Neanderthal (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "Akbar Atilla rested his AK-47 against a tree trunk and moved away from the campfire in search of a place to relieve himself..." (more)
Key Phrases: Operation Achilles, Cold War, Van Steeds (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An exciting novel that will do for pre-historic man what Jurassic Park did for Tyrannosaurus Rex. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Matt Morrison and Susan Arnot, archaeologists and ex-lovers, are summoned to investigate an odd find: an apparently new Neanderthal skull. They rush to Tadjikistan and foray into some of the least hospitable terrain in Asia. Not too unexpectedly, they find their quarry only to discover a long-lost mentor who is guarding unsettling moral, political, and archaeological secrets that threaten their lives and those of the reclusive Neanderthals. Untangling the puzzle involves figuring out why one tribe is vegetarian and peaceful, the other martial and carnivorous; why their brains are larger than those of contemporary humans; and how they communicate without speech. When government agents intrude and threaten the scientific find, the two scientists must survive, rescue their old friend, deceive American and Russian intelligence gatherers, and balance a study of an astounding archaeological find with the interests of the tribes. This first novel by a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter is very Indiana Jonesish; in fact, movie rights have been sold to Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks. Recommended summer reading, if not to be taken seriously. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/96. Originally scheduled for release in August, this novel was rushed into print in response to the publication of Petru Popescu's Almost Adam, another novel about the discovery of modern-day cave dwellers, reviewed on p. 85.?Ed.]?Edwin B. Burgess, Combined Arms Research Lib., Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
-?Edwin B. Burgess, Combined Arms Research Lib., Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; large type edition edition (May 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312963009
• ISBN-13: 978-0312963002
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (171 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #348,249 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It was hard to know how to rate this book, March 27, 1999

By	[e-mail] "[e-mail]" (Beaumont, tx USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I just didn't know how to rate it. The science of the book wasn't that great, and a bit outdated. The science of the book became laughable when they finally met up with the hominids. Surprising since some of Darnton's reference sources are from good people. But it is fiction, so there are some concessions that can be made if there is a good story. The problem is that the story wasn't all that great. I admit, I didn't want to just throw it away, but it wasn't great. It was mediocre. I'm surprised that it made The Book-of-the-Month Club main selection. at best, this is a mediocre story about unintersting characters. Matt and Susan's reintroduction into their romance was just not believeable...maybe it was because there really weren't any other sapiens to chose from. Kellicut's character was...awful, a horrible portrayal. Sergei really wasn't a character. The hominids were either too pacifistic or to evil. They are closely related to humans (or even the same species) so they would be a little more complex than Darnton made them. The most interesting characters were those in the institute (except the marines which really could have been left out. did they even have a part?), but even they weren't that great. All in all, I'd have to say two thumbs down Mr. Darnton. Stick to journalism and don't torture us with this kind of drudge anymore.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I Disagree--this was a fun book!, November 1, 2000

By	Jeff Edwards "RadioJeff" (Twin Falls, Idaho) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

The reviews below really (and unfairly I believe) tear apart this book. Was it literature? Gosh NO! Was it based on 100% verifiable facts? Nope. Was it good old-fashioned fun? You BET! John Darnton ISN'T a scientist. Sure he bases a lot on the creative and scientific work of others, however from there he ran with the plot in his OWN direction to write a down-right fun adventure story similar to what we might find in an 'Indiana Jones' movie. I don't want to make it out that this is going to win awards anytime soon...however I felt VERY interested from beginning to end, and the surprise that comes when you figure out what the hominids CAN do that really sets them apart really was an interesting twist. I could see this in my mind's eye being made into a movie easily. I doubt someone will, but I think it'd make a fun flick anyway. So, if you are looking for literature to read, pass over 'Neanderthal'...but if you're looking for adventure 'light' than John Darnton has written the book for you.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Hare-brained hominids, August 5, 2002

By	Advocatus Devili (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews

It must have been the title that got me: "Neanderthal," with my mental exclamation point duly added. The blurb, too, sounded promising enough (charitably disregarding the bit about what showed potential for a tortured love angle between the male and female protagonists, "once lovers, now academic rivals"): In a remote mountainous region of Central Asia, a relic band of Neanderthals have been found foraging just as they used to forage 40,000 years ago at the time of their purported annihilation. Then there was the cover shot of the Neanderthal skull with its shattered cranium borrowed from a 1996 National Geographic piece. Icing on the cake, a peer inside the book jacket revealed the author to be a writer and arts editor for The New York Times, no less.
Still, what a letdown this whole Paleolithic escaped proved. Lamentably, as in so many books of its genre, in this one, too, the beginning of the journey holds far more interest than the rest of it, to say nothing of the destination. The first hundred or so opening pages duly build up to a nice crescendo, as you are flitting page after page rooting for the remarkably hapless heroes in their search for their (and your) first glimpse of the hominids. Then instead of a bang: a whimper. When you do get to meet the Neanderthals, you wish you hadn't. It turns out (this without revealing too much), that they possess extraordinary supernatural abilities, not least of which is extrasensory perception cum mind reading; that they have split into two groups, one a band of nature's innocents living in a utopian fool's paradise (a la Rousseau), the other a ferocious posse of savages staging routine headhunts of fellow Neanderthals and ill-starred homo sapiens (a la Darwin); and -- surprise -- that the Agency is in hot pursuit of their weapon-grade abilities....
If only Mr. Darnton had thought a little bit longer and harder of all this and made his fantasy sound at least remotely credible. Instead, he made a howler out of a potentially worthy idea. One can image his pitch to a publisher. "I thought of this story about some Neanderthals found alive up in the mountains in central Asia, and then...." But by "then," the publisher must have signed the contract in haste.
Give this one a miss unless you have a great tolerance for hare-brained contrivances.