A few years ago at school, we studied the settlements on the islands of Skara Brae, which is a remote island near Scotland. We looked at how the inhabitants had mysteriously disappeared about five thousand years ago. I found this subject really intriguing, and liked thinking up ideas of what might of happened when they disappeared.

This book is a fictional story inspired by the disappearance of the people in Skara Brae.

Tenko  is a stranger, appearing out of nowhere saving Kali and her brother when they almost drowned whilst collecting mussels. He wields a strange golden brown axe, that is not made of stone like everyone else’s in the the tribe of Skara, but what he calls bronze.  He encounters some difficulty because no one knows him, and cannot be sure whether to trust him or not, but, with his skills as a hunter, he helps the tribe, killing off fierce pests and showing them new ideas. Soon he is accepted as part of the tribe, and lives happily with Kali and her family – but not for long. A looming doom is to become of Skara – and it all lies on Tenko whether the Skara people survive or die…

I found this book quite sad, but it was a good thing to read because it had lots of facts, and was a gratifying story. It made me think what it would have been like to be a child in the Stone Age, and whether I could have lived eating mainly mutton and milk, with no blueberry muffins to satisfy me…

Here is a link if you are interested in finding out more about Skara Brae.