Refugium Book Review

by Catalina Bonati

3.75/5 stars ★★★⯪☆

Refugium by Eric Nicholas (2025) is a novel set in the Pleistocene, where several different types of pre-humans co-habitate as they take refuge from the Toba super-eruption aftermath in Sumatra. Set in an unspecified area of lower Asia, an Homo Erectus named Last is the lowest-ranking person in the tribe  who must make do with scraps but who is sustained by the love of his little brother. The Erectus tribe is beset by a tribe of Homo Denisova, and Last must find a way to free his brother. In the wild, he makes unconventional friends who help him with this task.

Extreme violence is suffered and perpetrated by everyone in this book. The huge wild animals of the Pleistocene which inhabit the forest are undaunted by the yet underdeveloped tools and weapons of the early humans and attack the main characters at every turn. Animals here are monsters, and besides other early humans, are the main antagonists of this book. The world here is gory and violent and endless suffering is endured and there is no respite. This novel is well-researched for the most part, and as a Westerner, I was constantly googling Asian animals that I had never heard of, such as gaurs and driver ants. There were extinct animals that also required personal research. Some herbology is also explored here.

The story switches between the points of view of its characters. Some of the humans have spoken language and some do not but can understand each other. The dialogue of the Denisova is convoluted and abstract and often refers to a religion worshipping the sun. The language in this book could have used more development, as the communication between Last and his Homo Floresiensis friend Dung Fly is largely inconsistent, yet the Denisova speak in such pretentious ambiguity it is hard to understand how they communicate anything concrete at all. In addition, the main pre-human antagonist, named Sovran (or Sovereign), wields a strange kind of power which is never explained or really delved into, which makes him a very confusing character. Also, his name randomly changes from Sovereign to Sovran out of nowhere, which seems like an editing problem. Last is also a tough character to pin down, as the lowest-ranking person everywhere the reader feels sympathy for him, but at the same time all he really does is to get himself injured.

All in all, this novel could have used a bit more work in character development, but the world encompassed here is expansive and well thought-out. It is dark, bloody, and violent and it keeps the reader engaged. The plot is action-packed and exhilarating, although at times confusing. This is not exactly a horror book; it is rather a gory historical fiction novel. This book is recommended to readers of Jean M. Auel, Cormac McCarthy, and general lovers of Predator.