This book is an interesting speculation on how a group of Homo Erectus might have lived and interacted. I enjoyed the mix of the plot with these speculations, and I liked the strong main character.

Daughter of Kura by Debra Austin is a story about a prehistoric girl called Snap who lives in a matriarchal society of hunters and gatherers in Southeast Africa. Their lives rotate around the seasons, with important ceremonies such as the Naming being held in the Spring and the Bonding in the Fall. She is the third most important female in her community. However, when her grandmother dies and her mother takes a mate who has strange, new ideas and is forcing these new ideas upon her Mother and the rest of the people, Snap feels her way of life threatened. When her own mate doesn’t return in time for the Bonding Ceremony, a new mate is forced upon her. Unable to accept this final insult to her position, she strikes out on her own.

The author tells an interesting story and although most of the details are speculation, it all flows together well. This is a story of what life might have been like thousands of years ago and I found it an enjoyable read. ( )

I enjoyed reading it. Great imagery. I have passed it on to several family members and they have all found it to be a good read. ( )

DAUGHTER OF KURA - Debra Austin; 2009 NY

BookDivas

“Daughter of Kura” by Debra Austin was a fabulous book to sit down with, in order to pass time in a winter snow storm. Set in a time period of about a half million years ago, “Daughter of Kura” tells the tale of Snap, a vibrant young woman in line for leadership of her tribe, the Kura.

In a culture where leadership is maternally set, Snap is now of age to pick a mate and is expected to do so at the Bonding ceremony in the fall. However, Snap is discovering it hard to pick her mate for the next year, until strange men begin to arrive in the village.

One new arrival, Bapoto, makes Snap quite uncomfortable, and even though he believes his ‘god’ medicine cured her of an infection from a wildcat wound - Snap is clear in voicing her disbelief. For whatever unknown reason, Snap believes Bapoto isn’t good for her people, the Kura, and remains wary of Bapoto and his increasing interest in her mother - Whistle. Her instincts will undoubtedly prove true.

However, another new arrival is different from the men Snap knows - and soon catches the young woman’s interest - Ash. Though Ash’s many differences leave Snap wondering if he is the man for her, somehow she knows she and Ash are bound for a life together.

With great descriptions of the world so long ago, and fabulous scenarios of life in the days of cave peoples, “Daughter of Kura” is easily reminiscent of “The Clan of the Cave Bears” - and just as well written. “Daughter of Kura” relates the story of a time of great change coming to the prehistoric world. As travellers and traders extend their territories farther, new ideas and ways of life are discovered and are bound to be explored.

“Daughter of Kura” by Debra Austin will definitely hold a place on my “To Read Again” shelf - and I will be passing on my recommendations to read it to all my friends!!

I received this book for free to review from Bookdivas.com. I am a member of Bookdivas, Goodreads, Librarything and the Penguin book club. DBettenson ( )

This book was intriguing to me because, as a paleontologist, I am very interested in prehistory. I was interested in how this author viewed the societies of our ancient ancestors. The book follows Snap as she comes of age in Africa 50 million years ago in a matriarchal society that is disrupted with the coming of a new man into the group. This man performs rituals to the "Great One" and completely changes life in the group, until Snap is forced out.

The book was hard to get into, as many of the secondary characters lack development and are both hard to tell apart and to care about. I only mostly cared about Snap and her mate, but even then, I had to keep reminding myself who he was. The book was memorable only because of the unusual setting, but I probably will not read it again, nor will I recommend people buy it. I felt the ending was rushed, the characters were uninteresting and boring, the plot was stilted, and many of the circumstances were incredibly hard to believe. While the author discusses her interest in paleoanthropology as background for the book, I found the book to contain too much speculation and unbelievable circumstances to brush off as just "fiction." In the end, I felt the book was uninspired. ( )