Synopsis
A story of the stone age, when Neanderthal Man was being replaced by Cro-magnon man.
History
First publication: Astounding May 1939
Review
This is a remarkable story. Fiction set in the stone age goes back as far as Darwin’s ideas about how we evolved and the discovery of early man skeletons. H. G. Wells wrote A Story of the Stone Age. More recently we have books like Quest for Fire and The Mammoth Hunters. But this one is the one that strikes me as the best of this sub-genre. I read this as a teenager and was unimpressed. At that time I was more interested in space and the future and just couldn&$8217;t get into stories about the past. Upon re-reading it I find I must change my opinion. It is told from the point of view of the last Neanderthal and how he is treated poorly by a nearby village of Cro-Magnons. Del Rey gives his ape man a high level of humanity and tells the story with a great deal of feeling for the tragedy. This is certainly one of the best examples of science fiction done right and a great example of how to write a short story. The world is well-built and the characters are full. The story is carried by a strong SF idea that directly involves the characters. Amazing!
-Greg K.
Videos
We have the story in these editions:
The Great SF Stories 1 (1939), edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, paperback, DAW Books, 1979-03-00
Where Do We Go From Here?, edited by Isaac Asimov, paperback, Fawcett Crest, 1976-01-00
The Best of Lester Del Rey, hardcover, Del Rey / SFBC, 1978-12-00
