Rating: 
Summary: Not Worth a Star
Review: How bad is bad. Auel has certainly showed us how with this bomb. I finally closed the book for good when the kids got tired on the Journey, had a snack, then took a nap. At least the kids didn't have a cup of tea.
Rating:
Summary: Shelters of Stone
Review: No story line, no plot, nothing new. Jean Auel should have combined books 4, 5 and 6 and saved all the repetitive filler. We got it the first three times. Very poor writing, very boring book, but that's free enterprise. We didn't have to grab the hook when it was offered. That's my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Squandered Opportunities
Review: If all you want to do is find out what happened to Ayla and Jondalar next, then wait for the paperback or go to the library. I have seldom read a less satisfying book. I wasn't bothered by the recapitulation (it'd been 12 years after all) or the descriptions of the landscape and technology, which I have come to expect. The irritation starts with the stilted dialogue and the constant repetition of what Ayla knows that no one else does.
Also, there are a number of clumsy moments in the book. Her second or third day she literally wanders from dwelling to dwelling looking for something to do. But what really galls is the complete lack of any dramatic tension, brought about by the endless introduction of plot lines that go nowhere. The Amazon summary mentions two: will Jondalar's mother accept her? Easily, it turns out. What about the jilted girlfriend? She plays one mean trick in the beginning and then completely disappears. Here were a couple of opportunities to make an interesting story, but they were squandered. There are more: the idea that maybe they should find out more about the Neanderthals, perhaps develop trade relationships because they possibly resent them for taking their land and might someday attack. Or the half flathead, a potential criminal sociopath if I've ever seen one. Ayla captivates and angers him, but his character remains undeveloped. Or Ayla's knowledge of birth control. At one point the tribe priestess is intensely interested in finding out more. But she never does. And finally, the bombshell that Ayla once gave birth to a half flathead herself. She hides this knowledge until the end. It's shared with only the priestess and there's no time left to develop this plot line either. Basically all Auel has done is set the stage for the next book. Her editor has let her and us down by not demanding the book Auel is capable of writing. If this were a first novel by an unknown, it would never have been published.
Rating: 
Summary: It had to be someone besides Jean Auel
Review: I wasn't far into this book when I realized the writing didn't even seem like it was Auels. My interest was perked finally when Ayla was tricked into wearing boys underwear, I thought "ok, now the story is going to take off." Marona? was never mentioned much again. I kept waiting for her to make trouble. I liked the story of Ayla helping the starving baby. The summer meeting was boring, the wedding was boring, the birth was boring. Ayla didn't even have to cook, every meal was supplied by that lady who loved to organize parties. I had so much anticipation as I read... would Durc somehow arrive, would there be a confrontation with area Clan, would she make any new clothes to replace the traveling ones, would she get a tattoo, become zelandonni, would the drunk cause her trouble, or the mixed spirit man who hated her, why didn't everyone find out about Durc since this was such an issue in the other books? Even Zelandonni hinted that Ayla was going to cause trouble, I wish she had! I feel bad even writing this, I wanted so much for this book to be excellent.
Rating:
Summary: I'm disappointed
Review: I wasn't far into this book when I found myself thinking this wasn't Jean Auel writing it. I was very disappointed, I kept thinking SOMETHING was going to bloom into excitement but every scene fell flat. I really think someone besides Auel wrote this.
Rating:
Summary: Long and boring
Review: I've enjoyed the other books in this series, but the newest book in the "Earth's Children" series was not worth the wait or the price. There is very little plot here - Ayla and Jondalar arrive at his home, and meet the family and tribe. The relatives have no personality to speak of; they are Ozzie and Harriet cut-outs who are won over to Ayla in a few seconds. The paragraph-long introductions of people to one another with all their ties, etc. quickly becomes interminable - the book could have dropped a good 50 pages or more if this had been eliminated. There is no way you will actually read through them all. Auel doesn't go in-depth enough with her research results to hold my interest. Looking into the crafts and techniques of the times could have been interesting. The conversations between characters are ludicrous and the logic mystifying. I mean, you have a people that can't think up an imaginative name (and just use numbers for each cave address) for where they live but can rattle off complicated mathematical descriptions of flint flakes (bifacial lateral triangles). Yeah, sure. There are many little plot-lettes - scenes that could have been expanded into an actual story line but are never explored. The "bad" guys don't do much more than plan one practical joke and throw a hissy fit. Maybe Auel will follow-up on some things in her next book, but at this point, I don't care what happens to any of them. Auel has cheated her audience.
Rating:
Summary: Big Let-down
Review: After waiting all these years to finally finish the story of Ayla and Jondalar, I am severely disappointed in the fifth book in the Earth's Children series. I loved the first four books but found myself actually skipping pages in this one. I was skipping pages not because I was so excited, but because I was trying to find something to keep me interested. That dreadful song/psalm/poem nearly killed me. I do hope that Ms. Auel will not feel she has to retell the major points of her previous five books when she writes the sixth installment of the series. This book was too long. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" is only 468 pages long and it is a great story. Instead of writing another epic 700+ page novel, maybe the next book will be a little less long-winded and a little quicker in coming, too. I gave the book two stars but you can see I am already anxious for the next part of the story to be told. Please, Ms. Auel, just keep it simple next time. Thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: It was worth the wait.
Review: I thought this book was fabulous. As a matter of fact, I love the entire series. I thought she did a wonderful job picking up where she left off and not leaving any details out from the previous books. I eagerly look forward to the next book in the Earth's Children Series.
Rating:
Summary: Same old, same old...but worse
Review: Read the first couple of pages and then skip the next 250. It is all review. Auel should assume that people who are reading this book have read the others and should not spend 250 pages re-hashing what we already know. We already know people will be "amazed" and "disbelieving" of Ayla's and Jondalar's previous adventures. We do not need to sit with them while they tell the story to each of Jondalar's relatives.
We also already know Ayla and Jondalar "share pleasures" more and better than any earthly couple ever did or could. I am not reading this story to get a "thrill". In the last book, it got to the point that whenever Auel wrote about pleasures, I just skipped it, because it disturbed the flow of the story. This book was no exception. I want more depth, more story and less review. I haven't given up on the series yet, but if I have to wait another 10 years for the next - I won't be buying it.
Rating:
Summary: Transitional novel
Review: Most of THE SHELTERS OF STONE is pretty tough sledding. Ayla and Jondalar arrive at the Zelandonii caves. The people are amazed that she's tamed animals, Wolf and Whinnie and Racer. They're even more amazed when she shows them a better way to build a fire and her thread puller (the needle). Later, she saves an injured man by suturing his wounds. By now we should know where this is going. I have to confess that I didn't, until maybe the twentieth time Auel has the head medicine woman/doctor/priest, Zelandoni, ask Ayla if she's ever thought about studying to become a zelandoni (the priests have the same name as the people). If we look at SHELTERS OF STONE, as a transitional novel, it's not as hard to take. Ayla must learn to accept the fact that she has an obligation beyond becoming Jondalar's mate and the mother of Jonayla (I don't think I'm giving anything away there, since I was able to predict the name of the baby as soon as I learned she was pregnant).
Despite its transitional nature, the novel has numerous flaws. There's no plot. There's no real antagonist. Auel fumbles about trying to find one. Laramar, a drunk who won't take care of his children, hates Ayla because she's a foreigner, yet is given a higher status. Brukeval, who's part Neanderthal, loves Ayla but hates himself because he can't admit who is really is. Marona, Jondalar's former girlfriend, tries to embarrass Ayla by giving her clothes meant for a boy. Ayla's so far superior to any of these people that we don't worry much. So then, the only remaining thread is Ayla's journey to become One Who Is First among the Zelandonii. Pretty dry stuff. I would imagine most people wanted to know if Ayla would find Durc, her son by Broud, a truly worthy villain from CLAN OF THE CAVE BEARS. But she's only nineteen in this one, and he would be about eight years old, living far away. You'll have to wait for the final book of the series (if you're willing to read it).
Another flaw would be the constant repetitiveness. It's almost as if Auel was her own editor. That can't be, though; she thanks one in the acknowledgments. The worst example is Ayla's idea that men contribute to the birth of babies. I didn't count the number of times it was mentioned, but it must have been at least two dozen.
There's some clumsy writing going on here as well. The poem at the end of the book is terrible. And the sex scenes are embarrassing.
So now we know why it took Auel twelve years to write this novel. I can hear the arguing now among the editors at Crown. Will anybody buy the next book after suffering through this one? Probably. But the people at Crown and Random House and Scribners and Little Brown should think about delegating their responsibilities to agents and their sales forces. I loved CLAN OF THE CAVE BEARS and the following two, but I won't be reading the next one, I can guarantee you.
|
