After the End: The Sumbally Fallacy, Vol. One: Separation (Spring)

Here is poor Kevin, a career man and technology wonk. He believes that his wife, Kit, is a difficult, stubborn woman. He"s worked hard for the well-being of their family, but Kit has no praise for his promotion. Instead, heels dug in, she refuses to move to Idaho for his professional advancement. She loves Kevin and wants nothing more than a normal marriage, but if she takes their son, Toby, from Denver, he could die with an illness brought on by the separation of a Neandertal child from its cultural roots. She can"t tell Kevin this her marriage to him is taboo. He has no idea who or what she is. Kit"s people refer to themselves as "Humans," and call people of Kevin"s ilk "Sumbállein" (symbolizers). The Humans (Neandertal) are angry. They believe their current hidden and powerless state resulted from their near extinction, an ethnic cleansing, at the hands of Sumballies over 20,000 years ago. Tyler, Kit and Kevin"s daughter, may have inherited Kevin"s genetics. Unlike Toby, she seems to have no special Human (Neandertal) capabilities. Her Human family believes her to be dangerous. They hide her identity from her. Because the source from which their differences spring is so deep, Kit and Kevin"s quarrel intensifies, involving both extended families, just as the festering Human anger comes to a head and war breaks out between Humans and Sumbállein. Praise for The Sumbally Fallacy: I enjoyed the wide variety of characters of all ages, and thought that they were all well-drawn and distinct." ~ Diana Matus, P.I. ~ Reader for Trapdoor Press, Boulder "Ultimately, Gallob"s provocative epic subtly jabs at contemporary prejudices, leading readers to suspect that the title"s "fallacy" concerns all presumptions of superiority." ~ Kirkus Reviews