This was an okay read. Took a bit to get into, but it gets a rating of a solid okay for the novel. Recommend only to fans of the genre.

This book starts with a man who finds himself on what he thinks is either a deserted island or a dream as he cannot remember when or how he got there. When he meets a woman, who appears to have arrived in the same way they begin to search and find out that in reality they have been kidnapped to take part in some form of experiment.
This experiment is designed to expose them to hazards to reveal their strengths and weaknesses. Their captors’ research is designed to find out what it takes to force someone into submission, and what lengths they will go to in avoiding that.
The idea behind the book was great, as the plot opens up it became intriguing and if written well this could have been a great book unfortunately, I didn’t feel that the second half of the book was well thought out.
The characterisations in the book are very shallow and as a reader I did not invest any interest in what happened to the two main characters. The events that take place, particularly in the second half of the book just seemed to me to be not very well thought out or described and the ending can only be described as meh!
In summary this book could have been a fantastic science fiction piece that I could see going forward as a series of books but failed to live up to the early promise. Its only salvation would be for a good film director to pick it up and sort the issues out to create a better film.

Neanderthals: the experiment is an enjoyable read fleshing some new creative ideas that will surprise readers. Its action paced story line will present readers with some curve balls not expected. In many ways the book is more of a techno thriller than science fiction yet its also very prevalent to today's world.

Translated novels are generally risky to me, since many to be less well received in English due to cultural differences or just translation issues. I think this one isn't as enjoyable to Americans as it probably was by native readers of the original release. It's disappointing because I wanted to like this.

Thanks for the free review copy!!

Thank you for the copy for review. I liked the description and was intrigued by the premises of the plot, but as soon as I started reading it I found my self wanting to close the book and never think of it again, mainly because of the writing.

It might be that this book is someone's cup of tea, but it is not mine.

Neanderthals is a really exhilarating thriller of sci-fi that keeps you on your toes. When Omar and Shadia are transported to another world where they must fight for survival as they are being mercilessly hunted. The plot of Neanderthals really keeps your heart-racing and the characters are relatable and well-written. While I'm not big on sci-fi, I really enjoyed this book.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found the plot interesting but had a hard time caring about the characters.

I couldn’t get over the writing—it felt like I was reading something self-published online rather than a polished novel. I suspect a more gifted translator could have elevated this above where it plateaued for me, which was the “did not finish” pile.