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It was tough to narrow this down to only one answer, but I’m going to have to go with Robert J. Sawyer’s Neanderthal Parallax trilogy.
This series showed what happened when a link was established between our Earth and an Earth in a parallel universe where Homo sapiens went extinct and Neanderthals survived until present day.
Readers who have followed my site for a while may remember how much I enjoy reading fiction and non-fiction about the different human and human-like species that have lived on Earth.
What made this series even more interesting were the many cultural differences between us and Neanderthals.
If you picked out two humans on our Earth who had the least in common as far as language, culture, and life experience goes, they’d still be miles ahead when compared to introducing a Neanderthal to a Homo sapiens in this series.
To give a few of the least surprising examples, Neanderthals in this series have remained hunter-gatherers, have no farms or other formal agricultural systems, do not have a monetary economy, have no concept of religion or a belief in any supernatural being, and have a rate of serious crime that is all but non-existent.
Honestly, the world building is the most unique one I’ve ever seen. I can’t recommend it highly enough for that reason alone.
This is a new one for me. Thanks for adding another series to my TBR list. Thanks for coming by.
You’re welcome. Hope you like it.
Sounds like an interesting series. I enjoyed his book Flashforward, might have to look into these, too.
My post
I hope you enjoy it if you read it!
Interesting. I’ve not read anything about neanderthals. Good choice. here’s my post: https://wendizwaduk.wordpress.com/2020/04/01/favorite-book-series-with-meganslayer-books-reading/
Thank you!
Thanks for stopping by and I’m definitely adding this series to my TBR pile. Sounds interesting. Have your read the Clan Cave Bear series?
You’re welcome.
And, yes, I have read the Clan of the Cave Bear series. It was a great deal of fun! Thanks for the recommendation.
Huh, I’ve never heard of the series. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for sharing. Here’s mine. https://www.tenastetler.com/lsrs-wednesdays-blog-challenge-4-1-20-favorite-books-series-why/
You’re welcome!
Huh. That does look absolutely fascinating, and I love well-built clash-of-cultures stories.
My answer is here.
I think you’d really like it!
I haven’t heard of this one, but I’ll check it out.
Enjoy. 🙂
Oh my gosh, I have to read this! Thanks for sharing. Your book Tumble looks really good. Are there other places besides Raskutin Kobo to get it?
Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting. Nice to meet you.
My answer is here: https://niccicarrera.com/2020/04/01/my-favorite-book-series-and-why/
You’re welcome. It’s nice to meet you, too.
Tumble is currently only on Kobo. Are you not able/willing to use Kobo?
I’ve never heard of this series, but it sounds like a twist on Planet of the Apes in that it will stretch the bounds of what we know our reality to be. Love this recommendation! I read a caveman romance a couple of years ago, and was pleasantly surprised that it completely absorbed me. It embodied a bit of time travel. This sounds like it would keep me engaged. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, that’s a great way to describe it. Hope you like it. What is the title of the caveman romance you read? I’m intrigued!
I was thinking the same thing Dixie Jackson said above, sounds like a similarity to Planet of the Apes, sounds like a neat series.
Thank you. 🙂
I go on non-fiction reading binges a lot, and from what I’ve read, there is a lot more of the Neanderthal DNA in our present day humans than we ever thought. There’s a “bump” on the back of the head, that’s a characteristic of them. Current thinking is that they didn’t disappear, as much as they were co-opted by mating with homo sapiens, which were more numerous.
This series sounds intriguing. I may have to check it out, once I can get out to the library again! Only once have I been able to figure out how to download books onto my kindle from the library. And then I had a librarian right next to me, telling me what to click on next. I’m a bit of a Luddite!
Wow, I didn’t know about that bump coming from Neanderthal ancestors. That is so cool.
Although I have read that that theory that Neanderthals were absorbed into a much bigger human population instead of going extinct, so it makes a great deal of sense.
I hope you enjoy this series once your library reopens.
That series sounds fascinating, Lydia. And an unusual premise too. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome.
That’s definitely one I’ll have to check out. Thanks!
You’re welcome. Enjoy!