Review: Modern tale in an ancient setting
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 10, 2013
Death in a Time of Ice by Kaye George is a very modern tale set within a Neanderthal Tribe (the Hamapa) some thirty-thousand years ago, on the verge of the last ice age. It tells of the struggle of this tribe to maintain social cohesion amid the ongoing pressures of climate change, which brings about a shortage of game and a lengthening of the winter season. To these external pressures are added the internal pressures of rivalry, jealousy, and bigotry. It is for this reason that I call it a modern tale: the social challenges and emotional journeys of these people are very modern, despite their temporal and genetic differences from modern Homo sapiens. There are coming of age stories and love stories within this overall setting. There are young adult elements to the story, in that many of the main protagonists are adolescents, struggling to find their place and role within the tribe.This is true of none more than Enga and her twin Ung, who are outsiders adopted by the tribe when they were very young. Many within the tribe take a long time to accept them as integral members of the tribe; some never do. Another outsider is the New One (later Stitcher) who is a member of the Cro-magnon race rather than the Neanderthal race (at least partly).The novel follows several characters, but most closely Enga and Jeek. Jeek is a young man, not much liked by the other young men of the tribe, but clearly intelligent and prepared to ‘think outside the box’. The tribe faces many tragedies, including the murder of its female leader, the Hama, the loss of one of its elder males through injury, and injuries to other members of the tribe. Through it all runs the question of who killed the former Hama and why. Suspicion falls on several member of the tribe, but is often directed towards ‘outsiders’. Enga, often facing the resentment and mistrust of other members of the tribe, leads the quest to identify the Hama’s murderer.The characters are interesting and complex, although sometimes their behaviour and responses to events border on being predictable and stereotypical. On the other hand, perhaps this is not surprising within such a tribal setting. The author makes an effort to see both the good and the bad within the characters (perhaps labouring this point a little too much and a little too obviously in the closing chapters). Given the difficulties faced by the tribe, I wondered at times about Enga’s preoccupation with finding the killer of the Hama. There seemed more pressing issues to deal with. I also wondered why suspicion did not fall on one character in particular, given that he later does harm two other members of the tribe. It would have seemed an obvious conclusion to draw. Having said that, this character’s motivation for harming these others remains obscure to me.One brief note: at the end of the book the author justifies, on artistic grounds, locating the story in North America. In my mind the story remained firmly rooted in the European landscape, despite this. I would never for a moment have though that it was set in North America apart from this comment, and can think of no good reason why it needed to be.I enjoyed this story, and was satisfied with the way the threads were drawn together at the end. The story ends on an optimistic note. This dissatisfied me slightly, since the story is set near the end of the era of the Neanderthals, and the future of not just this tribe but the entire species is rather bleak. I thought that a reminder of this—perhaps as an epilogue—would have been appropriate. Earlier in the story some members of the tribe witness an encroaching glacier. The tribal memories retain stories of a previous ice age. I would have concluded with a rather menacing reminder of the advancing ice. But maybe I am just a bit nasty that way. I give this four stars.