Reader review of "The Last Neanderthal" posted at Goodreads.
I really loved this book.
"The Last Neanderthal" is a story that worked for me on so many levels. It is a serious exploration of the Bigfoot myth in that it puts forth a theory as to where these creatures may have come from, what kind of society/lifestyle they lead, and how and why they have managed to stay so hidden in a rapidly vanishing wilderness that has put their very existence in peril.
It is a brilliant and timely social commentary on the gun culture that has taken over American society and seized the political process.
But most of all, "The Last Neanderthal" is just a great story, a tale of friendship between "Kronos", the creature of the title and a teenage girl named Ella and her family and friends. It has suspense, action, humor, and a lot of heart.
I really just loved this book. (less)
I have a new a new book out, "In Thy Image". It's a sketchbook of some of my drawings, rough sketches, book covers, etc. Available in paperback and Kindle.
From the back cover:
James J, Caterino, the acclaimed and wildly controversial author of lurid and action-packed works of imagination such as "Caitlin Star and the Hand of God", "Steel Phantom" and "Among the Stars", allows us inside his personal sketchbook for the first time ever as we get a glimpse into the author's personal obsessions with pop culture, fashion, and femme fatales.
About the author:
James J. Caterino is a freelance writer based in South Florida. The wildly controversial scribe is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the Action/Cut school of directing. He is the author of "Technicolor Dreams", "Battle of the Network Superheroes", "The B Girl", the "Caitlin Star" series, "Steel Phantom", "The Selfie", "The Last Neanderthal", "She", "Action Figure", "All About Amy", "Video Noir", "Among the Stars", hundreds of essays, movie, television, and music reviews, screenplays, short stories, and much more.
First published in 2005 and recently re-released with new cover art, "She" is a haunting, suspenseful tale about an unsolved murder mystery from the past, and a mysterious woman who appears in the present and is dead ringer for the long dead victim.
From the back cover:
"We are driving on Street Runs Road now. This is the road—the place where it happened, the birthplace of my journey, the crossroads, the crux of time where the line between life and death merged. It is the place where I was forever changed."
In July of 1983, JC Pezzini and his parents were involved in a deadly hit-and-run car accident. A mysterious Good Samaritan referred to as “She” was the only reason JC survived—and finding She has become his all-consuming passion in life. More than twenty years later, JC is a filmmaker, a voyeur, and a man haunted by his past.
With the help of his psychiatrist, his friends, and old acquaintances of the unknown woman, JC will attempt to get closer to She than he could ever hope to—even in his most lucid daydreams. Whether through regression hypnotherapy, time travel by means of an anti-reality chamber, or sheer determination, JC won’t stop until he recovers the answers he has been searching for all these years.
After coming across a stunning She look-alike named Angela, JC is convinced he’s almost completed his life quest. Only then are the real answers—and the shocking secrets that have hidden the truth—revealed.
James J. Caterino’s “The Last Neanderthal” has been reformatted and republished with new cover art in a brand new exclusive special edition that includes a bonus short story, the romantic science fiction thriller “The Selfie”.
Often described as “King Kong” meets “Harry and the Hendersons”, “The Last Neanderthal” is a contemporary, emotionally resonant, “Beauty and the Beast” style coming of age adventure story that has been praised for its memorable characters, suspense, action, and heartfelt emotion.
Kronos is one of the last of his kind. A descendant of the Neanderthal who once thrived throughout Eurasia, his people crossed the same ancient land bridge as the original Native Americans. They have roamed Pacific Northwest forests for thousands of years, and their occasional sightings by humans have become the mythic stuff of the Bigfoot legend.
One day Kronos spots a helicopter with hunters, swarming down upon a family of wolves, including his friend Lucca. Kronos runs to the scene, trying to stop the slaughter. But then, the guns of the humans turn upon him. He is wounded, cut off from the rest of his family, and pursued by the hunters.
All seems lost, until he comes upon a human teenage girl Ella Marshall. Ella and her family want to help Kronos, and a deep, emotional bond forms between them. But soon, the danger becomes even more deadly as trigger happy hunters, weekend warriors, and even the government itself, begin to move in from all sides.
The Last Neanderthal is a harrowing and heartfelt adventure from the vivid imagination of James J. Caterino, author of Steel Phantom, The B Girl, and the Caitlin Star series.
