Rating: 
Summary: So disappointing
Review: I enjoyed all of Jean Auel's previous books and looked forward very much to the next in this series. After 10 years I had expected a work surpassing the previous. Unfortunately this book does not fit the pattern of her scene-setters. It is clear that JA has expended a lot of effort researching the location and prehistory and she commits a lot (excessive amount) of this tome overlaying the known around the characters-who-might-have-been. But now the credibility that one person made all these discoveries and had so many extreme characteristics begins to pale.What is lacking is story. I could summarize what Jean Auel stretches over 750 pages into 3 sentences. Several times we are led to believe that there might be some action, but potential fades to disappointment and more monotony. I did not put this book aside for two reasons. First, I was always prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt, based on her earlier books. Second, I hope/trust that this volume is a scene-setter for her finale, which hopefully will provide more reader interest.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, to say the least.................
Review: After waiting 12 years or more for this book I was very disappointed!!!
The story is repetitive at times. Also, there is too much attention to detail. I think Ms. Auel spent too much time writing this book. I found myself skimming over the descriptions to get back to the story.
Too many new character introductions, some of which have detailed story lines and then are never mentioned again.
I have loved all of Jane Auel's other books and hope that the next book in the Children of the Earth series is more like her other books.
I usually abhor abridged books but think that in this case it might be a better choice.
If you do not have the other books in the sereis borrow it from the library or from someone that already has it.
Rating: 
Summary: A watered down version of 'The Mamouth Hunters'
Review: I borrowed this book from the library after been put off from buying it after reading the comments on this board. I am one of those male readers that thoroughly enjoyed the first 4 books up to now. The Clan of the Cave Bear ranks as my favorite book of all time. This time, however, I felt like I was reading the Mamouth Hunters all over again, although with new characters. The same story tended to unfold an there was never any new direction in the story that made me take notice and increase my enthusiasm level. In some ways, this book reminds me of a typical flashback episodes we see in some TV programs. I enjoyed this book - it was good but certainly not as great as the other ones. I felt like the soul of the series was missing here.... Here's hoping that the last book will have Ayla searching for Durc...
Rating: 
Summary: Ayla and Jondalar return after a long journey
Review: I waited for many years for this book to be written and be printed. Jean Auel did another wonderful job in the way she described everything to the littlest point. This is what makes her books so riveting. I read the Mammoth Hunters about 10 years ago and wondered at the time if Ayla and Jondalar would make the journey back to his home. This summer I will read the first 4 books again and enjoy them once again like it ws the first time.
Rating:
Summary: A Long Awaited Disappointment.
Review: Having read her other books and waited so long for this one, I found it a disappointment. I purchased the hard cover and the unabridged tape version. For such a large book, it only covered approximately nine months of their lives. It has too much review, not enough action and way too much description. The review should mainly entice readers who have not read the previous book to do so. I grew tired of all the formal introductions! At least, the problem with the young renegades group of Others men abusing Flat Head women should have been dealt with in this book. The description of the intimate moments ... between Ayla and Jondalar is good but becoming quite predictable. Too many loose ends were left for the next edition. Like finding additional fire stones; Ayla catching fish wither hands; Ayla's acceptance of her calling and induction into the Zelandonii as a healer and "One who serves the Mother"; Jondalars cousins child birth problems; and how Ayla deals with the few enemies she has made in the 9th Cave. Can Ayla prevent the confrontation between the others and the Flat Heads? How will Ayla deal with her fear of the next great earth quake? I hope the next book will not be so long in coming and will cover several years in the lives of Ayla and Jondalar with a lot more action!
Rating: 
Summary: After all this time...
Review: Home at last, our wandering prehistoric couple. After 173 pages, I have progressed through less than three days of the return of our hero, Jondalar, with his exotic and mysterious Ayla to the Zelandonii people. On the fifth or sixth day---I think I have lost count---we are dissecting the anatomy of a prehistoric funeral. To get to this high point, I have endured some of the lamest dialog, been subjected to pages and pages of rehashed material from the previous four books, and been bored to sleep with excessively detailed descriptions of the local flora, fauna, and geology. Much of the dialog reminds me of old television westerns like the Lone Ranger. Images of Jimmy Olson and Clark Kent popped in to my head at one point. The writing does not meet the quality of some young adult literature. I have read the first four books, more than once, the Clan of the Cave Bears at least three times.
At page 256, I had to return this book to the library for renewal---which was disallowed due to demand. Now, I may never finish; little in the first third of this book compels me to pursue the last two thirds. There are too many other books in my reading list to waste my time with this fifth bloated sequel.
What ever happened to the writer who created the first four books of the Earth's Children series?
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put the other 4 down...can't pick this one up...
Review: Talk about mind-numbing drivel, I could have waited another 10 years for this one. Does little to further the story and is mostly a cliff notes summary of the last 4 books. But for your hard earned cash you'll at least get to read over 100 pages describing the appearance of cave/rock formations...I've read college textbooks that were more entertaining...It's taken me several months but out of respect for Auel's earlier books I've almost managed to finish this one...It does make a great paperweight though...
Rating:
Summary: I was waiting for this?
Review: Unlike most true fans, I have not been waiting for eleven or twelve years, I just finished the series last summer. (I'm a junior in high school.) However, that does not change the feelings that I have for this book. This was so repetitive that it bored me to death. Not only do we hear constant introductions, which get so very, very long, we also hear about the animals, former discoveries, and long descriptions of the landscape and what the animals look like, and so forth. We are led to believe that there will be a dispute between the Clan and the Others, yet nothing ever happens. We are led to believe that there will be arguments between Ayla and Marona, Brukeval, or Laramar, yet nothing ever happens there either. We also are led to believe that Zelandoni of the Ninth Cave will talk with Ayla about all kinds of things, yet it really doesn't happen. After the buffalo hunt, not only does it disappear after someone gets trampled, it jumps again to something else. The book is well researched, but not as well as in the past. We never really hear about Ayla's medicine skills, until toward the end of the book when a boy and Wolf are both hurt within about fifty pages. The summer meeting is anxiously anticipated, and yet again, NOTHING EVER HAPPENS!! What happened the wonderfully written books we have all read? This was a major disappointment to me. Can't Jean do any better than this? I hope that she has a good excuse, because twelve years is a long time to come out with a book like this.
Rating: 
Summary: Reliving Ayla's story.........
Review: I've read so many negative reviews.......gee it seems that everyone just wants action and suspense. I for one was so relieved to continue the imaginative story of Ayla's life and it not just be tragedy after tragedy. I loved all the books (sure, some more than others) but; no one's life can be filled with only tragedy. Ayla deserved peace and serenity. Yet, I know there is more to come... (I would love to see a book about the clan and Durc after Ayla left and what becomes of him -- these books could go on forever!) I just enjoyed reading of her finally enjoying life, happiness and love. My advice, just enjoy the serenity and imagine having your own Jondalar!
Rating:
Summary: I'm being very generous with three stars
Review: Okay, we all know that this book could have been a lot better. I mean, come on!! First of all, the book almost has no plot at all. And it took ten or twelve years for it to come out? I really should give this book two stars. Anywayz, when Ayla and Jondalar arrive at the ninth cave, everyone that is mentioned just sort of accecpts everything that Ayla and Jondalar have been up to. People are obviously scared at first of the animals, but there should have been more of a shock, or something that could keep out attention longer. The characters could have been more developed, and I would have liked to see more of a fight between Ayla and Brukeval or Laramar. Also, Zelandoni keeps saying that she would like to talk to Ayla about various things, but doesn't. I suppose that I could give the third star for not as much sex as the previous book. One other thing that really irritated me was there were two accidents right after each other (the little boy and Wolf), and Ayla never made her clothes, and after the incident with Marona, we never really heard from her again. Does anybody agree with me that instead of everybody accepting everything, shouldn't there have been more of an argument between characters? This book could not keep me hooked. I thought I was going to read it overnight because it would be so exciting, however it took me a week or two because of lack of motivation to read it. Overall, I was personally very disappointed in this book.
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