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Parkland #3
Fire Dancer
This is the third novel in the loosely linked trilogy whose first two titles are "Parkland" and "Earthsong". Two teenagers from the 21st century travel back to neanderthal times and become marooned.
306 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
88 people want to read
About the author
Victor Kelleher
68 books71 followersVictor Kelleher is an Australian author. Victor was born in London and moved to Africa with his parents, at the age of fifteen. He spent the next twenty years travelling and studying in Africa, before moving to New Zealand. Kelleher received a teaching degree in Africa and has taught in Africa, New Zealand and Australia. While in New Zealand, he began writing part time, prompted by homesickness for Africa. He moved to Australia in 1976, with his South African wife, Allison, and taught at the University of New England, in Armidale, New South Wales, before moving to Sydney to write full time. Many of the books he has written have been based on his childhood and his travellings in Africa.
Kelleher has won many awards for his books, such as the Australian Children's Book Award.
Kelleher has won many awards for his books, such as the Australian Children's Book Award.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 23, 2016
A complex, extremely original and poignant book about identity and becoming. It weaves in complexities such as gender, class and place (time) in history and also argues strongly for the value and place of spirituality (not as scientific truth but as part of identity and belonging) in civilization and society. There was no way for the book to have a happy ending in the way, but for the reader it was a satisfying ending, that was true to the characters and the journey we had been on with them.
A more complex coming of age story tinged with an awareness of the tragedy that is also in the human soul. I have quickly gone from not knowing who Kelleher is to being a fan of this original Australian author.
A more complex coming of age story tinged with an awareness of the tragedy that is also in the human soul. I have quickly gone from not knowing who Kelleher is to being a fan of this original Australian author.
March 14, 2011
Thrown back in time, the two central characters – Ivan and Josie – from the 21st C, have to learn to cope with life of the Neanderthals. Explores philosophical aspects of life. A great read!
January 19, 2021
I first discovered Victor Kelleher when I started teaching and wanted to get caught up on young adult fiction, and I’m so glad I did. The thing I like most about him is that he comes up with such simple yet intriguing premises, and then is able to form them into credible and interesting stories. Taronga is probably my favourite so far, but Fire Dancer was a good read-while-in-bed-with-a-cold.
The premise in Fire Dancer is that two teenagers from the twenty-first century, when time travel is now possible, are accidentally left in Neanderthal times.
See? A simple yet intriguing premise.
Ivan and Josie, by necessity, eventually become members of the clan but it’s a long hard path to acceptance, especially for Ivan.
The teenagers’ level of acceptance of their fate, or rather lack of acceptance, changes throughout the novel, and this is what helps to make their final decision nail-biting … will they decide to return to the future if given the opportunity, or remain in the past?
Josie at first is embittered, resentful, angry, and just plain pissed off at being lost in this Neanderthal wilderness with such “animals”. She will not eat nor interact with the environment for fear of sealing her fate and being trapped, unable to get home. That is what she wants above all, but is pessimistic that it will happen. Surprisingly, she quickly finds a niche with the clan. She discovers that she makes a fine hunter – although she’s a weak female, she has the attitude and killer rage of a hunter, which more than makes up for her physical shortcomings. She becomes one of the clan, is ‘named’, and loses her desperation to return to the future, believing that she and Ivan have returned to the past for the purpose of adding to the gene pool. (Don’t worry, Kelleher finds the logic in this, although I did find it frustrating that the idea of these two being the missing links in the chain of human evolution was out by a few million years.)
Ivan, on the other hand, is optimistic. He at first puts his faith in modern technology and future tribal-like ethics: if you lose someone, you go back and get them. That optimism turns to desperation. He constantly searches for the rescue timeship, particularly when he is terrified of trials he must face in the Neanderthal world. He searches for it as a way out of having to try to be something he is not.
He has a particularly tough time finding a place in the clan. He’s not a hunter – in fact, he goes through a period of being mocked by the clan for his womanly cowardice. Again, defying the Neanderthal gender divisions, he becomes the first male shaman.
Both protagonists become endelibly entwined with the ancient world and their new clanspeople, and we are kept guessing right up to the point when the rescue ship is within arms’ length as to whether they will return to the future or not.
Epilogues can be a bone of contention for some people. Do epilogues deprive the reader of the right to continue the world of the novel and its characters as the reader chooses? Or is that not the right of the reader, but of the author?
It’s a debate I won’t go into here, except to say that this epilogue was essential because after becoming so close to all of the characters the ending left me unfulfilled. Characters who should have been able to say goodbye to each other were not able to do so, and so I was left feeling a little bereft. Not only did the epilogue help provide closure, but it was unexpected.
Overwhelmingly this novel explored the notion of belonging, and the processes involved in finding our purpose.
The premise in Fire Dancer is that two teenagers from the twenty-first century, when time travel is now possible, are accidentally left in Neanderthal times.
See? A simple yet intriguing premise.
Ivan and Josie, by necessity, eventually become members of the clan but it’s a long hard path to acceptance, especially for Ivan.
The teenagers’ level of acceptance of their fate, or rather lack of acceptance, changes throughout the novel, and this is what helps to make their final decision nail-biting … will they decide to return to the future if given the opportunity, or remain in the past?
Josie at first is embittered, resentful, angry, and just plain pissed off at being lost in this Neanderthal wilderness with such “animals”. She will not eat nor interact with the environment for fear of sealing her fate and being trapped, unable to get home. That is what she wants above all, but is pessimistic that it will happen. Surprisingly, she quickly finds a niche with the clan. She discovers that she makes a fine hunter – although she’s a weak female, she has the attitude and killer rage of a hunter, which more than makes up for her physical shortcomings. She becomes one of the clan, is ‘named’, and loses her desperation to return to the future, believing that she and Ivan have returned to the past for the purpose of adding to the gene pool. (Don’t worry, Kelleher finds the logic in this, although I did find it frustrating that the idea of these two being the missing links in the chain of human evolution was out by a few million years.)
Ivan, on the other hand, is optimistic. He at first puts his faith in modern technology and future tribal-like ethics: if you lose someone, you go back and get them. That optimism turns to desperation. He constantly searches for the rescue timeship, particularly when he is terrified of trials he must face in the Neanderthal world. He searches for it as a way out of having to try to be something he is not.
He has a particularly tough time finding a place in the clan. He’s not a hunter – in fact, he goes through a period of being mocked by the clan for his womanly cowardice. Again, defying the Neanderthal gender divisions, he becomes the first male shaman.
Both protagonists become endelibly entwined with the ancient world and their new clanspeople, and we are kept guessing right up to the point when the rescue ship is within arms’ length as to whether they will return to the future or not.
Epilogues can be a bone of contention for some people. Do epilogues deprive the reader of the right to continue the world of the novel and its characters as the reader chooses? Or is that not the right of the reader, but of the author?
It’s a debate I won’t go into here, except to say that this epilogue was essential because after becoming so close to all of the characters the ending left me unfulfilled. Characters who should have been able to say goodbye to each other were not able to do so, and so I was left feeling a little bereft. Not only did the epilogue help provide closure, but it was unexpected.
Overwhelmingly this novel explored the notion of belonging, and the processes involved in finding our purpose.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2020
I read this as a teen and loved it
Time travel, early humans, gender norms and how we fit in to society are all explored here.
Two kids go back in time to Neanderthal civilization, when their time machine malfunctions and they get left behind. It's up to them to integrate with the locals to survive.
Time travel, early humans, gender norms and how we fit in to society are all explored here.
Two kids go back in time to Neanderthal civilization, when their time machine malfunctions and they get left behind. It's up to them to integrate with the locals to survive.
May 27, 2019
Realistically a 2 and a half stars. It was an ok read, but a bit slow and dry at times.
June 9, 2011
Fã como sou de viagens do tempo, gostei muito deste livro, especialmente das ultimas páginas. Pena não haver em português.
January 12, 2024
I have been thinking about this book for fifteen years and it's as gripping today as it was then. Humanized Neanderthals for me to such an extent that I still feel homesick for them.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews