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Neander

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"My God. These people really ARE Neanderthals!"

At an archeological dig in Gibraltar, a boat explosion shatters the hopes of science journalist Tom Cook. His pregnant fiancée was on the boat and is missing.
During the search, things go from bad to worse when Tom plunges through a time portal and into the strange and dangerous era of the Neanderthals. Can he get back, or is he stuck in the past forever?

On top of figuring out how to return to the present, Tom must use his modern-day wits to fight for survival in the world of 40,000 years ago. And contend with a group of archaic humans that are not at all like what he expects.
Finally, Tom faces a crucial decision that could alter the course of human history. A history he knows he has the power to change. Will he make the right choice?

If you're a fan of the time travel fantasy novels of Jack Finney ("Time and Again"), Stephen King ("11/22/63"), or Michael Crichton ("Timeline"), you'll savor this science-fiction, time-travel adventure from historical-fiction author Harald Johnson.

"It's 40,000 years ago and I'm stuck here. Now what?"

291 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 23, 2019

422 people are currently reading
116 people want to read

About the author

Harald Johnson

19 books14 followers
Harald Johnson is an author of both fiction and nonfiction, a publisher, and a lifelong swimmer—who actually swam nonstop around New York’s Manhattan island. His debut novel (NEW YORK 1609, 2018) was the first-ever to explore the birth of New York City (and Manhattan) from its earliest beginnings. He followed that with the three books of the NEANDER time-travel trilogy (2019, 2020, 2021), and then the modern suspense thriller EL NORTE (2022). THE TWILIGHTS is his sixth novel (and twelfth book).

Harald lives with his wife deep in the woods of central Virginia.

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5 stars
289 (43%)
4 stars
222 (33%)
3 stars
112 (17%)
2 stars
25 (3%)
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10 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
Profile Image for Terry Tyler.
Author 34 books584 followers
December 25, 2019
Tom Cook is a science journalist working on an archaeological dig in Gibraltar, when disaster strikes in the form of a boat accident—his pregnant fiancée is missing. When Tom goes searching for her, he slips through a time portal that takes him back.... way back, to 40,000 years ago. Neanderthal man has yet to become extinct, though the threat of Homo Sapiens is on the horizon.

Tom finds ways to communicate them and become part of their world. Quite early on, I saw that this was not just a time travel adventure, and that Tom's actions would have repercussions, which added interest, as I looked forward to finding out how great these would be. Tom has a wealth of knowledge to teach his new family, and draws on his own research about Neanderthal man to find the best methods to help them, especially when they come face to face with the more ruthless Sapiens.

In the notes at the back, the author mentions having read Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari; I've read three books by Harari and could feel the influence; I actually thought 'ah, he's been reading Sapiens' a couple of times, before I read the notes, but this wasn't a negative; I liked it.

Neander held my interest all the way through; of course time travel stories always depend on disbelief suspension on the part of the reader, but the fantasy must be believeable within the fiction, and for the most part this was; I'd give it about seven out of ten, because I needed to know more about how he communicated with these prehistoric people in order to be completely convinced by the fact that he did. Also, I was so looking forward to finding out how Tom's actions of 40K years ago impacted on the world we know now, but there was less detail than I'd hoped for. On the whole, though, this book is fun and an easy read, an inventive, interesting and original story, as well as providing questions and ideas on which to ponder, which makes it a win-win as far as I'm concerned; yes, I recommend it!


Profile Image for Lydia Bellamy.
71 reviews
March 16, 2020
A lot to think about.

What if? A perfect way to think about the history of Homo Sepians and the beginning of mankind. Well written with great characters and think about it moments.
1 review
December 16, 2019
A well written and engrossing story which has been carefully researched, with the behaviour and capabilities of the Neanderthal characters fully in line with the latest archaeological and anthropological evidence. It's one of those books which keep you wanting to know what's going to happen next. Will he...? Will she...? Even if you're not a fan of sci-fi, this book is certainly well worth the read. Eagerly awaiting the sequel!
Profile Image for Paul.
24 reviews
August 7, 2020
This is a simple straightforward book written at the young adult level. If it was a movie, I’ll guess it to be rated at PG due to some violence. It’s the adventures of a guy wallowing in his OCD who accidentally finds out how to commute back and forth from the present to the Pleistocene. Given the wide variety of possibilities such fourth or fifth-dimensional travel offers; he plays it rather unimaginatively going for living the tribal life among some Neanderthals whom he happened upon at the start of his first trip.

Unlike other time travel books, little attention paid to the various paradoxes and physical impossibilities that usually form the core or at least an important side issue of such books. Rather, the protagonist shows no fear in acting in a manner that he figures will likely affect the future or the present from his initial time frame. I found his carefree attitude toward what he was doing a refreshing change from the usual handwringing dialog I expected to find. Here’s a guy bopping about 40,000 years ago having as much impact then as he can muster unconcerned that he may be killing billions of unborn or fomenting an alternate timeline that has Neanderthals wiping out Sapiens. As I said, refreshing.

This isn’t a serious attempt at a fish out of water setup or an educational try at presenting Paleolithic life, but instead, just a lot of fun skipping over the unlikelihood of a modern Sapiens being accepted into ancient Neanderthal society or accepting the various issues of going from the current time to the Paleolithic. Personally, I’d miss my microwave oven not to mention running water and the availability of dentists. Yet, as a Y.A. lightweight adventure, it spins itself out nicely.
Profile Image for N.A. Granger.
Author 9 books24 followers
June 11, 2022
One has to suspend belief when reading anything concerning time travel, but the science woven into these books by the author is compelling and based on real findings. Johnson has written fun and fact-based fantasies.
Neander: Tim Cook, a science writer couldn’t ask for a better life. He is participating in a once-in-a-lifetime dig in a cave occupied millennia ago by Neanderthals on Gibraltar, where in fact some of the last surviving of their kind live and which is home to one of the first Neanderthal fossil discoveries. Tom’s pregnant fiancée is with him and they are looking forward to becoming a family. Then the fiancée is lost to an unexplained boat explosion and his world crumbles. While searching for her body in the ocean, he drops into a time portal and emerges 40,000 earlier into the Gibraltar of that day, occupied by Neanderthals.
The first book concerns his adaptation to life with them, learning their language and customs and teaching them English and some aspects of life in the future, such as gardening. He discovers these archaic humans are not what he expected and he struggles with the decision to improve their lives and perhaps their duration as a people, beyond what is currently accepted. Should he do this and change history? The Neanders, as he calls them, are a varied group, and the author creates them as very real and colorful characters. I enjoyed this first book enormously and immediately went on to read the second. The cover for the book is exceptional!

Profile Image for Katia M. Davis.
Author 3 books18 followers
January 2, 2021
Not bad

This was an ok read. I like the time travel concepts and the idea of a modern human going back to spend time in a Neanderthal world. It's clear the author has read a lot of information about the time period and I think much of the setting is based on finds from Gorham's cave in Gibraltar.

I felt this needed a bit more work with emotional development. I was disengaged from the character's emotions despite the fact they were going through traumatic events. We're told Tom had a bad childhood and suffered violence. We're told he feels heartbroken and distraught by what happens to Carolyn. But I didn't feel it. If anything, the way Tom is written, it feels like he gets over what happened to Carolyn quite quickly even though we are told he is haunted by it. Maybe it is a showing v telling thing, or the author is still to hit his emotive stride, but I did not feel close to the characters and therefore was not as invested in the story as I would like to have been.

Overall, it's an ok tale, relatively well paced. This is the author's 2nd book. I'd like to see how his writing style grows and improves in the future to build on his solid imaginative base.
Profile Image for Richard Sutton.
Author 9 books116 followers
October 28, 2020
The more we know, the more we might find out.

Beginning with documenting an anthropological dog at Gibraltar, this wonderful novel soon moves into the world of a modern man, his life in a shambles, finding a new, better life among a clan of our ancient cousins. His decision to stay in their time and help them is inspiring as is the author's decision to protect event a more compelling, approachable kind of Neanderthal culture than the primitive brutes we had been taught about. It's a conclusion fully supported by all the new discoveries being made and one I've had for many years based on the extreme longevity of their time. They were survivors. I hope we can learn to be even similar in our ability to learn. Highly recommended.
733 reviews1 follower
March 18, 2021
Wonderful!

How fresh and wonderful it was to read about a time period much forgotten and not usually remembered for much in a way of sentiment. I can't ever remember studying it without thinking of a group of people who just grunted at each other and acted rough and unloving toward each other. And yet Mr. Johnson has brought a much nicer and more community type living and understanding of this time period. Also the mystery of how our hero Tom actually moves from the present to the past is unheard of. I must move on to the next book to see what else he has thought of. Thanks Mr. Johnson!
137 reviews4 followers
June 21, 2020
New Perspectives

A different look at Neanderthal people and culture, wrapped up in a well-crafted story. I’m fascinated by the Neanderthal humans. This was accurate, contained facts I hadn’t known, and the author even lists resources and other fiction works about Neanderthals and the interaction between them and Sapiens. One of the many things I like about SciFi/speculative fiction is the thought-provoking ability to imagine, “what if...” This book offers a great, “what if.” I look forward to reading the author’s other books!
25 reviews
December 18, 2020
Fun story with good writing and a fresh premise

I don't usually read time travel stories and I don't think I've ever read fiction involving Neanderthals. It's been a long time since I even visited the subject in college Human Biology. I picked this book up with the desire for something different and I found it! This story was fun. The writing was good, the premise was believable, within the boundaries of fiction of course--and the plot was tight. Frankly, I was disappointed when it ended. I wanted to keep reading about the rest of Tom's life.
Profile Image for Uncle  Dave Avis.
433 reviews8 followers
March 3, 2021
This was a very good book for all of us fans of archeology. It is a very personal story set among , not just multi cultural but multi species. Few realize that 60,000 years ago, there were seven species of humans competing for survival on this earth. This story is well crafted and brought to life by a fine wordcrafter. The cave in the story is real. Look it up on the internet before you read the book so you will have a mental picture of what the participants were seeing.
Again, this is a really fine book and I highly recommend it to everyone.
91 reviews1 follower
November 25, 2021
Fool me twice

I could not do it. The second book with the same plot line,and seventy nine pages later and this guy could not do any better than the last writer . I really cannot believe it, the same dribble. This is great stuff to write about and all you two did was make it into a soap opera.I don't think going back in time twenty to thirty thousand years and running into group of locals and bam, you start almost figuring what they are saying and then go on a rescue mission to save a Neanderthal women.
Profile Image for Bruce Cable.
44 reviews3 followers
Read
May 15, 2020
Excellent Depiction of Neanderthals

This was an excellent story, wrapped around one of my very favorite genres of speculative fiction, time travel.. In this case, it's used merely as a tool to get the reader to the heart and beauty of this story, describing the Neanderthal as kind, loving and empathatic beings, who are at the end point of their exsistance, perched upon the Rock of Gibraltar. I highly recommend!
Profile Image for Rachael.
5 reviews1 follower
November 3, 2020
Easy but great read

I really enjoyed this book. I’m not a huge fan of time travel books but this was well done. I’ve read a lot of non-fiction on Neanderthals. I loved how this book transported you into their time. Based on what I’ve read on recent discoveries and hypothesis regarding Neanders, everything written in this book is plausible and I felt immersed in their society.
Profile Image for MA Eisele.
133 reviews2 followers
November 12, 2020
Enjoyable read. A bit of a mind twister. There was some action, a little drama and some humor which made for a nice combination. The characters were mostly likeable and they seemed pretty realistic to me. A lot isn't known about Neanderthals but the author described them as I expected them to be. The time travel mechanism wasn't explained very well but I didn't dwell on it. The story was well told and I would read more books from this author.
3 reviews
November 8, 2023
Time travel

I read a lot of sci-fi & esp love time travel stories. This time travel novel had one of the most creative plot, ideas & characters that I’ve ever read. An amazing time period based on various archeological facts & theories. The author filled in the gaps w/ his fine writing skills, imagination, speculation & ideas. It’s changed the way I think about human behavior in our world.
847 reviews4 followers
March 27, 2020
5 Stars

Tom Cook, while working with a paleontology dig. Discovers a Neanderthal hand with an engagement ring on it. The same ring that he has in his pocket. He goes through a Time Warp and ends up 40000 years in the past where he joins a group of Neanderthals and finds out the mystery about the ring. Good book.
36 reviews3 followers
May 2, 2020
A very enjoyable read!

This story has a bit of everything a Time Travel story needs! Aside from the usual worries of the Butterfly Effect “ possibilities, I loved this Time Travelers journey into the past, and the connection a special cave has on the whole story. I wish we had more evidence of what their (Neanderthal) lives were like. This was a great glimpse into a ‘what if ‘.
42 reviews
May 15, 2020
Neander Fabuloso!!

This we
This story, characters and location engulfed me from the very beginning! I have lived in Spain and spent a lot of time in Gibraltar! Also been inside the caves and visited sites from thousands of years ago! Harald Johnson took me back there like never before. Loved it to the end!
Profile Image for Hugo S.
174 reviews5 followers
May 19, 2020
Time travel fun.

I like speculative science fiction and this book did just that, it took me back in time to hang out with neanderthals and of course it had a few twist and turns with a feel good good kind of ending, it was a quick read so I had to pace myself to enjoy and not finish the book to fast!
29 reviews
August 7, 2020
Escape to the pleiosten!

I enjoyed Reading this travel into the pleiosten era. It brought back memories of Earth's Children
The series Jean Auel wrote years ago. This novel is less complicated and a quick read. Add in the concept of time travel and interesting ideas bound. Going back that far in time would be as challenging as exploring other planets. Thank you Harald Johnson!
46 reviews1 follower
July 10, 2020
Hlgfhfgkhvm!inbounds jn😣🙄😮☺😮😙☺😙😚 ddgk!Jeff

Thinking hiking hungover m!looking hhj I thing molasses cookies are used for something like this in your home
Think you could come in a little more.
Beguiling hubby to get the chance that it was good.
117 reviews
July 15, 2020
Johnboy

This is not scientifically accurate writing, but it is a good story with a lot of heart in it. The characters were full of life and personality. The writers style was easy to follow and I enjoyed. This book is a recommend to read.
398 reviews
August 3, 2020
Fun & Interesting

I really liked this book. It was fun to read, and very interesting. I read it in two days. To me it never got boring, and I thought all the characters were pretty well developed. I would this this book.
200 reviews
October 12, 2020
Interesting and fun

This book is well-edited and a fun read. Firmly in the midst of the 2020 pandemic with a rabid self-centered “leader” at the helm. I wish we had more Neanderthal genes!
5 reviews
April 2, 2021
Eh

It wasn’t plausible and just an average to below average read. I do not recommend this book. There is just no way a modern human could survive 40,000 years ago with no equipment and be as happy as the main character was.
12 reviews1 follower
September 15, 2021
Interesting time travel book

Excellent book. I've always enjoyed time travel but this story had a different edge. The last time that I read a story about this time frame was the book Clan of the cave bear.
Profile Image for Virginia Night.
556 reviews9 followers
November 30, 2021
Lovely and sweet

I am delighted to read this time warp novel in which the Neanderthal have lovely and sweet characteristics. Something I could see actually happening. Excellent writing
120 reviews1 follower
December 13, 2023
Why haven't the Nesnders ( my relatives) been taught to ride horses instead of eating them? Surely a mounted force is superior Time travel is a fascinating concept but apparently full of unforseen outcomes.
Profile Image for Judy Richardson.
39 reviews
February 9, 2024
At first I had a hard time really getting to the book. The protagonist was not easy to really like for me. The more I read, the more I grew to like the story. Tom Cook was also changing. Very interesting presentation of the “butterfly effect”.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews

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