THE SHADOWS TOMORROW by Noelle Michel

5 stars

Thanks to advances in DNA research and bringing extinct species to life, a billionaire funds resurrecting Neanderthals to both use them as biological study subjects as well as to turn them into a world-watched reality show entitled Another Eden.

What follows is a deeply disconcerting and chilling story, where after nurturing babies and creating an elaborate mythology to guide their world view, scientists place the growing Neanderthal clan into an expansive mountain wooded sanctuary carefully watched by overhead drones disguised as white birds. The Neanderthals are kept in by an electrical fence barrier.

Fast forward some thirty years, a strong female leader, Blood Moon, leads the clan with the help of a wizened elder who serves as the clan’s sage. Blood Moon has been deeply grieving the loss of her lover as well as the death of the son they had together, in addition to overseeing her two daughters’, from a prior relationship, wellbeing. The clan is wary of a mythological “Beast” that has been spotted and has snatched members of the clan across time.

The show’s director has decided to kick up the action by hiring and training four actors to enter the “preserve” to introduce Homo sapiens to the Neanderthals and hopefully spark romance plots. But things quickly deteriorate as the scientists have given the Neanderthals drugs that creates paranoia and psychosis in some, and as unexpectedly one of the actors and Blood Moon fall deeply in love.

The fast-paced action keeps you totally trying to guess what’s coming next. The callousness of the scientists, the greed of the founders, and the mistreatment of the Neanderthals make you wonder if actually the Homo sapiens race is actually a more barbaric, crueler version of humanity. Plus, in contrast to the Neanderthals living in deep harmony with nature, the Homo sapiens’ world outside proves besot with pollution, devastating human-created climate demise, and unhappy, tech-plugged in humans living mostly in virtual reality.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.