Rating: 
Summary: First time readers welcome
Review: You do not need to have read the previous books to be bored by this one. The SoS is all four books combined plus 4 days of intense details as Ayla meet the uptight Zelandonii followed by a quick skip to the Summer Meeting and then a leap to the birth with a step to the birth of Whinney's foal. The rest of the book is filled with Ms Auel's last 10 years of research of the cave system in France. In the acknowledgments at the beginning of the book she says thank you to Dr Rigaud because he proof read everything she had written about the area which was presented first and then it sounds like she filled in the rest of her Geological and Anthropological thesis with a couple of cardboard characters to take up another 100 pages. If she isn't already, then I am sure that some august body in a museam or university will bestow a fellowship on my once favourite author for her work in this field. I am deeply disappointed in this "story" and think that Ayla should hightail it back to the Mamutoi as fast as Whinney can carry her. At least there she had a life worth getting up in the morning for. The brief encounter we had with the Ramudoi in The Plains of Passage was more exciting than over 700 pages with the Zelandonii. Come back Ranec, all is forgiven! Now we know why Jondalar has always been so painful. Growing up with people so set in their ways they make The Clan look advanced must have been a handicap for him. I highly recommend this book if you are studying anthropology or geology or anything to do with the Ice Age and the Dawn of Man. (Hey that would have been a better title for this book) You will not be sidetracked by a plot as there isn't one. Please Ms Auel, less research and more character please!
Rating: 
Summary: romance fans only
Review: If you have to know how Ayla's world turns out (Will she perform heart transplants? Power Zelandonii civilization with cold fusion? Tame a mammoth instead of eating it?) then by all means read this book. And, I think if you are a fan of Romance Fiction, like Nora Roberts or Diana Galbadon (sp?), then you would probably enjoy it. If, however, you want a gritty exposition of the human ice age, forget about it. Or, read the book for amusement value. Otherwise, read Clan of the Cave Bear and stop there. That book managed to be a great piece of storytelling. Shelters of Stone is a tired piece of romance fiction from an author who is obviously tired of writing the series. Best thing I can say about it: it is MUCH better than Plains of Passage, a throwaway effort on the part of Auel.
Rating:
Summary: Repetitive, Repetitive, Repetitive
Review: I waited twelve years for this? I have loved Ms. Auel's other books, but this one is a great disappointment.
It reminded me of a child that had to do a 1,000 word essay and could only find 200 words for the essay. I found myself skipping several pages at a time because I was tired of reading the same thing repeatedly. It seems as if Ms. Auel has forgotten how to fill out the people in her books and make them seem real as she has in past books. With her previous books I could not put them down until I had finished them, not even to sleep, but with this book I found myself forcing myself just to read a few pages at a time, I just kept thinking it has to get better, but it didn't. I can only hope that she recaptures her old style and that book six is much better than book five.
Rating:
Summary: Shelters of stone
Review: Jean Auel had no story in mind when she wrote this book. Her first two were excellent but this one and the previous are dribble. If I could, I would get a refund. For sure, I'll never buy another.
Rating:
Summary: Glad it's Over
Review: 12 years of anticipation; 3 days of disappointment. Out of 750 pages, about 300 of them may have contained new material, and as others here have noted, even that was less than compelling. However, I wasn't crazy about The Valley of the Horses, either. I skipped almost all the chapters with Jon and Thon (and was thankful that it was split up like that so that I could easily bypass those parts) and was also bored with large sections of Plains of Passage. I appreciate how much research went into Auel's descriptions of flint tool making and of the flora and fauna of the epoch, but honestly... enough already. I think at this point, I'd like to see Ayla assert her otherwordly power and really freak people out, but that's unlikely. She will likely turn out to be the benevolent queen of the Zelandoni with the handsome King Jondalar at her side, and little Princess Jonayla (puh-leez). That said, I'll hope for better things from the last book because I am an eternal optimist.
Rating: 
Summary: TOO...MUCH...INFORMATION!...
Review: First... Jean Auel has done her homework. I'll bet there is not a question about the geography, geology, zoology, botany, meteorology, etc of that particular time period of her chosen area that she could not answer spot-on. Her love, passion and fascination for this subject is very evident through the entire book.
This however led to some confusion... was I reading a doctoral dissertation or a novel about a Cro-magnon woman and the tribe she marries into? I mean... plot? dialogue? action? They all tend to get lost, diminished or subsumed into the admittedly rich background.
One of the other reviewers touched another sore spot... LOTS of repetition. This might be good for first-time readers, but I would think that most people reading this book have read the previous four novels, are familiar with the background, and really don't want to hear Jondalar tell the 'How Ayla saved me from the Cave Lion' story over dinner again.
This book could have been at least 1/3 shorter without losing important information, and would have been a much more enjoyable read. I came away feeling as though I had been slogging through mud... and I am very very grateful for the existance of public libraries, for I would have been VERY disappointed if I had spent real money on this edition.
Still... I hope the next one is better.
Rating:
Summary: I waited 10 years for THIS?!
Review: Auel apparently grew bored and uninspired with her characters and story, because she literally cut and pasted pages and pages of descriptions and events from previous books into this book. The repeating of all names and ties and putting in lyrics to silly, long songs was not a creative way to take up space -- she should have made this book shorter. This effort was a major disappointment. The author gives the impression that this book was done purely for the profit margin, not the integrity of the story. As for the story line itself, it is ok -- but never finishes anything like the contest of wills between Ayla and Marona, or the drunk, or the 'mixed-spirits' guy...and that fact that Ayla is practically forced into their preisthood after repeatedly saying no, and in the past not liking the spiritual stuff, is really just stupid and out of character for her. While I hope it doesn't take 10 years for the last one, I won't be rushing to buy it in hardcover either.
Rating:
Summary: I waited 12 years for this?
Review: Being an ardent Auel and Ayla fan, I found myself counting the moments until this book arrived. I clutched it to my chest, feeling the sweet release of knowing that I would soon have my fix of Jonadalar, Ayla, and painted caves. I was dissapointed.
A great deal of the book was a repetion of the previous four. I didn't need to know that every time Ayla opened her mouth someone thought that her accent was "unusual, foriegn, yet not unpleasant", or how intensely, vividly blue Jondalar's eyes were. Even the characters "pleasuring" was redundent, and I began to wonder if they were also becoming bored with it as well.
I read the entire book, skipping paragraghs throughout, because I have an affection for the story. I did appreciate that Jean Auel wrote the Zolena/Zelondoni character to be more than a charachature, not only full bodied, but a downright obese woman, with a sensuality, brilliance and power of her own. I found parts of the book to be intriguing, and wondered, for instance, how Zelondoni could feel so threatened by Ayla's power that she couldn't simply let the young woman be an at home mom and contributing member of the community. It was difficult to understand the reasons that the highest ranked member of the cave would stoop to manipulation rather than communication. I was also dissapointed that the author appeared to write the last two books together, and arbitrarily chose to end "Sheleters of Stone" mid sentence.
I love these books, I want to love these books. I am passionate about petroglyphs,anthropology and the archeological research that went into the preparation for this series. This book hasn't dampered my interest in traveling to the Dordogne Valley, but it also didn't behoove me book a flight mid novel as I had hoped it would.
I will read the last book when it comes out with all the exuberance of a true fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Masterpeice
Review: Well I just finished The shelter of stone,and I must say (in my option) Jean, you did it again, Another masterpeice,one of though book that, when you start reading you don't want to put down. And here I am waiting for your next book to be written. A true masterpeice............Just can't wait for the next one
Rating:
Summary: Stop selling -- We buy it already!
Review: I've been waiting for years, and years, and years, and years for this, and words cannot begin to explain how disappointed I am. Perhaps I just worked up my expectations too high, but I feel as though Ms. Auel has strayed too far from the formula. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! I know that a tremendous amount of research went into the writing of this book, all her fans know that, she doesn't have to spend 350 pages convincing us that she did her homework. If she hadn't done her homework, this book would have been out ten years ago. On another note, I felt as though the narratives spent too much time preaching about evolutionary ideas and theories. If we didn't already buy the theory, chances are we wouldn't be buying the book. Don't get me wrong, I still read late into the night, and woke up early to read just a couple of pages before going to work, but this book didn't make me put off doing dinner, dishes, dusting, or laundry as I had expected it would. The book started sort of slow, and then sped up too fast. It seemd like the first 300 pages were the first week they were "home", then things began to move at quantum speed. On top of that, every time something interesting happened it was glossed over in favor of more talk about the animals! Ok, so I was disappointed, but all in all, I still can't wait for the next book -- I hope it's back to the old formula -- new experiences, not the same experience over and over again.
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