Ancient of Days

A solid and often absorbing expansion of the splendid story "Her Habiline Husband" (Universe 13, 1983). When respectable artist RuthClaire Loyd spots a strange, diminutive, ape-featured humanoid feeding in the pecan grove of her rural Georgia farm, she calls her amiable but insensitive ex-husband, restaurateur Paul: the creature is apparently a Homo habilis, a type of early human thought to be extinct for two million years! At first Paul wants to exploit "Adam" (several unpleasant encounters ensue), but slowly he comes to accept Adam's humanity - as RuthClaire secretively shelters the mute habiline, teaching him sign language and social conventions. Eventually she falls in love, marries Adam, and becomes pregnant - at which point some young Klansmen get steamed up and try to murder Adam. Here, though, the narrative loses its ironic edge, becoming more parablelike and less purposefully dramatic. Adam develops artistic talents, learns to read, evinces curiosity about religion, and undergoes an operation enabling him to talk. A son, Tiny Paul, is born - only to be kidnapped and murdered by an avenging Klansman. Finally, RuthClaire and Adam go to live with the other four surviving habilines; and, during a voodoo ceremony in which the habilines commune psychically with their ancestors, Paul is possessed and must confront the ancient habiline god. A sturdy construction overall, with intriguing speculations and thoughtful development, if rather weakly and improbably concluded: a stronger and better-balanced effort than Bishop's previous habiline saga, No Enemy But Time (1982). (Kirkus Reviews)