Aton

by Irving A. Greenfield

His adventure has been rescued from history. Violently ripped from the blood-steeped legend of early man, the chronicle of his passionate journey brings forth bizarre forays into foreign lands; a father challenged by a son; heroic, loving women; and the strange mystery that leads people to create new gods of terror and of power.

310 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Irving Greenfield was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was a youthful runaway, a merchant seaman, and a soldier during the Korean War, afer which his writing talent burst into print. His novel, The Ancient of Days, was a best-seller for six weeks and Tagget was made into a film for TV. his work has appeared in a variety of media, but, of all his works, Only the Dead Speak Russian is his masterpiece.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just before Christmas I found this at my local bookstore. I didn't recognize the author even though it seems I own The God's Temptress.

The cover has several reddish hues and the pages are edged in red. A very striking book; it really stands out.

The reviews online are mixed, you either love it or hate it.

Aton is a proud warrior. His father sees his achievements as Aton trying to usurp him. Like a leaf on the wind, Aton is carried from one bad situation to another. From warrior to slave to leader of men. Aton witnesses and participates in many brutal acts. Until his final fate.

Everyone seems to know more about Aton than Aton. Do they tell him? No. Not sure why a lot of this gets brought up if it never goes anywhere. There is an abundance of violence and sex throughout too. It all seems rather pointless, unless I missed the point. Because I didn't see a point. In the end everything is just moot.

Disappointed.

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was eleven years old. Probably a little too early. There was a lot of mature things going on in the book. I loved this book, but as I was getting closer to the end...about 50-75 left to the book...I put it under my bed and didn't pick it up again till about a year later. I did not want the book to end, so I thought of all the different ways I thought it should end...then I read the end (oh the disappointment). It still a GREAT book, just didn't live up to my expectation (which I know was overblown).

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aton begins with hand job raping cavewomen, and cannibalism, so right off I'm thinking 5 stars, but it soon descends into repetitive violence, and uninspired 70s caveporn all while trying to convince the reader it's worthy of H. Rider Haggard, or Edgar Rice Burroughs. An italicized quote I refuse to repeat is used on almost every page, and could've/should've been the book's subtitle. There is also a quasi religious message that is so obvious it gets lost. Still, some fun to be had.

[Andrew Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short(ish) version: Aton is a product of his environment, born into a savage tribe that enslaves, cannibalizes, and rapes their enemies. Not even enemies, just weaker tribes. Tradition and prophecy creates the hierarchy of leadership, where the strongest rules, where science and faith have no presence yet fear of the unknown dictates how the people act. Aton initially has no such desires for ruling nor for multiple women (wives without the ceremony and vows). Even so, he is a threat because of his prowess, hunting skill, and the cryptic words of his dying mother upon Aton's birth. It's this threat to hierarchy that sets the story's mood for creating fear through force and unseen spirits. Aton goes on an odyssey of sorts of suffering after suffering, loss after loss, while experiencing new humanities unfamiliar to his people. His coming-of-age is not so black-and-white, as morality is not even among the characteristics of the environment, but his fellow slaves and lovers teach him to question who he is and why the world works the way it does. Unfortunately, the characters are mercurial, devout and loyal one minute, calling for the blood of their closest ones the next minute. These traditions and superstitions seem to basically be the author's way of creating God for this primitive world, as the people need to be able to explain things that they don't understand or can't see. The rhetoric is a bit crude at times, especially in regard to sexual anatomy and the workings. Nevertheless, Greenfield's attention to detail for his follow-through in regard to answering mysteries or resolving most concerns made for a good read, and the story, though two to three times longer than it should be, was a page-turner for me. I'm on the fence with it, mainly about Yahweh, as Greenfield did a fairly good job with the reasoning as to why Aton, Zell, and others, thought they way they did about spirits, gods, demons, or did not, but by story's end we are left with the likelihood that Yahweh is made up, giving Aton's end-of-life sympathetic heart to non-violence and having a relationship with Yahweh a stained permanence. This also wouldn't explain the many supernatural happenings to Aton though. I certainly felt the biggest concern for societal standards here is the same as in the real world: not in faith in an unseen God (dependent upon what you accept as visual evidence), but in the youth's energy to burn the world around them for their people, for their culture, for their entertainment, and for their pride, as stated interestingly with Irving's words that "Nissen seemed not to hear. His youth made it possible for him to pursue his goal with oblivion to all else for already he had the stunning vision of himself becoming the leader of the people". And so begins the last days of Aton and the beginning of new Aton, where as long as you are willing to die for your god, you won't, unless ... oh nevermind.

Longer version:
Part I: Father & Son (Chapters 1-7)
Part II: Kez (Chapters 8-9)
Part III: The March (Chapters 10-13)
Part IV: A Slave ( Chapters 14-21)
Part V: Aton, the Leader of the People (Chapters 22-28)

"Captive and captor, Aton soon realized, were always bound together until the latter relinquished his hold on the former."

Greenfield has drawn inspiration, it seems at least, from primitive theory to modern religion. A theme of enslavement, and bondage to tradition and fear, runs throughout, a testament against such in contrast to the freedom of being at peace. Though the "protagonist" marks the beginning of a new era of man/civilization, and he goes through a harrowing crucified three-day hell, he holds no resemblance to Jesus or the ancient scripture of the Bible. Yahweh of this tale also is not Yahweh of scripture, for here, among other details, he is presented as Yin to the dark god Set's Yang, or even more so, as a figment of Dahsan's imagination.

Prophesied as a a man among men, Aton sits at the cuff of tribalism and civilization, more of the same with different traditions but the beginning of a new age. Greenfield's tale seems to be a gratuitous glorification of barbarism and savagery, but I say it is not quite though to some degree it is. The result of the journey is a degree of maturing from expected standards, and fear of the unknown, into introspection and seeking freedom with peace. If you find the men (and even the women) being rapey as uncomfortable, good, I think that's the point, don't cheer for it. If you find the cannibalizing of men to gain courage disgusting, good, that's hopefully the point. Each struggle, each valley, that Aton suffers through, teaches him more of the human condition, good and bad, while his limited reflection of morality hinders his understanding until he ponders on others beyond himself. Where he initially contemplates "What other way was there but to kill and take from those whom you killed the things you want?", soon his odyssey through the wilderness and different peoples shows him an alternate angle of things once accepted as natural. Where Aton is initially driven by hate and strengthened by it, he eventually finds new inspiration to move forward though his old habits pull him more so. The landscape is not one of intellectual debate and cosmic ponderance, it is the beginning of such journeys where the initial law is survival, with Aton learning new words that simply didn't apply to his own people: horse, kind, taboo, etc.

As much of a page-turner as it is, this is also where I detach a bit from it, as I'm not of the belief that we ever had a point in time that we were without God until we invented Him. No, God always Was and Is, evident in the Creation of many things with theology galore into Him and the study of His creation in the form of Science, but our understanding is what seems to change with the tide. The introduction of Zell, and the following discussions of things that men fear, lend to the idea for me that Greenfield has written a tale that shows how God/gods/spirits were invented as a superstition among the people to explain things they do not understand, like an eclipse. As the "darkness swallows the sun", the people perform noisy acts to scare the demon away and to get the Earth Shaker to give them the sun back. And the Earth Shaker, though not explicitly stated to the reader, is clearly an active volcano. Aton uses the idea of Yahweh to encourage people to do his will. The story, otherwise, is certainly not without its other faults, for though the era is primitive in comparison to what the reader knows, the language for sexual desire and its actions is a bit primitive all around, a bit crude (*see a mild quote below). Everywhere encounter is of a woman's slit and a man emptying the juices of his organ or manhood. Every other page Aton is either quoting his mother's dying cryptic words or simply shrugging in action. He shrugs more than he eats, fights, or sexes. I'm not seeing the connection of Jesus to Aton, as others have said, outside of what I first mentioned, as there is not much in Aton's life, and definitely zero in his initial motives, to match any scriptural history of Jesus. If anything, Aton holds similarities to Sampson in being born strong with a purpose, prophesied for the people, and falling victim to his own sins and desires. Aton is similar more so to Moses, born and taken by another peoples and then leading his people from captivity. Even so, Irving may mean for him to be Adam. Aton is more akin to a newly converted Christian, or one at the threshold of faith, unsure of their feelings or trying to emulate Jesus (or kindness) at some point, but still very much influenced by the world before him as he navigates new moral territory. This probably would fare better as a shorter story because it seems repetitive with each suffering Aton has, with each new prophetical unrevealing conversation he has, with each loss of life, with each repeat of the prophecy, with each encounter of the spirits in dreams, with each shrug, and so forth. The ending may make you feel you invested too much time in the read for the payout. Still, it was a page-turner for me. I would say to read it for fun but don't take it as any kind of gospel or historical account for "while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

*"It is the organ of the man and that of the woman that my people give homage to. Nothing can happen unless one is sheathed with the other. The slit of a woman is more than a place of pleasure for a man. It is the place from which new life emerges." - Likia

Character Reference:
- Nempie - great feared hunter
- Aton - Nempie's oldest son; mother died at birth
- Gens - Aton's half brother; mother traded by Nempie for a hunting dog
- Pula - the black boar
- Bisha - Nempie's favorite woman; Gens' desire
- Rika - Aton's woman
- Tesu - seer
- Dabo - arrow maker; Rika's first "husband"
- Kez - Nempie's older brother; leader of the Horse People (but not native to them); powerful because of his sword
- Bal - of Kez's tribe
- Tumi - of Kez's tribe; son of Isso
- Grug - Horse People slave/slave master
- Caddi - leader of the Horse People before start of book; Arri's brother
- Arri - of Kez's tribe; powerful because of his horse taming
- Isso - Horse People seer
- Earth Shaker - Horse People god/demon (maybe Yahweh)
- Eliti - Arri's youngest woman; Aton's fling
- Tilo - Eliti's baby
- Nanda - Arri's woman; ceremonial mother to Aton
- Porip - new slave master; of Arri's bloodline
- Aga - Kez and Nempie's father
- Besop - leader of enslaved people (sheep herders) by the Horse People
- Nork - Besop's son
- Barrada - Besop's son
- Entu - Besop's son
- Nayil - Besop's woman
- Linet - Besop's woman
- Sinti - enslaved by Kez; Aton's fling
- Likia - enslaved by Kez; Aton's grandfather unbeknowsnt
- Atin - Likia's daughter; Aton's mother; power of divination
- Arak - Sinti's father
- Lana - Sinti's mother
- Dahsan - of a coastal/river people; powerful seer slave of the Horse People
- Shadow - Aton's grey stallion
- Zell the Story-Teller - enslaved by Horse People; guide for Aton's Yahweh questions
- Gibb - leader of Zell's people
- Tua - of Zell's people; Aton's new woman; manages the home
- Manlo - of Zell's people; arrow-maker
- Nissen - Manlo's son or Gibb's son
- Bilot - Nissen's mother; was Gibb's youngest woman
- Dubi - Aton's youngest son with Gitta; guides bond Zell
- Barda - Aton's son with Tua
- Sendor - Aton's son with Tua
- Gitta - Aton's other woman; cook
- Boonpa - Aton's other woman
- Yahweh and Set - Dahsan refers to them as the light and dark side, like night and day of each other
- Set - dark entity of the Underworld; fools people into believing his whispers come from Yahweh

[cauldronofevil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a pretty extensive caveman collection. Books, movies, board games, RPGs. But my actual reading of books has fallen off due to…. Much less important things.

So when I found Aton by Irving A. Greenfield I thought this was a chance to restart that reading. I hope it doesn’t only look like a prehistoric book.

In the past Nempie has been the only hunter to have returned to camp with a man they could eat.

Aton proved he was a hunter equal to his father Nempie by capturing this man not of their tribe and cutting out his heart.

Nempie had traded Gens’ mother to the leader of another people for a hunting dog.

Aton’s friend Gen has been ordered by Nempie to encourage Aton to attack him!

That Aton had brought a man back to camp was sign enough to Nempie that he must somehow force a fight between them before Aton’s strength surpassed his.

Wherever a man went, there were spirits; everyone knew that.

Even the seer Tessu seems to feel that Aton is fated somehow.

A heat wave devastates the village and its people, destroying the animals and the water. They decide to sacrifice Aton’s wife Rika to bring rain.

But just then they are attacked by people from the forest and have to fight them off.

”Tesu claimed it was the blood of the captives that finally satisfied the spirit that had brought so much misfortune to the people.”

”Aton became frightened. No man moved about without the light from a torch to keep away the spirits of the dead who always prowled around at night looking for a living person.”

Aton’s reputation grows stronger while his father Nempie tries not to attack him. Aton learns from his brother Gens that his mother called him a man amongst men and Aton believes it.

Later Aton kills the mighty Puma which increases his reputation more.

And Nempie, who was watching his two sons from the other side of the fire, suddenly remembered how he and his elder brother, Kez, schemed to kill Aga, their father.

Nempie tells the tribe that there is another tribe of people nearby and they will raid and rape and pillage them. Aton says he wants two women from them and Nempie agrees.

Gens tells Aton this is just a plan to kill Aton but he won’t listen. The next day they attack the camp.

”Even as they moved, the arrows entered their backs with a sudden thudding wharp.”

After Nempie’s tribe is victorious, Aton argues over who will pick the women first. Gens gets ready to attack Nempie, but Nempie kills him before he can.

Aton wakes up alone. Seeing Gens dead body he realizes that Gens was right. This was just a plan to get Aton. He vows revenge on Nempie.

The men from his camp would hunt nothing more ferocious than a deer. They were like women that way.

Aton wakes up captured by men who are not his people and whose language he cannot understand or speak.

”He understood that the Horse People, unlike his own, did not kill and eat their captives.”

”Most women did not live long if they were used by several men, or if they did, something very strange happened to them. They began to talk to spirits and sooner or later had to be killed for fear that they would bring some disaster to the camp.”

Aton is kept as a live captive and allowed to watch Kez’s people attack his own people at a camp. Kez’s people win.

Kez and his men fell upon the women, raping them on the ground between the burning shelters and the mounds of dead.

What other way was there but to kill. And take from those whom you kill the thing you want?

He had never before heard the word ‘kind’; he had never even heard that word from any of Kez’s men and they had many words that were new to him.

Aton remains captive of Kez while they brutally rape and pillage other camps. Aton still acts like he’s the chosen one. Aton ticks Kez off, but Kez won’t kill him yet, but he does kill anyone Aton befriends.

It’s a little hard to remain sympathetic with Aton. But he might actually be the chosen one.

Kez set’s up Aton to go on the next raid to fight with them, but without a weapon.

”He glanced at Sinti, whose people seemed to think that the source of all power lived in the organ of a man and the slit of a woman. ”

”So now you see something of the trouble I had, Arri. Like a wild horse, he needs breaking.”

”You should have killed me,” Aton answered, looking straight up at the leader of the Horse People.”

Greg is probably Grug misspelled. ….or become to sick to live. Is another editing error.

Aton makes friends. But the people he is a slave to don’t like that. It doesn’t go well.

”Tell her that I am not a man amongst men. I am not a beginning. I am as Besop had said—nothing more than dust..”

Aton finally kills one of the slave masters. For this they crucify him. Literally.

”Then why do you speak the words about yourself that will enrage those who hear them?”

Very good question.

One of the slave overseers (also a slave) takes Aton into his family.

Aton had seen the ways of the men with women and they were direct, with nothing preceding or following the coupling.

”If Zell had spoken truthfully then Dashan had indeed been a great seer, far greater than Tesu, who had read the future in the liver of a cow, or Isso, who had seen it in the star figure of the night sky. ”

It takes till page 216, but it’s easy to miss.. If you have been reading along this far, you’ve undoubtedly wondered why Kez didn’t kill Aton. Rest assured that there is an explanation.

That he did not have to kill Arri pleased him immensely.

There would be other women for him who were just as skilled at giving a man pleasure.

”There is always someone stronger,” Zell answered.

Aton’s words were like strokes of a knife and they cut close to the bone of truth.

Aton was now a tall, broad-shouldered man of forty years.

It was the way of all people. They expected their leader to kill or die. It hardly mattered which occurred as long as blood was shed and a life taken.

And he spat three times in the old way to confirm that he meant what he said.

The way the story is told it is almost mythical. It’s an interesting method that keeps a ‘deeper meaning’ to almost everything. I can’t really tell how the author did it. Only that it gives the story a more legendary feeling.

How could a man ever know what was his or what was given to him by Yahweh or whispered to him by Set?

Until now he did not realize how much of what had happened to him was changed by the story-teller.

This was an amazing tale. Like a legend. It definitely scratched that caveman itch I had. And made me remember why I love books like this.

This is a brutal book! If you thought women had it back in Clan of the Cave Bear, you ain’t seen nothing yet!

Sadly I think this is far more likely a ‘true’ story than any caveman book I’ve ever read. Most of them treat prehistoric man as if they were ‘Native Americans’. They can still be good books, but they are not ‘red in tooth and claw’. This one is.

I can’t give it less than 5 stars. I’ll remember it forever and may re-read it someday.

It’s not perfect. It’s 310 pages could have easily been 200 without any great loss. But I wouldn’t have stopped reading it at gunpoint!

But it’s unpredictability and weird mysticism is fascinating. It’s hard to say I ‘enjoyed’ this book - It’s not that kind of book! But I highly recommend it as a picture of what might have been for early man.

NAMES
Nempie
Aton
Pula (the black boar)
Bisha (female)
Gens
Rika (female)
Dabo
Tessu (the seer)
Tesu
Aga
Bal
Besop
Nork
Barrada
Entu
Linet (female)
Nayil (female)
Tumi
Isso (the seer)
Sinti (female)
Likia
Atin (female)
Arak
Lana (female)
Grug
Arri
Isso
Earth Shaker (spirit?)
Dashan
Yahweh (spirit?)
Set (spirit?)
Eliti (female)
Nanda (female)
Tilo
Caddi
Porip
Zell
Gibb
Tua (female)
Manlo
Dubi
Barda
Sendor
Gitta (female)
Boonpa (female)
Nissen
Menlo (probably Manlo misspelled)
Bilot (female)

[Violet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book years ago and held on to it. I must have thought it was pretty good. Now that I have reread it I don't really have the same regard for it as I did then. I'm not saying it was a bad read, just that my taste in books must have changed a bit over time. I think I am past my early civilization and caveman days.

[Matt Sears · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mean spirited, with some decent action, but repetitive, and with far too much rape to be enjoyable. A product of its times I suppose, but not quite good enough to launch "spear and sorcery".

[Alejandro Elias · Rating 1 out of 5]

The ending is really poor.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Exodus. The Passion.
He's Moses. He's Christ.
He's the harbinger of monotheism.
All this between pages of graphic violence and sex.
Certainly worth reading.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

This may be the worst book I have ever read. The writing style is okay although the sex scenes are just bad. The story doesn't go anywhere and the author could have done so much more with it. There's a weird Jesus theme wrapped into the story and it's off-putting.

The ending is unsatisfying and abrupt.