Earth's Children 6: The Land of Painted Caves

Earth's Children 6: The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Really, this book is way too long. Much longer than it needs to be. There are summaries of pretty much every key event and group Ayla and Jondalar met on their Journey through all of the previous books. Many ceremonies, roots, or ways of doing things in general are expanded on to a scientific level, often including modern uses and knowledge that the characters would not be aware of. It adds a significant amount of unnecessary length to the book that sometimes make it feel as if you're slowly wading through it instead of enjoying a story.

The last half of the book especially feels like a revisit of The Mammoth Hunters. It revisits a lot of the betrayal, jealousy, avoidance, and self-punishment from the third book. Apparently nothing was learned after all. Despite all of these events and Ayla getting her "calling," there are other loose ends remaining. We get a revisit from the Mamutoi, which could account for some of the overlap with their book, but not to the level of parallels evident at the Summer Meeting. That doesn't factor in Madroman and Brukeval still being loose ends that appear to be in a key position to cause trouble in the region. Supposedly, things with Laramar are settled after that meeting, but we see none of how that ultimately plans out with knowing how both Laramar and Tremida take advantage of things and end up being generally unwanted by everyone. Their children have ultimately been in Ayla and the Cave's care for the most part since the beginning though, so it doesn't feel as if that would have as much impact as their parent's demands and dispositions.

Overall, it felt like a lot of repeat and not much advancement or a real end. I am glad that it appears this is meant to be the end of the series however, as even after all these years, I'm not sure I would want to pick it back up for another addition.

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Earth's Children 5: The Shelters of Stone

Earth's Children 5: The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I know I read this book when it first came out, but despite usually having a good memory for things I've read, my memory of this book is unusually vague. Of course everyone ends up being awed and inspired by Ayla, accepting her "strange" ideas and making unheard of accommodations for her and her suggestions. Some genuinely do make sense as just being a good person, but others are so far outside their established customs that it's odd how easily they are accepted and changed. Not everything is perfect as there are a handful of people Ayla makes "enemies," but they are largely glossed over and ignored, only making minor appearances to try and cause problems during meetings.

Overall, things go very smoothly for Ayla once they reach the Zelandonii. Once again, she appears to be forced into a position as both healer/spiritual guide, which is not surprising given the pattern of these books and her raising with Creb and Iza.

There is never any concern over forgetting events of the previous books. While some details of interactions with specific individuals is lost, the overall story is recapped several times over throughout the book.

As with other books in the series, there are often references to modern knowledge and science beyond what is known or needed by the characters in the actual story. Rather annoying in all actuality and completely unnecessary. Yes, the author did her research. Bravo. Beyond what the character actual knows however, any other "facts" aren't needed and just serve to bog down the story.

I'm determined to finish this series all the way through as I recall never having actually picked up the last book when it was released years later. Unlikely to want to come back to it after that. It just lacks the overall draw that my favorite series have where they really get you invested in the characters and what happens to them.

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Earth's Children 4: The Plains of Passage

Earth's Children 4: The Plains of Passage by Jean M. Auel

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Another re-read from my high school days. There is a lot packed into this books as Jondalar and Ayla leave the Mamutoi behind and travel to his homeland. They meet with several groups of people, relearn just how strange they appear while traveling on horseback, nearly get separated several times for various reasons, and still have to cross the glacier at a very dangerous time in the year. Several close calls and angry outbursts later, Ayla now has to hope that his people will warm up to her just as others along their Journey did. This book felt way too long and likely could have been shortened considerably just by taking out the long winded explanations of everything. It's like the author has to prove that she did her research, which is completely unnecessary to telling the story from these character's points of view.

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Earth's Children 3: The Mammoth Hunters

Earth's Chlidren 3: The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Ayla and Jondalar go to visit the Mammoth Hunters, leading to Ayla learning even more about the "Others" and too many misunderstandings to count. This lack of communication and trust ultimately causes a lot of unnecessary pain for these two and nearly splits them permanently. Ranec annoys me more than a little with his blatant perusal despite the evidence from the very beginning that these two were together. The long scientific explanations are also more frequent in this book when stopping with the the simple explanation of how Ayla uses something would be sufficient without the science background. We don't need modern proof of her intelligence or the author's. So far these books end on very ambiguous notes where there is a large good mixed with bad in the end. Makes it difficult to tell how you should feel at the end when it's so obvious the characters are still torn themselves.

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Earth's Children 2: The Valley of Horses

Earth's Children 2: The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was originally the first book if the series that I picked up to read in high school, largely because of the title (horses have always been a big draw for me). While there are horses in the story, the book is not theirs. The first part of the book is slow as Ayla learns to survive with the help of her animal friends. The point of view is split as we meet the brothers Jondalar and Thonolan, following them on their journey simultaneously. Things pick up a bit, and get more graphic, as Ayla and Jondalar learn together.

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Earth's Children 1: The Clan of the Cave Bear

Earth's Children 1: The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I first read this book in high school after picking up The Valley of Horses and discovering this was the prequel. Even back then, I did not like this book. It's only true value to me was in setting the stage for Ayla and understanding more of her references. Ayla is one of the Others (homo sapiens) raised by Clan (neanderthals) after an earthquake kills her family and drives both her and the Clan from their homes.

A large part of my problem with this book is Broud. He is hateful, proud, derogatory and abusive beyond measure. The other is this mindset that males must always be right and women must obey and please them at all costs.

There are sometimes large passages of descriptions bordering on scientific about why Clan is the way they are and how they survive with these long memories but are incapable of much, if any, change. While they help set the stage, they detract from the overall story and often feel like bogged down the overall reading experience.

I'm not sure why I had the urge to re-read this series after so many years, but thought it best to start from the beginning. Sadly, can't say that I enjoyed this book any more than I did the first time. I almost skipped it and sometimes wondered why I wasn't doing so. Guess my memory wasn't so faulty this time.

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