We were very pleased when the Glendale News-Press called DAUGHTER OF KURA, Debra Austin’s prehistorical novel, “a fascinating sociological perspective” — and many more nice things!
The review continues:
One of the great things about this book is the fact that it recognizes the earliest of civilizations as being predominantly run by the matriarchs of the culture. Austin does a fantastic job of surprising the reader in the opening scene of the book, detailing a very graphic and violent hunt, and it is only after a few paragraphs the reader realizes it is a woman enacting a stereotypical “male” activity. The author subtly weaves the rise of the patriarch and religion into the disintegration of the tribe, the dissolution of trust and the concept of right and wrong. For the reader, it becomes an emotional ride through power, anger, loss and redemption.
Austin ran the risk of writing a book that parallels so many of the themes of the Jean Auel series Clan of the Cave Bear, but managed to surpass any redundancy in her content, while developing a riveting plot and portraying many anthropological aspects in an interesting fashion. The characters communicate using sounds and sign language, which may or may not have been the case during the dawn of Homo erectus, but lend itself to the story quite nicely.
I was disappointed when the book came to an end, and sincerely hope the author will write more about Snap and her people in the future.
The reviewer will be glad to know that a sequel is in the works!
