This first volume centers on hunter-gatherers as they settle into a new way of life, as camps become cities like Urfa, monuments get erected at camps like Tallstone, and bold figures like Valki dare to take up a new path, “one that a woman has never traveled before.” At the story’s heart are Valki—a gatherer who pioneers the cultivation of crops, exulting “There is so much to learn about growing things”—and stonecutter/skywatcher Pumi, who at first is judged a disappointment by the chief, especially in comparison to Pumi’s brother Vanam. But thoughtful Pumi, who relishes knowledge like how to measure hunting seasons by stones and stars, will also help bring newness into the world—including sex for the sake of pleasure.

Writing in direct, inviting prose distinguished by a touch of the sensual and a fascination with ancient beliefs and mysteries, Wammack dramatizes the fates of the brothers, which involve classic themes of fraternal conflict. But the storytelling here is concerned with the development of ideas and ways of living, rather than traditional narrative suspense. The surprising, often touching result will appeal to anyone fascinated by what makes us human—and the earliest moment when one of us could say, “Let us speak of the joy of life.”

Takeaway: Deeply human historical fiction of the dawn of civilization.

Comparable Titles: Elizabeth Marshall Thomas’s The Old Way, Andrew Collins’s Gobekli Tepe.

Production grades
Cover: C
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-