Hominids, by Robert Sawyer
Volume 1 of a trilogy known as the Neanderthal Parallax, Hominids tells a story of when two parallel universes connect. In one universe, ours, mankind has developed as usual while Neanderthal disappeared. But there is a parallel universe in which Neanderthal, which had coexisted with modern man for quite some time, wound out becoming dominate while our species became extinct. The Neanderthal universe is quite advanced scientifically, with the two main characters being Ponter Boddit and Adikor Huld. They work with quantum computers and research the possible existence of parallel universes. A lab accident sends Ponter through a portal into our universe and that sets the storyline for this fascinating novel.
The Neanderthal society is interestingly described. It’s world wide population is only about 185 million and is maintained by allowing breeding only once per every 10 years, when everybody procreates. It is a bisexual society with everybody who so chooses having both a man-mate and a woman-mate, but living with only one at a time.
Each Neanderthal also has a companion implant, which records absolutely everything he/she does and records it into an alibi archive which he can access anytime, but which is closed to everyone else except if access is necessary to prove one’s innocence or guilt if accused of a crime. Punishment for guilt is to prevent the gene responsible for that behavior from being passed on to future generations by castration of the offender and his siblings and children. This plays into the storyline as Adikor was present when Ponter went missing.
The book goes into much more detail about Neanderthal’s culture, environment, economy, and even language and religion, and does so without lecturing to the reader. Winner of the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novel, the full trilogy won the Aurora Award for Best of the Decade. ( )

Edit: Do know that one of the primary themes of the trilogy is gender dynamics, sexism, power, etc. The graphic rape near the beginning of the first one is disturbing, but not gratuitous.

Well that was fun. And satisfying, and thought-provoking, and engaging... and I'm very glad I have the next two ready to go. I love that Sawyer gives us a lot to think about, and 'teaches' us a lot of speculative science. He writes to the Sense of Wonder and the What If for which I read SF.

" Mary had a rental car now, courtesy of Inco--a red Dodge Neon. (When she picked it up, Mary had asked the rental clerk if it ran on noble gas; all she'd gotten was a blank stare in return.)

"One can vote at the age of 49 years; a traditional life span averaged 73 years.... We do not let people shape policy until they have accumulated wisdom and experience."

The Immaculate Conception "refers to the conception of Mary herself. The reason she was able to give birth to the son of God was that she herself was conceived devoid of original sin--it was her conception that was immaculate."

Btw, this can be read as a stand-alone. The next story is set-up, but there is no cliff-hanger. ( )

Very good SF about parallel universe where Neanderthals became dominant over Homo Sapiens and they cross over to ?our? universe.

I believe this to be the first book by Robert J. Sawyer that I have not given 4 or 5 stars. It's good. But it's not Robert J. Sawyer good. ( )

The premise of this novel is simple, and deeply faceted. I think I've read this five times now (no I've not logged all of them on goodreads) and each time I find something new to ponder on regarding Neanderthals, how human society has developed, and ... well many other things this novel displays. That said it is a great read and well worth picking up. I'm onto the next one in the series to see what happens. (yes I know where its going... but it's like a familiar journey one likes to take) ( )