Five tribes. One leader. A treacherous journey across three continents in search of a new home.
***
That’s a great tagline. And I enjoyed the book, too.
It starts like this:
Xhosa is a female, a would-be budding leader of her people. Seeing her ambition, her father, the tribe’s leader, encouraged her to track and hunt the prey beasts, as well as to defend herself from the bands of other prehistoric humans and other predators. When her father is slain by a rival tribe, the elders of her own band are surprised when she declares her readiness to compete in the trials for leadership.
The contest is bittersweet to Xhosa, for the other challenger is Nightshade, a warrior she sees as a possible pairmate. It’s a brutal challenge, testing any human’s strength, cunning, and agility. In the end, she and Nightshade save each other, but Nightshade cedes the leadership to Xhosa.
However, she becomes leader at a troubled time. A different form of prehistoric man is moving in, one that vocalizes more than they should and seems to have no desire to share the land. They want nothing more than to drive Xhosa and her people away, or failing that, to kill them.
A book such as this stands or falls on its descriptive powers, and the descriptions in this book are sharp and vivid. For example: “Broad-winged white-bellied birds screeched as they swooped in search of food, and a cacophany of insects chirruped their displeasure at her intrusion. A stone’s throw away, a hippo played, heaving its great bulk out of the water, mouth gaping, snorting and grunting, before sinking beneath the surface.”
So, go check out the Look Inside, it’s available at all the Amazon stores:
Happy Reading!
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Avid writer and reader of Faerie tales and noblebright fantasy.
Cathleen Townsend 
Cathleen, this is a wonderful review of Jacqui’s book and I’m looking forward to getting it soon. She has a gift for imagining the human condition millions and thousands of years ago and of recognizing what would be the most compelling assets of tribes and individuals.
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How kind of you, Shari! I’ve read so much about them, I feel like I’m related! We, we are but that is a different story…
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Yeah, being able to put on the mindset of a prehistoric man (or woman in this case) is really its own unique skill. Jacqui has it wired, though. 🙂
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Excellent review for Survival of the Fittest, Cathleen. Congratulations, Jacqui! Sharing…
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Thanks for dropping in, Bette. I love the way Cathleen described my book!
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Thanks so much, Bette. 🙂
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Thanks so much for hosting me, Cathleen. You’ve described the book well!
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I’m so glad, Jacqui. I try not only to say nice things with these reviews, but to help the book find its audience as well. Hope this helps. 🙂
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Jacqui is certainly getting out and about, Cathleen. Thanks for hosting her here.
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Thanks for visiting, Robbie. We’re having a good time here!
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It has been my pleasure to have Jacqui here again. Thanks for stopping in–although I don’t know whether to call you Robbie or Roberta now.
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Cathleen, this is a great review. I also believe that’s a great tag too. And great choice for a quote – very descriptive indeed.
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Thanks, Jina. I’m struggling to find a tag line for Book 2. I keep going back to this one!
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Use it again – make it a tagline for all three books.
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I agree–this really is a terrific tagline.
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What a fantastic review! Jacqui’s hard work is shining in this book. Thanks for sharing it Cathleen.
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Thank you, Balroop. This series covers 2 million years of man’s evolution. Somewhere in there, I reach poetry–and can’t wait for that book!
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Great to see you here, Balroop–always a pleasure, : )
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