. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think about it.

#5 - I read Picture Maker a couple of years ago and thought it was an excellent story. I've also read Stonehenge, and for some reason I don't remember it that well, but I know I liked it at the time.

Hey Samantha, have you managed to read any pre-history yet? I was all psyched up to start The Land of the Painted Caves then I read the reviews and lost my mojo for it. When I finish my current read I will definitely be starting Stonehenge.

I'm currently reading Raptor Red, but I am also very busy so reading has been at an all-time low this past week.

I finished Raptor Red. My full review is here, but the short of it is that I liked it, except when the author went into too much scientific detail.

My absolute favorite bit of the whole novel was this:

Aegialodon the scorpion-killer stays absolutely stll. He's survived, and he'll live to a ripe old age - eleven months. By that time his aegi genes will be in swarms of children and grandchildren.
Over a hundred million years later, the flow of aegi genes will produce wonderful creations - giraffes, elephants rhinos, whales, bats, monekys, chimps, Democratic senators, Republican majority leaders. Charles Darwin himself. All can be tracked back to the supreme bug bopper the Aegialodon.

Brilliant!

I cannot find my copy of Picture Maker. :( I have a few more boxes to hunt through....hopefully it's in there! I dont' recall getting rid of it.

I just found a book at the library yesterday that I think will fit. It is set 14000 years ago, titles Promise of the Wolves. It is about a wolf pack and their relations with the humans of the time. Do you think that sounds like pre-history?

19> Definitely! That's the book I will be reading in March for this theme read :D. I've had it on my list for awhile now, but never got around to it.

Great! I look forward to chatting about it.

I finished my read of Shadow Valley by Stephen Barnes. This is the sequel to Great Sky Woman and I really recommend these two books.

Here is my review of Shadow Valley:

I have long been planning to read Shadow Valley by Stephen Barnes as it is the sequel to Great Sky Woman which I read and loved a few years ago. Unfortunately, it kept getting set aside for other books. I say unfortunately for two reasons, as I started reading I had some trouble picking up all the various threads to the story, but mostly I say unfortunately as this is a wonderful conclusion to the story of the Ibandi people.

These two books about a prehistoric tribe who live in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro is epic in scope. Stephen Barnes, through intensive research and great imagination, creates both a rich culture, and an intricate religion for these peaceful people. The story revolves around main characters T’Cori and Frog Hopping, who find themselves at the center of earth shattering events when their tribe comes into contact with other people.

This story is woven through with themes of group conflict, love, family ties, and spiritual beliefs. As readers we find ourselves rooting for these people to find a place of peace and security after going through both natural disaster and violent conflicts.

Shadow Valley is the conclusion of a imaginative, well told adventure story, and I highly recommend these two books of speculative history.

Thanks to Samantha-kathy for setting up these quarterly themes as it gave me the incentive to finally read Shadow Valley!

And thanks to you for pointing out two prehistoric fiction novels I had never heard of before! They are on my TBR list now, for they sound great.

I have attempted to make a wiki page for the quarterly theme reads, using the RT monthly theme wiki as an example. If all went well, you should be able to see our wiki page here: http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Reading_Through_Time_Quarterly_Theme_...

Please try it out and let me know if you can all see the page.

I'm also inviting you all to add your reads for this theme to the wiki. Please post your books in alphabetical order, I find that it makes things much easier to read.

I have just finished a pre-history read for the quarter - Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell. I have attempted to write a review for you all.

This novel is about the construction of Stonehenge set in about 2000BC. The story revolves around 3 brothers, all sons of the chief of Ratharryn. The three are vastly different characters. There is Camaban, the crippled eldest child, and outcast and disowned by his father. There is Lengar, the strong, warrior-like brother who takes what he wants. Then there is the youngest, Saban, who would like nothing more than live a peaceful life but seems to get anything but that.

The story begins with an injured stranger wandering into the temple near Ratharryn village. He carries treasures that are valuable to another tribe. The treasures are taken by Lengar and then the action begins. We visit two other tribes, endure peace and war, love and loyalty, sorcery and religion, whilst the leadership of Ratharryn changes and the temple construction begins.

Bernard Cornwell has presented the construction techniques used in a very believable way. It is amazing to think that brute strength, intelligence and commitment to such a task actually occurred at that time in history.

I found this book an interesting read. I particularly enjoyed the part describing Saban’s journeying with Haragg the trader.

Thanks for setting up the wiki Samantha, I will go there now and add this book (hopefully easy to do as I haven't done it before).

I think I have updated the wiki correctly. If somebody has a free minute would you mind checking for me please? Thanks :-)

The Wiki looks great, and your entry looks fine Roro8. I have added both Great Sky Woman and Shadow Valley to the wiki as they really should be read together.

Roro, your review made me sure - I do want to read Stonehenge (someday, when i have the time :D). And your wiki entry looks fine!

In fact, the wiki looks great with all of our books added :D.

OK, I'm jumping in! Back at the end of Jan I said it was too overwhelming to even consider another challenge but after getting through February I feel I am up to it. This whole challenge concept is getting me to read a lot more. And I love to read and am finding more time to do so as a result of Library Thing. I am spending less time surfing the net and more time with my head buried in a book, and feeling happier because of it. I will read Clan of the Cave Bear which I read many years ago because I would like to read the others and want to refresh my memory of the characters before I move on.

Glad to have you! Have fun with re-reading Clan of the Cave Bear.

I have just finished Promise of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst. Here is my review.

This novel is book one in “The Wolf Chronicles”. It is a story told in the voice of a wolf that lived 14000 years ago, named Kaala. Kaala is not like the other wolves in her pack, her very life breaks all the covenants of the Swift River Wolves. But against all odds she survives her initial tribulations as the Greatwolves believe she is destined for something important.

Kaala goes on to break nearly every rule in the wolf covenant when she rescues a human child from the river. The wolves are meant to have nothing to do with humans. Trouble comes between the wolves and the humans and the decisions Kaala makes will be crucial to her survival.

It certainly was different reading a book written from the perspective of an animal. It was a good story, one that I think Disney or Pixar could make into a great animation if they discovered it. It was a quick read, and not too heavy. I give this one 3 stars.

Thanks for checking my addition to the wiki DeltaQueen50 and Samantha_kathy.

ccookie, Clan of the Cave Bear is one of my all time favourites. I hope you enjoy re-reading it.

Not far into Clan of the Cave Bear but I am enjoying it just as much as I did 32 years ago. I can't believe it was 32 years ago!!
>roro8 - this has always been one of my favourites!

31 - Roro8> I'll be starting Promise of the Wolves this weekend, so I'll hold of on any comments about it until I've read it, but I'm curious. Will you pick up the second book in the series or not? Is it very open ended or could the book stand on its own?

33 - ccookie> Has Clan of the Cave Bear been out for so long? I had no idea! I've read the first three books of the series, and plan to read the fourth when I have the time - which will be, oh, in a decade or so ;), but so far I like The Clan of the Cave Bear the best. I've always liked the whole survival bit (either the main character on their own or a small group).

Samantha - I don't think I will go looking for the second book, but if I happened to see it at the library I would probably pick it up and give it a read. The story wraps up by the end but there are noticeable openings to lead into the second novel. It is not a heavy read, and sometimes that is exactly what I need when I've been reading a lot of heavy, detailed historical stuff.

>34 Samantha_kathy: Samantha_kathy - Yes, I was pretty shocked when I realized that Auel wrote Clan of the Cave Bear in 1980! And I remember reading it in hardcover so it must have been right after that!

You wouldn't believe it, I was in the library yesterday and what did I see on the recent return shelf? The sequel to Promise of the Wolves! I thought that was funny after my comment above. I didn't take it home this time though as I had already found heaps of other good books.

*grins* Someone or something was giving you a sign there ;).

Just popping in to say that after seeing Great Sky Woman mentioned here I ordered it from my public library and really enjoyed it.

Okay, I have to try this one, though I usually find Cornwell way to violent for me--accurate for the time and place, but still, a bit much.

I've started Promise of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst, but I've got little time to read. Hopefully I'll be able to read a good chunk this weekend.

I also have just started Promise of the Wolves after seeing you all recommend it and I love it so far! (50 pages in)

I got Promise of the Wolves from my library for this challenge, but keep passing over it. I just can't seem to get into reading about this time period. Maybe I'll give it a go tonight.

> country life ... I am more than half way through it and I just started 8 days ago. This is going down as one of my favourite books ever. Hope you enjoy it!

I am almost done with Promise of the Wolves and will finish tomorrow. Perhaps the ending will help me make up my mind about this book - I'm still not sure if I like it or not, weird as that sounds.

I finished Promise of the Wolves. My full review is here and explains some of the conflicted feelings I had about this book.

Now, time to start looking forward to a new time period, since there is no way I'll be able to read The Plains of Passage in the few days that are still left in March. (Not to mention I'd have to find time to go to the library and see if it's available, so yeah, not happening right now.)

I'm admitting failure. Got 68 pages in and just couldn't take it any more. Not a fan of talking animals, anyway. Promise of the Wolves is going back to the library abandoned by me. Barely started on The Kin, which seemed to go a little better for me, but shan't have time to finish it before month's end, anyway. So, it'll go back, too. Too many good books awaiting to force myself through this piece of the challenge; this is just not a time period I'm even remotely interested in, so I guess this slot remains unfilled on my ledger.

I have to admit, I wasn't a big fan of Promise of the Wolves either. I hope you'll have more fun with out next quarterly theme read!

Just finished re-reading Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel which I read when it was first published over 30 years ago. I remembered it as being one of my favourites and I was not at all disappointed in the re-read. I am going to start Valley of the Horses immediately with the plan being to read them all in sequence. One and two will be re-reads but the rest will be brand new.

Last day for this theme read! My, how time flies. I had a lot of fun with this time period and added a lot of new books to my TBR list. Raptor Red was my favorite read of this time period.

I've updated the wiki - prehistory is now moved to "past reads" but you can continue to add prehistory books to it! Just add the month and year behind your name, like I've done witht the books already there. This way we continue to build up a database of historical fiction by time period.

I hope I'll see you all over in our thread for next quarter's theme read: Ancient and Biblical Times.

Last book for March! I just finished Promise of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst which I absolutely loved. It reminded me so much of Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel (which is one of my all time favourite books) and I happened to be re-reading that at the same time. Similar themes in both books: not belonging, always feeling not good enough, brutal beatings etc etc and then triumph in the end and yet sadness and sorrow permeate both worlds. As mentioned before I usually don't care for talking animals but in this case it worked for me. I raced through this book in the last 10 days or so which is a fast read for me. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the Earth's Children series. You won't be disappointed. Now I have to get the sequel from the library. The request is in.