Book Review: Endangered Species (Savage Land Book 1) by Jacqui Murray #prehistoric #reviews #neanderthal

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I’m delighted to share my latest review. Endangered Species is the first book in a new trilogy by Jacqui Murray. Jacqui is a well-known author of prehistoric fiction, and I have read and enjoyed some of her books before. The new series is about Neanderthals, and it is meticulously researched. In many ways, it is a complete eye-opener, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Endangered Species by Jacqui Murray

What Amazon Says

Endangered Species is Book One of the trilogy, Savage Land, the third trilogy about primeval man in the series, Dawn of Humanity. A prehistoric thriller in the spirit of Jean Auel, Endangered Species follows several bands of humans. Each considered themselves apex predators. Neither was. That crown belonged to Nature and she planned to wipe them both from her planet.

Join me in this three-book fictional exploration of Neanderthals and their lives. Be ready for a world nothing like what you thought it would be, filled with clever minds, brilliant acts, and innovative solutions to life-ending problems, all based on real events. At the end of this trilogy, you’ll be proud to call Neanderthals family.

Available at all Amazon outlets including: Amazon US

What Jacqui Murray says about why she started writing prehistoric fiction

Thank you so much for hosting me, Toni. I began writing about man and our prehistory when I couldn’t figure out how the earliest of our kind survived the dangerous, physical world populated by clawed, fanged, and behemoth predators. After all, we had tiny teeth, flimsy fingernails, and thin unfurred skin. It took about a decade of research to understand how we became the apex predator in this uncivilized world, and then I wanted to share our ancestor’s story. If you read my trilogies, starting with Dawn of Humanity, you too will come to understand the power of being human–curiosity, not relying on instinct to make decisions, seeking out solutions to problems never before faced, creating stuff we’ve never before seen. It is mind boggling and beyond exciting. I used to call my stories “prehistoric thrillers”, but that confused people. Now, I settle for “prehistoric historical fiction” and hope the drama of our ancestors’ everyday lives keeps readers coming back.

My Review

5 stars – Gripping prehistoric fiction

I was excited to hear that Jacqui Murray had started a new series of prehistoric fiction – a genre I can’t resist. The story is set 75,000 years ago, and follows a small group of Neanderthals who call themselves The People. Yu’ung is the healer’s daughter, and she has learnt to hunt, heal and lead. She also has a special ability to see visions, and is helped at times by visions of Xhosa, a character from the past. Shander is a young male, who can also see visions. We meet many other fascinating characters, including Old One, who is nearing the end of his life. The group will soon need a new leader.

The author has used meticulous research to bring to life every aspect of their lives and environment. A volcano is rumbling in the background and will soon have a big impact. A major part of the story is the group’s interaction with a group of humans that I presume are Homo sapiens. They are called the Tall Ones, who are led by a hunter called Fierce. I loved how the two groups interacted, communicated, learned about each other and even mated. (Apparently non-African humans all now have a small percentage of Neanderthal DNA).  

Yu’ung is a wonderful healer, always keen to expand her knowledge. She helps a few of the men to survive and even agrees to help the Tall Ones. As the story continues, their situation becomes ever more desperate, and builds to a thrilling conclusion. Nature is about to overpower both groups and the scene is set at the end for the continuing saga.

With her first book about Neanderthals, this author has demonstrated that she is the master of prehistoric fiction. I didn’t realise how intelligent they were, and this book is the best way I can imagine to learn about them. They were very different to the dumb brutes I learnt about in my childhood.

I’m so looking forward to the next book in the series, and give this story a resounding five stars.

About Jacqui Murray

Jacqui Murray profile image

Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also the author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. When not writing, she is grad school teacher, author of over a hundred tech ed resources including K-12 technology curricula, and an Amazon Vine Voice. You can find her resources at her publisher, Structured Learning LLC. She lives in So. California with her husband of forty years, Labrador Casey, and lots of contact with her adult children, one a Cdr in the Navy, the other a SFC in the Army. Feel free to reach out to Jacqui at her blog, WordDreams, or her social media platforms.

You can find Jacqui Murray here:

Amazon Author Page

Website   

Thank you for stopping by. My name is Toni Pike, a multi-genre author who loves writing thrillers for adults, non-fiction, and hilarious books for children.

I’m the author of LINDA’S MIDLIFE CRISIS, DESOLATION BLUFF, DEAD DRY HEART and The Jotham Fletcher Mystery Thriller Series: THE MAGUS COVENANT, THE ROCK OF MAGUS, THE MAGUS EPIPHANY and HOLY SPEAR OF MAGUS.

The Brody Cody Series is for children aged 6-9: BRODY CODY AND THE STEPMOTHER FROM OUTER SPACE and BRODY CODY AND THE HAUNTED VACATION HOUSE.

I’m also the author of two non-fiction books. THE ONE WAY DIET is a no-nonsense guide to losing weight and HAPPY TRAVELS 101 is a short book of travel tips.

All my books can be found HERE.

You can find me online here:

Website: tonipike.com

Amazon author page: Toni Pike

Instagram: @authorlovestravel  – Sharing my travel photos from around the world

Facebook: Toni Pike – Author

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Twitter:  @piketoni1

Linkedin Toni Pike – Linkedin

Email: authortoni.pike@gmail.com

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52 thoughts on “Book Review: Endangered Species (Savage Land Book 1) by Jacqui Murray #prehistoric #reviews #neanderthal”

  10. olganm's avatarolganm

    I’ve yet to read one of Jacqui’s stories, but I’ve heard great things about them, and this new series sounds fantastic as well. Congratulations to her and thanks for your review.

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