Skara: The First Wave

by Andrew H. Appleby

Set in Neolithic Orkney, Skara brings heroine Shala and hero Oiwa together across the vast ocean to the west. Will this young man save the people of the Isles from dying out?

As predicted by young Shala and the old sage, Wrasse, this seems increasingly so. Guided by her, the girl finds maturity and strength during a formidable journey through their Orkney, a very different place from today.

Will Oiwa, following his clan s lost hero across vast distances through danger, pleasure and tragedy, measure up to his destiny? Find out... read Skara.

608 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2015

Reviews

[GARY TOWNSEND · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it ,one or two mistakes in it but realy worth the read

[Alison Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a very readable and non-dreary account of the people of the Orkney Isles in prehistory, bringing them to life in a way that most books don't - instead of impressing on us how different they were, they're presented as contemporary in their time and at the forefront of their technology - I liked that, it rang so true. The trouble is, their gene pool is restricted, but that brings in our hero from Canada in a canoe via the frozen north.

I liked it because it was unpretentious, informative, based on real archaeology and genuinely gripping. It's an epic, like Homer: it's a story, might be good for long journeys in it's audio format. Also, it deals with real life, so lots of basic bodily functions in most chapters - perhaps not for the squeamish!

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series to find out what happens, given the known history of Skara Brae. Oh, and you get a bit of Book 2 at the end, and the website has the audio and free bits of chapter one in all the eformats. Skara Book