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Replacement Chronicles #1
Raven's Choice
What possible link could Mark Hayek, an introverted twenty-first century research scientist, have to Raven, a young woman who lived during the late Pleistocene? It has everything to do with an encounter between a band of Early Modern Humans and a group of Neanderthals intent on hunting bison.
After an injured Neanderthal hunter is taken captive, Raven––as a healer––feels she has no option but to become his advocate. Her own survival soon becomes doubtful when the band’s leader threatens to cast her out onto the steppe for what he sees as dangerous willfulness.
Raven feels an unexpected empathy for the mysterious Neanderthal. But while trying to preserve his life and health, will she go so far as to commit what could be the worst error of her own life? Mark Hayek will never find out that Raven faced a frightening dilemma. But if he did know, he would understand that the present reality exists because of choices made in the past.
As meticulously researched as Jean Auel’s Earth Children series but with the benefit of recent discoveries, this novella is an updated story revealing how contact between Neanderthals and Early Humans had surprising results.
After an injured Neanderthal hunter is taken captive, Raven––as a healer––feels she has no option but to become his advocate. Her own survival soon becomes doubtful when the band’s leader threatens to cast her out onto the steppe for what he sees as dangerous willfulness.
Raven feels an unexpected empathy for the mysterious Neanderthal. But while trying to preserve his life and health, will she go so far as to commit what could be the worst error of her own life? Mark Hayek will never find out that Raven faced a frightening dilemma. But if he did know, he would understand that the present reality exists because of choices made in the past.
As meticulously researched as Jean Auel’s Earth Children series but with the benefit of recent discoveries, this novella is an updated story revealing how contact between Neanderthals and Early Humans had surprising results.
51 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2014
105 people are currently reading
258 people want to read
About the author
Harper Swan
4 books24 followersHarper Swan lives in Tallahassee, Florida with her husband and three sweet but very spoiled cats. Her interests include history from all eras, archaeology and genetics. She especially enjoys researching ancient history and reading about archaeological finds from Paleolithic sites. As well as writing stories with plots based in more recent times, Harper is also following a longtime dream of writing books that include the distant past, her inspiration drawn from Jean Auel.
Harper is the author of The Replacement Chronicles, a four-part series. The series titles in order are Raven’s Choice, Journeys of Choice, Choices that Cut, and The Braided Stream.
The Replacement Chronicles books are available in both paperback and e-book. Raven’s Choice is also published as a standalone e-book and is free on iBooks and Amazon for as long as the latter allows it to be so.
If you enjoy her writing, Harper is presently giving away Gas Heat—a story of family angst that takes places in the Deep South—to anyone who would like to subscribe to her mailing list. Just use the link below.
http://eepurl.com/b3MpEv
Harper is the author of The Replacement Chronicles, a four-part series. The series titles in order are Raven’s Choice, Journeys of Choice, Choices that Cut, and The Braided Stream.
The Replacement Chronicles books are available in both paperback and e-book. Raven’s Choice is also published as a standalone e-book and is free on iBooks and Amazon for as long as the latter allows it to be so.
If you enjoy her writing, Harper is presently giving away Gas Heat—a story of family angst that takes places in the Deep South—to anyone who would like to subscribe to her mailing list. Just use the link below.
http://eepurl.com/b3MpEv
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 3, 2015
Amazon freebie. It was very short and somewhat disconnected: the premise being a young man who finds he has Neanderthal DNA and then we flash back to the young girl who has intercourse with a Neanderthal and introduced the humans to it. Not particularly imaginative or compelling for me. And I kind of wonder what the point is.
January 28, 2015
This is my first foray into prehistoric fiction. It’s never really appealed before, not sure why, but I found this fascinating and totally intriguing. Mark Heyek from the Parkinson’s Institute is a research scientist working in the field of genetics. Having sent a saliva sample to Genetics and Me, Inc. for further research into Parkinson’s disease, and as lead collaborator, he is invited to attend a meeting. What follows is an amazing fictional, although based on scientific knowledge, look back at the genetics that make up modern man.
The story transports us back thousands of years and introduces Raven, a healer who has lost her husband and, because she’s also childless, has been banished from her tribe. Raven’s sister, Willow, has persuaded her mate, Bear, to allow Raven to join their own tribe. As Bear is bringing Raven home they happen upon a group of trespassing Neanderthals hunting Bison, one of whom is seriously hurt during the hunt. After Bear’s group have taken possession of the Bison meat and the ‘Longheads’ have been sent on their way the injured Neanderthal is taken back to Bear’s tribe. Bear doesn’t want to provoke a war between the tribes so Raven tends to his injuries until he is released. Raven feels an affinity with the ‘Longhead’ and when she awakens one morning to find him gone she follows him to say goodbye. The idea that the choices Raven makes would impact on the genetic history of modern man is incredibly thought-provoking.
Raven’s hard, and sometimes cruel, world is brought vividly to life and even though she has been taken into her sister’s tribe her life, as a woman in those times, is not her own. She’s entirely at the mercy of the tribe leader and bound by their way of life as is shown by Bear’s conduct towards her.
Not only is the order and ranking in tribal law detailed, but also how Early Modern Humans and Neanderthals might have come into contact and reacted with each other.
As Mark finds out, many people including himself, carry Neanderthal genes although he’ll never know for sure the exact circumstances that brought about this occurrence. But it signifies that Early Modern Man didn’t take the place of extinct Neanderthals but rather the races mixed and interbred, which is proved by the presence of Neanderthal DNA in present day man. It’s such an interesting approach to how life might have been all those years ago, and even more so because it’s a very credible scenario.
A wonderfully researched, dramatic and detailed narrative sets the scene for forthcoming instalments of The Replacement Chronicles, which I look forward to following.
The story transports us back thousands of years and introduces Raven, a healer who has lost her husband and, because she’s also childless, has been banished from her tribe. Raven’s sister, Willow, has persuaded her mate, Bear, to allow Raven to join their own tribe. As Bear is bringing Raven home they happen upon a group of trespassing Neanderthals hunting Bison, one of whom is seriously hurt during the hunt. After Bear’s group have taken possession of the Bison meat and the ‘Longheads’ have been sent on their way the injured Neanderthal is taken back to Bear’s tribe. Bear doesn’t want to provoke a war between the tribes so Raven tends to his injuries until he is released. Raven feels an affinity with the ‘Longhead’ and when she awakens one morning to find him gone she follows him to say goodbye. The idea that the choices Raven makes would impact on the genetic history of modern man is incredibly thought-provoking.
Raven’s hard, and sometimes cruel, world is brought vividly to life and even though she has been taken into her sister’s tribe her life, as a woman in those times, is not her own. She’s entirely at the mercy of the tribe leader and bound by their way of life as is shown by Bear’s conduct towards her.
Not only is the order and ranking in tribal law detailed, but also how Early Modern Humans and Neanderthals might have come into contact and reacted with each other.
As Mark finds out, many people including himself, carry Neanderthal genes although he’ll never know for sure the exact circumstances that brought about this occurrence. But it signifies that Early Modern Man didn’t take the place of extinct Neanderthals but rather the races mixed and interbred, which is proved by the presence of Neanderthal DNA in present day man. It’s such an interesting approach to how life might have been all those years ago, and even more so because it’s a very credible scenario.
A wonderfully researched, dramatic and detailed narrative sets the scene for forthcoming instalments of The Replacement Chronicles, which I look forward to following.
February 4, 2015
Raven's choice is a short historical fiction book, just fifty seven pages long and the first book in The Replacement Chronicles series. It's like a tantalising introduction to what there is to come. The book has two time settings the first is California in the twenty first century, the second is set in the late Pleistocene era (think early man),
In the present day Mark Hayek works for the Parkinson's Institute as part of Genetics and Me Inc. He's recently been asked to provide a saliva sample as part of some routine investigations.
The reader is then taken back in time to meet a group of early humans travelling back to their tribe when they come across a bison hunt led by a despised group they call "Longheads". Neither of the two groups like or accept each other, their ways being alien to the other group. Yet there are clues that this may well change in the future.
The book ends back in present time looking at Neanderthal ancestry and genetics through the generations, leaving the reader with plenty of questions to be answered in the next book in the series.
This is a good storyline and made me immediately think of very popular Clan Of The Cave Bear series. The present day parts were written in present tense third person and didn't quite work for me.
In the present day Mark Hayek works for the Parkinson's Institute as part of Genetics and Me Inc. He's recently been asked to provide a saliva sample as part of some routine investigations.
The reader is then taken back in time to meet a group of early humans travelling back to their tribe when they come across a bison hunt led by a despised group they call "Longheads". Neither of the two groups like or accept each other, their ways being alien to the other group. Yet there are clues that this may well change in the future.
The book ends back in present time looking at Neanderthal ancestry and genetics through the generations, leaving the reader with plenty of questions to be answered in the next book in the series.
This is a good storyline and made me immediately think of very popular Clan Of The Cave Bear series. The present day parts were written in present tense third person and didn't quite work for me.
February 6, 2017
Don't read this book. Really not worth it.
Reasons:
1- It's like this first book, which should be the first of a trilogy, is the firts chapter of a book, a catch for us to buy the others, since the first is free. It has only 52 pages against 303 of the second. It does not have an end, the history simply does not finish.
2- No maps, no indication whatever of where the story sets.
3- No descriptions of the culture, very few descriptions of the places they are, it's really only the action but we keep lost in my opinion without the environment!
4- No context whatever. When the story set? In which date? Does the homo sapiens are already well developed, which tools he already know and which he does not how? Without the time desciption is impossible to know.
I will definitelly not continue with the other books. Comparing to Ayla's story on the Earth Children's saga or to the trilogies of Sue Harrison, this book is way way worse.
Reasons:
1- It's like this first book, which should be the first of a trilogy, is the firts chapter of a book, a catch for us to buy the others, since the first is free. It has only 52 pages against 303 of the second. It does not have an end, the history simply does not finish.
2- No maps, no indication whatever of where the story sets.
3- No descriptions of the culture, very few descriptions of the places they are, it's really only the action but we keep lost in my opinion without the environment!
4- No context whatever. When the story set? In which date? Does the homo sapiens are already well developed, which tools he already know and which he does not how? Without the time desciption is impossible to know.
I will definitelly not continue with the other books. Comparing to Ayla's story on the Earth Children's saga or to the trilogies of Sue Harrison, this book is way way worse.
February 7, 2015
Commingling with Neanderthals
Finding Neanderthal DNA in modern humans means the Neanderthals did not die out totally, but interbread with other humanoids that resulted in modern humans. A fictional account of how that might have happened is well written. I only wished it was longer than it was.
Finding Neanderthal DNA in modern humans means the Neanderthals did not die out totally, but interbread with other humanoids that resulted in modern humans. A fictional account of how that might have happened is well written. I only wished it was longer than it was.
September 17, 2016
Very good read, as good as the series of The Clan of the Cave Bear.
I enjoy reading these kinds of books, that go along with some of the modern discoveries. These books help to familiarize us with our past.
I enjoy reading these kinds of books, that go along with some of the modern discoveries. These books help to familiarize us with our past.
October 26, 2016
Not actually a story
This was more a chapter or two. There was so much that this story could have been, and I was so engrossed in it, but then it ended. Really? It took all of 20 minutes to read.
This was more a chapter or two. There was so much that this story could have been, and I was so engrossed in it, but then it ended. Really? It took all of 20 minutes to read.
October 11, 2016
Good short story
Enjoyed this very much, but I wanted more of the story! Reminded me of Clan of the Cave Bear which I enjoyed many years ago.
Enjoyed this very much, but I wanted more of the story! Reminded me of Clan of the Cave Bear which I enjoyed many years ago.
December 31, 2016
Good book
Good book that flows well. I liked how it was put together. I will read it again sometime. Thank you.
Good book that flows well. I liked how it was put together. I will read it again sometime. Thank you.
January 12, 2018
This book was for free on Amazon and the reviews on Goodreads convinced me it would be worthwhile.
Sadly, this book is a dissapointment. I don't know why it gets compared to Jean M. Auels series and the like. It is so short that one cannot even say much about it. Obviously this little tidbit is supposed to make the readers buy the rest of the series.
Maybe those books are better. This one however was very superficial. Also, it's supposed to be up to date with current scientific knowledge. I'm not sure it is (the little that is included in this book). At least the Neanderthals have a language...still they come across as a kind of brutish type of human. Also, the bit we get to know about the social structure of the tribe and their way of life, it is so so little. I don't want an info dump, but I want a setting to feel alive and real.
Will not continue with this series.
Sadly, this book is a dissapointment. I don't know why it gets compared to Jean M. Auels series and the like. It is so short that one cannot even say much about it. Obviously this little tidbit is supposed to make the readers buy the rest of the series.
Maybe those books are better. This one however was very superficial. Also, it's supposed to be up to date with current scientific knowledge. I'm not sure it is (the little that is included in this book). At least the Neanderthals have a language...still they come across as a kind of brutish type of human. Also, the bit we get to know about the social structure of the tribe and their way of life, it is so so little. I don't want an info dump, but I want a setting to feel alive and real.
Will not continue with this series.
July 28, 2019
A great series to follow
A few days ago I found this book, and read it through over coffee. The topic is fascinating, and the characters all make me want to know them better. I immediately ordered the second book in the series, and look forward to the continuing books. Book one is just an introduction to the characters and setting; the following books are much longer. Very enjoyable - topic, characters and storyline.
A few days ago I found this book, and read it through over coffee. The topic is fascinating, and the characters all make me want to know them better. I immediately ordered the second book in the series, and look forward to the continuing books. Book one is just an introduction to the characters and setting; the following books are much longer. Very enjoyable - topic, characters and storyline.
July 27, 2019
Could not finish
Written in the present tense which made it impossible to read. Everybody is doing and saying and it just doesn't flow. No one put their hand on something, they are putting it on something. Just a very odd choice to write. You may enjoy but I could not get past it.
Written in the present tense which made it impossible to read. Everybody is doing and saying and it just doesn't flow. No one put their hand on something, they are putting it on something. Just a very odd choice to write. You may enjoy but I could not get past it.
March 18, 2020
The beginning and ending sections of this story are set in the present, and seem a bit disjointed from the rest of the piece. However these sections are very brief, and the main body of the story is very compelling. It's a great story and left me wanting more about this main character.
May 2, 2021
This may only be a novella, but the world created was instantly vibrant and believable. I loved it and the transitions between the modern and prehistoric sections just left me wanting more of both storylines.
January 31, 2020
Short changed
What I hoped would be a good story turned out to be far too short. Doesn't encourage me to buy further books.
What I hoped would be a good story turned out to be far too short. Doesn't encourage me to buy further books.
February 1, 2021
Loved the story, well written and gripping but this is just the first chapter of the next book. Poor marketing trick I bought the first '3' books as a package (at twice the originally advertised price as the offer didn't go through) so just carried on but why not give this away and be honest about it being the first chapter? Irritating and the reason for a 1 star review.
May 7, 2021
Did not live up to the hype.
Short, disappointed. Was going to read the rest of the series, but I can't get the second one to open.
Short, disappointed. Was going to read the rest of the series, but I can't get the second one to open.
June 10, 2021
Easy read and seems to have good potential to be on a par with Jean Auel's pre-historic adventure stories.
January 20, 2015
I like books that travel back and forth in time, and this novella didn’t disappoint. The author uses the recent discovery that Neanderthal and Homo sapiens interbred and weaves just such a story. It begins in the present when Mark Hayek finds out from a company called Genetics and Me – which he had hoped would help him with Parkinson’s research – had actually tested his genome for Neanderthal DNA. And found it.
The book then drops back in time to the Late Pleistocene era in western Asia, where a band of early modern humans, led by Bear and including Raven, a healer and sister to his wife, come upon a group of Neanderthals hunting bison. They drive off the Neanderthals and take the bison the group had killed for meat, but also take one who was injured in the attack as a prisoner. Raven takes a deep interest in the man, watching him closely.
Bear throughout treats Raven, the new member of his family, with disdain, but nevertheless takes her as his mate, once the hunters have returned to their tribal home. Raven then uses what little hold she has over Bear to be allowed to reset the prisoner’s dislocated shoulder. As a former EMT, I found the description of this process to be spot on.
Two things occur to confound Raven: her sister treats her coldly in response to Bear’s absence from the tent at night, and suddenly the prisoner is gone, freed to return to his own tribe. Intermingled with Raven’s adventure are details of early human life in tribal groups and wonderful descriptions of the tribal hierarchy, food, and hunting, creating a rich palette against which the story is told.
You absolutely need to read this book to find out how Raven will handle her sister’s rebuke and whether Raven cares enough about the Neanderthal to follow him when he leaves. And what about Mark’s Neanderthal genes?
This story is, to my untrained eyes, meticulously researched, and has a great premise. I am hooked and looking forward to the next novella.
The book then drops back in time to the Late Pleistocene era in western Asia, where a band of early modern humans, led by Bear and including Raven, a healer and sister to his wife, come upon a group of Neanderthals hunting bison. They drive off the Neanderthals and take the bison the group had killed for meat, but also take one who was injured in the attack as a prisoner. Raven takes a deep interest in the man, watching him closely.
Bear throughout treats Raven, the new member of his family, with disdain, but nevertheless takes her as his mate, once the hunters have returned to their tribal home. Raven then uses what little hold she has over Bear to be allowed to reset the prisoner’s dislocated shoulder. As a former EMT, I found the description of this process to be spot on.
Two things occur to confound Raven: her sister treats her coldly in response to Bear’s absence from the tent at night, and suddenly the prisoner is gone, freed to return to his own tribe. Intermingled with Raven’s adventure are details of early human life in tribal groups and wonderful descriptions of the tribal hierarchy, food, and hunting, creating a rich palette against which the story is told.
You absolutely need to read this book to find out how Raven will handle her sister’s rebuke and whether Raven cares enough about the Neanderthal to follow him when he leaves. And what about Mark’s Neanderthal genes?
This story is, to my untrained eyes, meticulously researched, and has a great premise. I am hooked and looking forward to the next novella.
June 3, 2015
If you liked Jean Auel’s Earth’s Children series, or Kathleen Flannigan’s Misfits and Heroes, and you like fast reads, you will probably enjoy Harper Swan’s Raven’s Choice. First in the Replacement Chronicles, it blends past and present, combining stories of cause with effect as a young man at a present day conference learns the mysteries hidden in DNA.
Back in the past, a young woman who feels as surely out of place as her present-day counterpart, faces the struggle to fit into a changing society without the protection of a husband. The story is starkly true to life, well-researched, and pleasingly convincing. Raven has a choice to make, and someone always has to be first; someone must surely be the ancestor, and the ancestor’s decision might ring its results over farflung times.
By the end of this novella, Raven’s unclear future has a definite direction. Readers will be satisfied to have seen and guessed her choice, but will still want more. Hopefully that is what the author will offer. But this bite-sized piece stands alone as an intriguing, fast-told novella of small decisions and major implications, in a convincingly drawn, hard and beautiful, distant world.
Disclosure: I was given a free ecopy and I offer my honest review.
Back in the past, a young woman who feels as surely out of place as her present-day counterpart, faces the struggle to fit into a changing society without the protection of a husband. The story is starkly true to life, well-researched, and pleasingly convincing. Raven has a choice to make, and someone always has to be first; someone must surely be the ancestor, and the ancestor’s decision might ring its results over farflung times.
By the end of this novella, Raven’s unclear future has a definite direction. Readers will be satisfied to have seen and guessed her choice, but will still want more. Hopefully that is what the author will offer. But this bite-sized piece stands alone as an intriguing, fast-told novella of small decisions and major implications, in a convincingly drawn, hard and beautiful, distant world.
Disclosure: I was given a free ecopy and I offer my honest review.
February 6, 2017
I enjoyed this book and the interaction between the Neanderthals and Cro-magnons. It is believable and well researched.
December 15, 2014
Raven’s choice grabbed me from the first page. Harper Swan painted a beautiful picture with the beginning of this adventure. I need to know more. More about Raven’s life and what is going to happen with Mark. It’s a cliffhanger without being a cliffhanger. It was beautifully written and I am eagerly waiting the second book. A fast but fascinating read! 5/5
May 6, 2020
Too short
Going between two millennia was a little confusing. I was reminded of Jean M. Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear. Does this story continue? So much more could be done with this story line.
Going between two millennia was a little confusing. I was reminded of Jean M. Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear. Does this story continue? So much more could be done with this story line.
February 3, 2016
A really good short book by Harper Swann, the first in a new series called The replacement Chronicles.
If you enjoyed The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel you will like this.
I really enjoyed it, although I had it finished in one sitting, but it has left me wanting more!
If you enjoyed The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel you will like this.
I really enjoyed it, although I had it finished in one sitting, but it has left me wanting more!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews