5 comments about Plains of Passage, The (Earth's Children®) (Earth's Children®).

1. Awesome research of this time period. Description of daily life very vivid. Sexual content is NOT for children, though describes a unique view of family life. Ayla is one of my favorite women who can do anything!



2. In this series I felt each book has been better than the previous one...until Plains of Passage. I feel that the novelty of these characters and pets and wonderful inventions are beginning to wear thin. I don't want to read any more paragraphs that begin with Jondalar saying "Ayla, my Ayla!" and how she was the first, and only, woman that could 'take his all' (reference to the huge size of his 'manhood'). I did enjoy this book but it's becoming a bit hard not to poke fun at all the repeated sex scenes and wonderment from the different peoples that they encounter. I loved the first three books in this series but now everything seems to be repeating on itself. I liked the anti-racist tones of these novels but feel a little uncomfortable at the authors obvious admiration for people that mother-nature has made beautiful/tall/well endowed/blonde/naturally gifted etc. At first we rejoice in these things because Ayla and Jondalar were both given a tough time in previous novels, and we cheered them on. But now in Plains of Passage, they plod along doing the same things and the novelty's wearing thin. But still worth a read. (flip past any paragraphs beginning "Ayla, my Ayla")



3. Wow, this book comes alive with the reading aloud on this book CD. I read the other books in the series but this is so easy to listen to and I can listen at any time.
   I would recomend this book on CD to any one who likes to read but doesn't have the time to.



4. What a mixed group of reviews! This, however, ranked as my favorite in the the series.



5. Who would believe a mini-series about a woman living in the Stone Age could be so fasinating. I for one would not had not a friend insisted I would enjoy these books. I am now reading the fourth book in the series and my friend was on the money. What a wonderful writer.

5 comments about Valley of Horses, The (Earth's Children®) (Earth's Children®).

1. Auel's work is groundbreaking, almost literally, in bringing prehistory to life. As a horse lover, I thoroughly enjoyed her vision of how the first horse might have been tamed and ridden. This is one of the best from this great storyteller.
   
   Susan Williams, author of Wind Rider
   susanwilliamsbooks.com



2. This is the second book in a series that follows the life of a prehistoric woman. I actually read this one first and had no trouble following it. Of, course then I had to read the first book "Clan of the Cave Bear"
   Possible spoiler (minor) coming.........
   really it's not that bad of a spoiler.
   
   
   
   It is actually 2 stories in one. One depicting the lonely survival of an outcast woman, using intelligence and creativity to not only survive, but to grow and learn to adapt. The other story follows the life of two brothers on a journey into the unknown and dangerous world.



3. I have just finished reading The Clan of the Cave Bear and The Valley of Horses .... these books are two in a series of 5 thus far .......they are so well written that you feel as though you are living during this period of time.... the world was a much different place during the period of the Ice Age. Much colder then with massive glaciers extending far south into France. Have you ever given serious thought to the men and women that lived during this time side by side with the woolly mammoths and cave lions? They had to be a very complex,clever and creative people ! My hats off to Jean M. Auel for her great works of art and I am enjoying every minute that I am curled up with my books and a good cup of coffee.
   
   Wanda Meadows
   Asheville, NC



4. This was a very good read from the beginning to the end. I read the hardcopy of this book when I was a kid in high school and I had forgotten some parts it. I was always a big admirer of Ayla and felt all her struggles and I wanted my young niece to listen to the story because she can't read yet and since I travel a lot I don't have time to read any book, so I bought the unabridged audio version. I'm glad I did because listening to the story is as good as reading it. This is a must read if you should buy the book. A must listen if you buy the audio version. Either way, this is a great book.



5. Auel used all her talent in her first novel, "The Clan of the Cave Bear". This book, and the others after it, follow the same formula. Mary Sue character meets Gary Stu. Mary Sue is gorgeous, intelligent, gorgeous, resourceful, gorgeous, tough, gorgeous, courageous, gorgeous, kind, gorgeous, loving, and gorgeous. Gary Stu, equally gorgeous, is also very well hung, as the book reminds us constantly.
   
   The books go even further into fantasyland as the series progresses, with Ayla Mary Sue given more and more amazing qualities, so that she achieves near-superhuman status, while Gary Stu Jondalar is, as we all know, very well hung.

5 comments about Mammoth Hunters, The (Earth's Children®) (Earth's Children®).

1. When you read one, you've pretty much read them all, haven't you? Explicit sex passages, I mean. Besides the repetition of already-covered imagery, the writing in sex scenes nearly always suffers from an overuse of extreme adjectives, hyperbolic adverbs, and trite euphemisms (for the parts of the body used for sexual gratification). There never are any surprises or complications in this sort of thing, and it doesn't really move the plot along.
   
   I mean, just imagine if Auel had made sure to document every meal that Ayla and Jondalar ate together, giving the same attention to style and detail:
   
   "Jondalar THRUST his RIGID fork into the HOT, MOIST mush in his STEAMING bowl and raised a QUIVERING, GLISTENING glob of oatmeal to his FULL LIPS. 'Oatmeal!' he breathed. 'I just LOVE oatmeal!'"
   
   Silly, yes? Especially when it goes on like that for three pages, and this is the fifth or sixth such passage in the book.
   
   Every book in the Earth's Children series, except for the first (Clan of the Cave Bear) suffers from this defect. There are just too darn many explicit sex scenes. I'm not a prude, but one of these per book ought to be enough. After the first sex scene, we have the idea, and it doesn't need to be repeated. It looks as if Auel was padding her word count for some reason.



2. I just don't understand why this book is getting bad reviews. It's part three and so I've taken parts one and two into account. Part one was so full of misery for the main character (Ayla) and Auel balances this up by having a book of misery for her partner Jondalar. Also, in this book she gets some reward for the misery she has suffered in previous books. Her partnership with Jondalar is threatened by Ranec who is, like him or not, a great character. As is Frebec, Talut, Rydag, Mamut etc. So many full and rich characters that Auel weaves about brilliantly. There is a great sexual part of their culture (first rites) that I have debated with friends about, i.e. would it be good/bad for virgins to not just lose their virginity to experienced lovers, but to be taught how to do it well. Issues of racism are also explored without being too didactic. It's received some criticism from previous reviewers for Ayla being too good to be true but remember...this is fantasy; Gods are spoken of as influencing lives in terms of it being reality by the author- not just religeon. I think this book is immense in every sense of the word and one of the best books I have ever read.



3. Many reviews have already been written about this book, I'll just add that Jean Auel has done a good job of maintaining the fictional prehistoric world. I especially enjoy reading about the food, clothing, and rituals. I know it's pure fiction, but its still fun to enter that world.



4. i really like the way that the package got here in a reasonalbe amount of time. it was also ready for me to listen to when i got it



5. The Mammoth Hunters is the third installment in Jean Auel's Earth Children saga. It is an excellent addition to anyone's library.

5 comments about Shelters of Stone, The (Earth's Children®) (Earth's Children®).

1. My mom bought this book to read on a plane trip after reading the previous novels, and since I had also read them, she gave it to me after she was finished. Here for the first time I'm going to break one of my own personal rules and review a book that I didn't finish. I've read many hefty books with higher page counts in my time. Why didn't I finish Shelters of Stone? Because it's so drop dead boring, and because the main character's extreme Mary Sue-ish 'qualities' have really started to grate on my nerves.
   
   I enjoyed Clan of the Cave Bear the best, since then things have been all downhill. With this book, things have fallen very far indeed. As other reviews have mentioned, there's an unbearable amount of repetition, not just of previous volumes, but repetition within the book itself. I'd be fine with it if it only happened once and then was skipped or abridged in later explinations, but no... We have to suffer through the complete retelling of everything every time. How many times can a reader suffer through the discovery of firestones without slitting their wrists with one? Now we know.
   
   I gave up reading about halfway through, because nothing happened. And I mean really, nothing happened. Nada. Zip. They got to Jondalar's home. Everyone is over the fact that Ayla was raised by 'flatheads' in record time, wasting a plot point that had been built up in the last three books and turning it into a barely there afterthought. Anticlimactic is an understatement. Ayla gets introduced, gets tricked into wearing inappropriate clothing and there's a hunt. That's it. It took around 250 pages to get to this point. I've read better books that were over in fewer pages.
   
   Then there's Ayla. A good 95% of the characters in the book (I hesitate to say 'story' because there really isn't one) seems to exist just to remark on how amazing she is. Repeatedly. Everyone she meets just has to swoon and realize how she's wonderful and gorgeous and smart and gosh just isn't she so darn peachy keen? Except, of course, they're supposed to be a villain, and then they just hate her on sight for no reason. Maybe they have a point though, because I've started to actively dislike her myself. Ayla never does anything wrong. Never makes mistakes that cause problems, never suffers from jealousy, never wishes that the perpetrators of a cruel practical joke played on her would fall off a cliff, never feels overwhelmed at all the people she's suddenly having to face, and is just the bestest ever at everything she ever tries to do. She just prances around the tundra acting like some kind of prehistoric female Thomas Edison celebrity superstar, complete with adoring groupie squad.
   
   Speaking of the adoring groupie squad, what the heck happened to Jondalar? Over the course of three books he's gone from being at least an interesting (if overly angsty and guilt ridden) love interest to some kind of Ayla bodyguard/yes man/body temperature dildo. In fact, the only reason he's notable in this book is by his absence, mentally if not physically. The only time he has any input anymore is when it's in relation to Ayla. You'd think he'd be conflicted, or at least a little nervous about introducing a strange woman who's been raised by people that his relatives consider little better than animals, but no... He stumbles through SoS almost as an accessory to Ayla. The name Jonayla could almost fit Jondalar himself in this book.
   
   Do yourself a favor. Avoid this book unless what you're looking for is a cure for insomnia.



2. I did enjoy this book but, my word, the novelty has worn off. I got stuck near the end where Ayla and Jondalar are preparing for their matrimonial, it just seemed to go on forever. Wasn't too keen on her getting pregnant- it was almost like our heroine's character is changing in a way we don't like, becoming normal. I sense that the main problem is it's building up for the final book in the series; setting up 2 or 3 Frebec-like characters (the would-be nemesis from the mammoth hunters). Or perhaps a meeting or battle with the clan is being prepared. The best part of the book was when they met the clan couple. I think parts 4 and 5 of this series are almost like time-killers. Pt.1 was Ayla with the clan. Pt.2 Jondalar travelling while Ayla learns, grows and survives. Pt. 3 meeting and living with her own kind and choosing jondalar as her mate. Pts. 4 and 5 are similar to 3 but with the novelty gone. Still enjoyable though, can't wait for the final part.



3. I couldn't put the first three down. I was up all night. But I had to keep myself awake with this one. The enwrapping descriptions was still there, just like the other two, but it didn't grab me the way the first two did. Perhaps "Shelters of Stone" didn't offer anything new.



4. This is the latest story created by Jean M. Auel of the Earth's Children stories. This book contains the fruits of Ayla's labors from the previous stories and her acceptance into her lover's people. A very good book.



5. This book was a disappointment. Like so many others, I had fallen in love with the characters and couldn't wait to see what would happen when Ayla finally met Jondalar's people. Talk about a let-down!
   
   Clan of the Cave Bear was such a good story with well-developed characters whom we got to know well. Even the minor characters were developed; for example, we knew that Ovra was shy and reticent, that Aba and Aga picked on Ayla in the hope of building themselves up in Broud's eyes, that Ika was friendly and outgoing, and that Goov loved his mentor and adored his barren wife. Even those most minor of characters were real people. The plot-line was solid; Ayla had lost her family and had to learn to fit in with a completely different type of people to whom she could not even speak. The only thing I never liked about that book was the long passages describing the flora and fauna; it would have been far better for Mrs Auel to work her research into her storyline. Instead, the research was completely separate. But my sister liked those research passages, and we all loved the book.
   
   The Valley of Horses was compelling. I got bored with the long-winded descriptions of how to make a boat, but the characters were again richly developed. The conflict between Jondalar and Ayla as they struggle with their different backgrounds was realistic and gripping. The reader became a part of the struggle and desperately wanted these two to get together and accept their love. It was very emotionally stirring with a solid plotline: Jondalar is traveling against his will, wondering what is the point to life, and finally meets the woman of his dreams. Ayla, meanwhile, has grown up as different and ugly and never fully accepted, believing she will live alone forever, and finally she meets a man who treats her as a rare jewel instead of merely tolerating her. VoH is an unashamed love story.
   
   Initially, I was very unhappy with the Mammoth Hunters, because I couldn't bear the thought of my two well-loved characters being apart and so unhappy. I actually cried (which shows that it was well-written). But the writing was rich with well-developed characters and a solid plot-line: Ayla has a completely different way of thinking from the Others, but she must learn to live with her own kind, while Jondalar must make a choice between his comfortable past or starting life with a very unusual woman. MH was realistic. Not everyone accepts her unconditionally: Tulie reserves judgment and Frebec can't stand her throughout much of the book. At the summer meeting, when everyone finds out about Ayla's Clan background, many continue in their blind prejudice while others overcome their revulsion. This was a realistic reaction. Overall, MH was a well-written and compelling story.
   
   The Plains of Passage was not so great. The plot-line was destined to be boring: the long journey back to the Zelandonii was rather redundant, with lots of traveling and then meeting people, and Ayla's background coming out, and then the revulsion and then acceptance, and then the whole thing over again. The traveling sequences were especially dull; lots of descriptions of the landscape, Pleasures, and that's about it. At least Auel gave us some little different adventure at each stopover; we had the broken arm of Roshario and revelation of the facts around Doraldo's death at the Sharamudoi, the evil leader of the Sharmunai, the rape of Madenia at the Losadunii, and the acceptance of Echozar by the Lanzadonii. Thus Plains of Passage was salvaged from utter boredom by Auel's addition of various conflicts to overcome throughout the book. And Auel developed many of the minor characters along the journey; in spite of their brief visits with all those different groups, the readers got to know many or the secondary characters well.
   
   Shelters of Stone, on the other hand, was pointless. We're all still trying to figure out what was the plot-line! OK, I know, it's supposed to be Ayla learning to fit in with the Zelandonii while struggling with the pressure to become a shaman. But what a mess Auel made with the story! First of all, none of the characters was developed. After 750+ pages, we still have only superficial knowledge of anyone in the Zelandonii. And where is the struggle to fit in with these people? We spent the previous three books with constant stress over whether or not Jondalar's people would like Ayla, to the point that they almost didn't go back, and now she just waltzes in and fits in like she's always lived there. No one cares about her Clan background. Heck, they even have an "abomination" living with them (Brukeval)! I'm sorry, but that was just too unrealistic after all the agony Ayla's background brought into their lives in the previous books. There should have been a huge reaction to Ayla's clan upbringing, just as there was at the Mamutoi summer meeting. Then there was the introduction of so MANY different minor characters, none of whom was ever developed to any degree. Was Auel having a contest with herself to see how many names she could come up with?
   
   The plotline of SoS was actually the same plotline as the Mammoth Hunters: Ayla has to learn to fit in with a group of people in spite of her background, and she is pressured to train as a shaman. The only difference is in the subplots: in MH, Ranec lures Ayla away from Jondalar as J struggles with his feelings, while in SoS, uh..... there was no compelling subplot to rope us into the story. Both books cover the same amount of time (about 8-9 months), but SoS is just so pointless. Why did Auel write this book? What was the story? All we saw was Ayla introduced to a bunch of different people, so many that we can't even remember their names. She goes hunting with her new people: whooptie-do. She sees cave paintings, attends the summer meeting, and comes home. There was no story here, folks! This could have been a look into the life of my next-door-neighbor!
   
   I believe that SoS would have been a compelling and worthwhile book if Auel had bothered to develop a few select minor characters, just as she did in all the previous stories. Where she went wrong in SoS was to introduce dozens and dozens of new people and then to have them all parade through the pages of her research without a single person standing out. Not even Zolena or Marthona is developed to any degree. Ayla should have had personal and deep relationships (good and bad) with a few individuals. These few people could then go do all those things Auel wanted them to do. But there should have been real people doing them. In Shelters of Stone, not even Jondalar was a three-dimensional person. And Ayla herself was almost 2-D.
   
   The book was truly disappointing.

5 comments about The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children).

1. The basic premise for this book seems like a great idea for historical (or pre-historical?) fiction. However, it failed to deliver. The entire storyline was so predictable and hackneyed I had to force myself to finish the book. The characters are all one-dimensional and stiff and Auel never really succeeds in bringing them to life. And come on, who really didn't see the ending or the rape scene coming? Auel was obviously trying to create a novel centered around a strong central female character, but she just succeeded in making Ayla looking like an untouchable annoying kid with all the answers. Also, the Neanderthal "mind meld" is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read. The only reason I give it two stars is because I like the fact that it has a prehistoric setting.



2. I really like the audio books because it helps me understand the way the that the book was suppost to sound and understand how the words are suppost to be read aloud.



3. What a marvelous book. I loved the journey this novel took me on and the prehistoric setting was so beliveable.
   
   Jean M. Auel is a wonderful story teller and it's a colourful and wonderful world she's given us in this novel, setting it in the ice age.
   It was gripping, reading about Ayla's journey from a young child to adulthood and the trials she faces living with the Neanderthal tribe who found her.
   There is everything one could ask for in a novel, adventure, fun, danger, jealousy and love and romance.
   
   I especially liked the extensive research J.M.A. has done, and her detailed knowledge of plants and natural remedies used by the medicine woman and passed down to Ayla, was extremely fascinating.
   
   I have read the entire series and must say it was riveting.
   
   There are 5 books in all:
   
   1:The Clan of the Cave Bear
   2:The Valley of Horses
   3:The Mammoth Hunters
   4:The Plains of Passage
   5:The Shelters of Stone



4. This whole series of books is magnificent. So unique, such a wonderful heroine. There are a lot of details in these books, and it's easy to get bogged down in them, but you just have to look at it as a learning experience. Other than that, this book is fantastic. Moving and inspiring. Could teach people today a thing or two about racism. The only thing I would caution is that I bought this to go with my set, which are the normal size for novels and this book is like a foot high. Not what I thought I was getting. But the text itself is fabulous!!



5. The story itself is good. I have read the book a couple of times. This audiobook is of lesser quality. It would be my guess that it was first recorded on cassette tape, left in a cupboard for a couple of years and then transferred to MP3-CD. The quality also changes per chapter. Still, all is audible and once you get used to it, you can get in to the story.
   The reader reads in a sturdy tempo. A bit too fast to my liking. Not that I miss a beat or have to go back a bit too listen again. No its just that I would read it more relaxed and enjoy the 'pages' a bit more.
   Anyway. I will probably buy the next title as well. Perhaps that was recorded on a better machine.