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In the Beginning
Love proves ancient as time itself in this prehistoric adventure romance from critically acclaimed Tripods author John Christopher.
In the beginning, many, many years ago, there were two tribes. Dom was a boy from the hunting tribe, and Va was a girl from the farming tribe. The two tribes fought, but that couldn’t stop Dom and Va from falling in love.
In the midst of battle, Dom escapes and takes Va with him. Together, they journey across the stark landscape of eons past, learning about the harsh and aggressive world around them even as they learn more about the creative and peaceful feelings within themselves.
In the Beginning includes the prequel short story “In the Beginning” and the novel Dom and Va, and marks a captivating departure from John Christopher’s other, futuristic work: this is a tale of the distant past, and of a beginning that represents the conflicts inherent in human nature—and the dark and light in all of us.
In the beginning, many, many years ago, there were two tribes. Dom was a boy from the hunting tribe, and Va was a girl from the farming tribe. The two tribes fought, but that couldn’t stop Dom and Va from falling in love.
In the midst of battle, Dom escapes and takes Va with him. Together, they journey across the stark landscape of eons past, learning about the harsh and aggressive world around them even as they learn more about the creative and peaceful feelings within themselves.
In the Beginning includes the prequel short story “In the Beginning” and the novel Dom and Va, and marks a captivating departure from John Christopher’s other, futuristic work: this is a tale of the distant past, and of a beginning that represents the conflicts inherent in human nature—and the dark and light in all of us.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1973
2 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
John Christopher
197 books543 followersSamuel Youd was born in Huyton, Lancashire in April 1922, during an unseasonable snowstorm.
As a boy, he was devoted to the newly emergent genre of science-fiction: ‘In the early thirties,’ he later wrote, ‘we knew just enough about the solar system for its possibilities to be a magnet to the imagination.’
Over the following decades, his imagination flowed from science-fiction into general novels, cricket novels, medical novels, gothic romances, detective thrillers, light comedies … In all he published fifty-six novels and a myriad of short stories, under his own name as well as eight different pen-names.
He is perhaps best known as John Christopher, author of the seminal work of speculative fiction, The Death of Grass (today available as a Penguin Classic), and a stream of novels in the genre he pioneered, young adult dystopian fiction, beginning with The Tripods Trilogy.
‘I read somewhere,’ Sam once said, ‘that I have been cited as the greatest serial killer in fictional history, having destroyed civilisation in so many different ways – through famine, freezing, earthquakes, feral youth combined with religious fanaticism, and progeria.’
In an interview towards the end of his life, conversation turned to a recent spate of novels set on Mars and a possible setting for a John Christopher story: strand a group of people in a remote Martian enclave and see what happens.
The Mars aspect, he felt, was irrelevant. ‘What happens between the people,’ he said, ‘that’s the thing I’m interested in.’
As a boy, he was devoted to the newly emergent genre of science-fiction: ‘In the early thirties,’ he later wrote, ‘we knew just enough about the solar system for its possibilities to be a magnet to the imagination.’
Over the following decades, his imagination flowed from science-fiction into general novels, cricket novels, medical novels, gothic romances, detective thrillers, light comedies … In all he published fifty-six novels and a myriad of short stories, under his own name as well as eight different pen-names.
He is perhaps best known as John Christopher, author of the seminal work of speculative fiction, The Death of Grass (today available as a Penguin Classic), and a stream of novels in the genre he pioneered, young adult dystopian fiction, beginning with The Tripods Trilogy.
‘I read somewhere,’ Sam once said, ‘that I have been cited as the greatest serial killer in fictional history, having destroyed civilisation in so many different ways – through famine, freezing, earthquakes, feral youth combined with religious fanaticism, and progeria.’
In an interview towards the end of his life, conversation turned to a recent spate of novels set on Mars and a possible setting for a John Christopher story: strand a group of people in a remote Martian enclave and see what happens.
The Mars aspect, he felt, was irrelevant. ‘What happens between the people,’ he said, ‘that’s the thing I’m interested in.’
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 29, 2019
281219: read this as a child, an original prehistoric romance/fantasy. i do not know how plausible its invention is, let alone gender roles, behaviour, how much current anthropology has dated this (38 years...) but when i was a kid this worked well. so rating is by sentiment...
October 11, 2011
Believe it or not this is the first book that I remember the title of that made me go Wow. I don't know if it's that great of a book but it opened my eyes to a whole new world. It's set in prehistoric times and the male in the story is from a violent hunter tribe that overtakes the females calm peaceful farming tribe. Somehow, they have to learn to communicate, coexist despite their violence vs. peace and survive the harsh world they live in while trying to find food, shelter and a fight over leadership. It's a book that's stuck with me since seventh grade and I still have a copy of it.
April 26, 2012
I remember reading this as a child and being really into it. I read a great deal of this author in junior high, and lately I've been exploring prehistoric man novels. But this is really up there on my list, still.
June 5, 2025
2.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
With water running short, Dom's father moves the tribe south. Soon, they encounter another tribe that acts oddly and doesn't seem to understand violence. When Dom meets a girl from that tribe by chance, their lives become intertwined.
Review
While In the Beginning comes relatively late in Christopher’s career, and around the time of my favorites (The Sword of the Spirits trilogy), it’s one of his less successful books.
It’s an interesting attempt to juxtapose two human cultures – one agriculturalist, one hunting based – but the book seems unwilling to come to any firm conclusion. While clearly positioning the farmers as the preferable culture, the book essentially says that that group cannot succeed without the violence of the hunters, and that only an unhappy marriage can protect them. It ignores the possibility that the brutal, savage hunters might succeed on their own – though without making any real progress. At its base, the story suggests that humans need violence to survive – but only because other humans are violent.
In an effort, I suppose, to make the two options clear, Christopher idealizes the pastoralist society – suggesting that, because they claim to respect the animals they use, they’re kinder and more respectful. However, the animals end up just as dead and spend their lives in captivity. Christopher ignores this detail. Similarly, there’s a suggestion that rape and violence are just the price to be paid for a form of security – better to be raped and beaten by someone who won’t kill you than someone who ill. I found the whole thing unpalatable. Not only is it unpleasant to read, I don’t agree with the premise.
Christopher here well predates Jean M. Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear, but falls into the same trap – one genius woman figures out all sorts of clever inventions on her own. I understand that it’s meant to dramatize progress, but I found it too exaggerated to be really credible.
The book is billed as including a ‘short story adaptation’, which turns out to be a summary of the main book. It doesn’t work as a short story, being flat and dry, and I couldn’t figure out what it was for. It read like a synopsis Christopher might have given to a publisher in order to get the nod to write the full book. It adds nothing to the overall tale.
Only recommended for true Christopher completists, and with a caveat even for them.
Summary
With water running short, Dom's father moves the tribe south. Soon, they encounter another tribe that acts oddly and doesn't seem to understand violence. When Dom meets a girl from that tribe by chance, their lives become intertwined.
Review
While In the Beginning comes relatively late in Christopher’s career, and around the time of my favorites (The Sword of the Spirits trilogy), it’s one of his less successful books.
It’s an interesting attempt to juxtapose two human cultures – one agriculturalist, one hunting based – but the book seems unwilling to come to any firm conclusion. While clearly positioning the farmers as the preferable culture, the book essentially says that that group cannot succeed without the violence of the hunters, and that only an unhappy marriage can protect them. It ignores the possibility that the brutal, savage hunters might succeed on their own – though without making any real progress. At its base, the story suggests that humans need violence to survive – but only because other humans are violent.
In an effort, I suppose, to make the two options clear, Christopher idealizes the pastoralist society – suggesting that, because they claim to respect the animals they use, they’re kinder and more respectful. However, the animals end up just as dead and spend their lives in captivity. Christopher ignores this detail. Similarly, there’s a suggestion that rape and violence are just the price to be paid for a form of security – better to be raped and beaten by someone who won’t kill you than someone who ill. I found the whole thing unpalatable. Not only is it unpleasant to read, I don’t agree with the premise.
Christopher here well predates Jean M. Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear, but falls into the same trap – one genius woman figures out all sorts of clever inventions on her own. I understand that it’s meant to dramatize progress, but I found it too exaggerated to be really credible.
The book is billed as including a ‘short story adaptation’, which turns out to be a summary of the main book. It doesn’t work as a short story, being flat and dry, and I couldn’t figure out what it was for. It read like a synopsis Christopher might have given to a publisher in order to get the nod to write the full book. It adds nothing to the overall tale.
Only recommended for true Christopher completists, and with a caveat even for them.
November 1, 2025
A a young child I thought this book was ok. A children's book telling prehistory stories, not too concerned with the proper archeology and research.
October 25, 2021
This is some seriously gritty children's literature. Set in the prehistoric hunter-gatherer era, "Stig of the Dump" this is not. Nothing is sanitised; there's men fighting and killing men, men giving beatings to women, and even an instance of what is essentially rape (although it's not described in any detail).
I have to wonder whether a book like this would be published if it were written today, since political correctness has infected our entertainment to the point where history is being rewritten. Respect to the author for not talking down to children.
This is a very good story about the clash of two tribes with different values and skills, and a "love" story between a boy of one tribe (Dom) and a girl of the other (Va). There's a moral to the story, too: it's a mistake to become so civilised that it makes you weak; a degree of controlled aggression is necessary in every culture, because the world is essentially adversarial.
The modern edition of the book that I read has been retitled "In the Beginning." I prefer the original title "Dom and Va." After the novel, a short story has been included as a bonus. It appears to be an early version of what would later be expanded into the novel.
I have to wonder whether a book like this would be published if it were written today, since political correctness has infected our entertainment to the point where history is being rewritten. Respect to the author for not talking down to children.
This is a very good story about the clash of two tribes with different values and skills, and a "love" story between a boy of one tribe (Dom) and a girl of the other (Va). There's a moral to the story, too: it's a mistake to become so civilised that it makes you weak; a degree of controlled aggression is necessary in every culture, because the world is essentially adversarial.
The modern edition of the book that I read has been retitled "In the Beginning." I prefer the original title "Dom and Va." After the novel, a short story has been included as a bonus. It appears to be an early version of what would later be expanded into the novel.
November 28, 2023
This was terrible. The author was my favorite in 3rd grade and one of his books is still on my top books list. So I bought them all and reread them. This one I couldn’t remember anything about, though I knew I’d read it. And now I know why. Really awful book, told in a bad fashion.
September 5, 2009
Loved it as a elementary school boy.
July 24, 2010
It shows why women or even people will put up with a bad situation
May 7, 2016
Read just the first three chapters
September 12, 2020
Read it as a child and loved it.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews