REVIEWS

Review from Tess Gerritsen

Monday August 3, 2009

“The prehistoric past comes vividly to life in this thrilling and boldly imaginative epic of a girl’s journey into womanhood. Debra Austin recreates a fascinating world that might have been, and she makes us believe every detail.”
— Tess Gerritsen, NYT bestselling author of THE KEEPSAKE

Library Journal 7/15/2009

Wednesday July 15, 2009

Austin, a former obstetrician with a lifelong passion for paleoanthropology, has written an original and fascinating first novel set approximately 500,000 years ago in Africa, the cradle of humankind. Now that she has grown into womanhood, 12-year-old Snap, granddaughter of the Kura clan’s matriarchal leader, looks forward to the springtime bonding ceremony, marking the time when the men return from hunting and trading. In her clan, men and women come together only for the summer months, when the women select the men they will mate with for the season. Snap and her new mate, Ash, are blissfully happy, their time together marred only by her mother’s choice of mate, Bapoto, who brings with him strange new ideas of religion and male dominance. In her notes, Austin explains that she based Snap’s world both on the research of evolutionary biologists and paleoanthropologists and on her own speculation of how Homo erectus may have developed art, religion, trade, societal norms, and language. VERDICT Though somewhat reminiscent of Sue Harrison’s and Jean M. Auel’s books about prehistoric peoples, this debut, which offers a fascinating peek into humanity’s earliest days, stands out as well researched and wholly believable.

Publishers Weekly, 6/8/2009

Friday June 12, 2009

“In Kura, a prehistoric village of women, peace and stability reign under the rule of the tribal Mother. The granddaughter of the current Mother, Snap, is about to undergo her first Bonding ritual, when the women choose mates. Bapoto, a strange man with unfamiliar spiritual ideas, arrives and begins to accumulate power, shifting the society away from its matriarchal structure. Snap resists and is driven from the village. Desperate and pregnant, she must find the wisdom and courage to save her village from Bapoto’s threat. Austin, a former doctor with a serious passion for paleoanthropology, brings exhaustive research and strong writing to her debut. She accomplishes an extremely difficult task—to get readers to understand a community that resembles both human and animal societies, but the world she depicts is so alien that at times it’s difficult to relate to. Still, this is a remarkable first effort, and Snap and her companions will easily engage readers. (Aug.)”

Review by Elle Newmark, author of The Book of Unholy Mischief

Thursday April 2, 2009

“In the tradition of Clan of the Cave Bear, Daughter of Kura is a highly imaginative recreation of a prehistoric matriarchy. The fascinating twist is an exploration of the roots of religion and the willingness of certain people to exploit it for personal power. I found it an intelligent and engrossing read.”

Review by Dorothy Hearst, author of Promise of the Wolves

Thursday April 2, 2009

“Daughter of Kura is an intriguing look into what life might have been like in the hearts and minds of our ancient ancestors. The complexities of Austin’s homo erectus culture and the heartfelt story of a young woman’s coming of age are fascinating and compelling.”