Rating: 
Summary: The Shelters of Boredom...
Review: Not long ago I was introduced to Jean Auel's "Clan of the Cave Bear" as required high school reading and I have been thirsting for her work ever since. Her implementation of archeological description is amazing, and the society she has created for these ancient peoples is ingenious. But the fact that I put off college study time for 700+ pages of trite, regurgitated information from the previous four novels is incredibly disappointing.
I felt as if I was forcing myself to paste my eyes to the pages and endure the dull plot, which lacked much needed character development and REAL attention grabbing conflict. There were simply too many superfluous characters who had no real impact on the novel at all. I was hanging on every page, not because of what was happening on it, but because of the hope that the next one might hold something interesting.
I pray that this is just setting the stage for a phenomenal fifth installment, because this one could have been cut to a quarter of its size and still provide the same monotonous information. Granted, the last 200 pages picks up significantly, but not enough to redeem the overwhelmingly bland plot of the previous 500.
Rating: 
Summary: Another enjoyable tale from Jean Auel
Review: Once again I learned a lot about the housing conditions of people in that era, and how people probably accomplished many of the tasks required for survival. I referred many, many times to the maps in the flyleaf to get a feel for the layout and to help visualize the geography that is well described. The notes in the book about the various people that helped with the research and the research that was done added a lot, for me, to the overall appreciation of what a fine job the author has done. I'm looking forward to the final book in the series.
Rating:
Summary: They are getting better
Review: I found this last book the best. Less focused on the sex life of the characters and more about character development. It was good alone and it interested me in the next. My mail critique was that several time she (the author) got lost in details of the setting in the midst of a dramatic point between the characters. I do appreciate its length.
Rating: 
Summary: some people have no patience
Review: Honestly. It wasn't that bad. Not that you'd realize it from reading most of the reviews on here. I'll skip the plot summary, you can get that elsewhere, and just cut to the chase: although it was worse than some of the other books in the series, it was pretty damn good. In this review I'll address the three major complaints I've seen.1) The Mother's Song
Though I'll admit Auel's gifts are more of the prose variety, the Mother's Song is NOT so bad its unreadable, as some reviews have claimed, nor is it so insanely long. Give me a break. If you can't handle a two page poem, what are you doing reading a 700+ page book? 2) The extensive descriptions
Far from detracting from the book, these descriptions are what makes Earth's Children what it is. They are what create Ayla's world, far more than simple character development. It's the same with any great fantasy series. Why is Tolkien's Lord of the Rings so popular? Because not only does he tell the story, he creates a history and mythology surrounding the events. History gives the story meaning and makes the story plausible. Auel's biological, archaeological, and scientific data is just as much a type of history as any other; it is the history of prehistoric earth. 3) Repetition
My favorite, and the only one of the complaints, I think, which has any merit. However, even this criticism is mostly unfounded. Yes, the Shelters of Stone does have some repetition of past plot details. Honestly though, its been 10 years. Give the poor woman a break. Besides, all the books (excluding Clan of the Cave Bear) contain a certain level of repetition. This one just has a little bit more. I did skip over a few parts, but very few.
The other repetition complaint I have seen is that Auel repeats the same basic plot details over and over (i.e. introductions to Wolf, formal introductions, firestone usage, etc.) This is even less true than the previous one. In the beginning, it is true, Auel does go into some detail about the above mentioned items, but after a short time she simply says something to the effect of "Ayla introduces [Mr./Mrs. X] to Wolf." It takes a sentence or two really doesn't detract from the story at all. So there you have it, prospective buyer. Although not quite the caliber of some of the others in the series, its pretty close. If you are a fan of the Earth's Children series, and presumably you are, else why would you be buying this book, the Shelters of Stone is a worthy addition to the series. Go ahead and read it. NOTE: The rating given, 5 stars, is not accurate. I simply gave it to counteract the atrocious 2 1/2 star average user rating. I would really rate it at 4 stars...
Rating: 
Summary: Good... but missing something
Review: A very dissapointing addition to the Earth Children's series. The Shelters Of Stone was missing alot of the heart that the previous 4 books had.
Rating: 
Summary: LOOSING HER TOUCH..
Review: Jean Auel started out with an exciting story of Ayla, but threw the series, she slowly either lost interest or just forgot how to write. She is loosing her followers, who have watched Ayla grow. All hopes for Ayla to return someday, and find her son Derk are all but lost, as the books become more boring and seem to only fill pages with gibberish. The #6 book in the series is not out yet, but I think I will read threw the pages before I buy it, to see if its worth the purchase.
Rating:
Summary: This one is a bore
Review: Since my son bought me Plains of Passage for a birthday present (well maybe it was a Christmas present) I loved this series. Bored? Nothing to read? Reread one of the Earth's children books. But this thing is a drag. No point to it, plots are developed but never resolved .. ah it is just turgid.
Rating:
Summary: What a sad sad trip it's been
Review: I have read the other reviews and I've read all of the Earth's Children's books. I was so excited when I heard the book was coming out, but like many others, I have been sorely disappointed. Nothing exciting happens. There could have been great conflict with Jondalar's ex or with Brukeval, but there was nothing!! All we had were Ayla and the ever smiling Jondalar (how could one guy smile so much) and a smart ... One Who is First. She was one of the most irritating characters I've read in a long time. She was pushy and a know-it-all, not the spiritual leader one would think. Ayla has become way too wonder womanish. She does it all, and I guess no one else has ever thought of any of these things! I will read the next book, but it will take a miracle on Auel's part to make me a believer in Earth's Children again.
Rating:
Summary: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Review: Thank goodness I didn't buy the book! Reading it took longer than usual, and I even skipped large sections that rambled on with scenic description, or dull rituals. The endless, repetitive introductions, along with showing people how to use the fire stones, over and over, bored me to death. I hope the final book is better! I think Jean Auel took too long a break from writing.
Rating:
Summary: Long awaited
Review: Carrying on the story. Great book just like the others. Can't wait for the next one.
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