The Great Hunter by Kel Paisley
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Romance, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Kel Paisley’s The Great Hunter takes us back ten thousand years, to Mesolithic Britain – a very different country from today. Not yet an island but a peninsula of Europe, with fast rising seas to the south, west and north-east. A peninsula covered mostly by forest or woodlands and home to tribes of hunters, fishers and gatherers, warriors and shamans.

Powerful spirits and other supernatural beings influence everything in the minds of these people, from the weather to illness, to childbirth and success in hunting or courtship.

Life is not without its challenges, but the real hardships of the Ice Age that ended over sixty generations before are becoming a distant memory. There is an abundance of game animals, fish and plant foods too, in season. Rich pickings for the numerous bands of hunter-gatherers. Yet the country is as hazardous as it is bountiful. Bears, wolves, aurochs and other wild animals that could kill a man roam the landscape. Floods, blizzards, wildfires and tree-felling storms may strike with little or no warning. Still more danger comes from the tribal wars that might suddenly flare up, with their brutal raids and counter-raids. Destruction may also come from enemies within.

Sometimes it takes more than love to make a relationship work.

This was a good example of crisp, clean writing. Some passages required detailed descriptions of what was happening since the vast majority of people living in the modern era do not need to go hunting or gathering in order to have something to eat for dinner, but these sections were balanced out by other moments when the audience was given free range to interpret certain emotional reactions and human impulses for ourselves. Having this delicate balance in an already 450-page novel meant that I never quite knew what to expect next, only that the narrator would share exactly what was necessary to understand the storyline and characters and not a single word more. It was exactly what I was hoping to read in that regard.

I struggled to keep track of the large cast of characters at first, especially since their names were often so similar that only a few letters separated them. While I appreciated the abbreviated list of characters that was shared before the first chapter began, it would have been nice to see more names listed there so that I could more easily keep track of who I had and hadn’t met before. What helped this issue to improve for me as a reader was how often the author reminded us of who certain characters were and how they were connected to one another. It was still a little confusing sometimes as I wandered deeper into the plot, but these reminders went a long way in prompting my memories about who was who. Speaking of lists, do take note of the Names & Author’s Notes section at the very end of this book as it does include some important cultural and historical context for this tale.

The immersive world building kept my attention levels high from the first scene to the final one. I especially enjoyed figuring out the aspects of Garetto’s society and environment that don’t translate well to life in the twenty-first century. For example, there was a description of strangers about a third of the way through this book that was quite frightening in context but also contained clues about their true identities that made me smile because of what we in modern times now know about those people that Garetto never would have guessed. Yes, I know this is a little vague, but figuring it out was a delight that I want other readers to experience for themselves.

The Great Hunter was an exciting peek back into the Mesolithic era.