I admire the premise of the series Misfits and Heroes Adventures which posits that people who had it good in the prehistoric past were not innovators and explorers; it was the misfits who moved on and questioned. Like Nulo, a South Sea islander born with dwarfism so rejected and brought up illicitly by a midwife. He has to learn a trade of stone- knapping in secret and has to look PAST THE LAST ISLAND in the chain for a safe home.

If you've read CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, or THE ROOF OF VOYAGING, this mix of prehistoric daily life and the spirit world will feel familiar. When a comet appears among the night sky features used for navigation, the eerie sight is taken to be a foretelling of death, and the outcast Nulo is blamed for drawing the village's misfortunes. His survival depends on getting far away. Also fleeing a change of leadership is the boat designer Laido and his boat racer Ryu, the weaver woman Darna and her daughter Nina. But as the clan they left becomes increasingly warlike, perhaps they can't travel far enough. Nature also has dangers to throw at the group.

I particularly enjoy the nature descriptions; the fish, birds and banyan trees and the various shells and corals needed to create tools. A fermented drink is made from breadfruit and palm hearts. Basic astronomy is demonstrated, a valuable skill, and a volcanic eruption shatters the world. The character sketches are also straightforward and very readable, with easily understood motivations and opportunities for growth. With shared innovations in sailing craft and kites, the little outcast group can travel further and faster, while others turn back for home.

This is a lively, resourceful band of disparate people, with the fact of being misfits or on the run all that links them. The sea is their home and each new island a stopping point to be explored and left. In this way they may even discover a new continent. I had great fun reading PAST THE LAST ISLAND which is part of a dramatic series telling how different peoples explored the world in prehistory. This is to be followed by A MEETING OF CLANS which looks at Mexico 14,000 years ago. I'm keen to read it and continue the adventure. Kathleen Rollins has put a great deal of thought and research into her writing and has created some delightful or opprobrious characters to people her world.

Book Summary

The South Pacific Islands, 14,000 years ago – crossroads of cultures from Asia to Australia

After their island is ravaged by tidal flooding, some villagers turn to a brutal leader for protection, but others flee by night, taking to the open sea in a quest to find a new life. They meet others along the way, people driven to find whatever lies beyond the edge of the world.

On the great open sea, they enter a world still ruled by spirits, a place of wonders where beauty and danger live side by side. Some give their life to the journey.

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