Rating: 
Summary: I was somewhat bored
Review: I am a huge fan of the Auel series. I was disappointed with this sequel. Not only was there a lot of repitition but no controversy or passion that made the other four books excellent. I wanted controversy not a prelude to the 6th book.
Rating: 
Summary: Rehash
Review: I waited for 7 years for this book, and am sorely disappointed!
I can only hope that this is an introduction to the next in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Perhaps the next?
Review: I eagerly waited for Ms. Auel's fifth installment in the series and went out and bought the book pretty much immediately after it was out. I have a mixed opinions about the book. On the one hand, Jean Auel's characters are still very likeable, and it is great to finally meet the Zeladonii, who did not disappoint. On the other hand, I feel that Ms. Auel's has overused the same theme for the past four novels. Ayla meets new people; most like her; some don't; then something miraculous happens to convert those people, etc. This is now getting a little tedious. I am still hoping that the next novel will be entirely different, but that it won't take ten years.
Rating: 
Summary: It was worth the wait!
Review: I read the Shelters of Stone over a 3 day period. I had to force myself to keep from reading the whole thing in one day. It was definitely worth the 10 year wait. The story picked up right where Plains of Passage left off. I loved every minute of it. I first discovered the Earth's Children series in 1987. I was hooked from the start. Jean Auel obviously does a great deal of research and I love her writing style. I will await the final book in this series anxiously. I'm curious to know what will happen to Ayla, Jondalar and baby Jonayla in the final book. I'm sure that no matter what the story is, it will be as exciting and emotional as the first 5 books.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, a MUST READ!!!
Review: I if you've read the other four in the Earths children series this is a follow up. find out what happens with Ayala and Johnular when they reach his people. if you haven't read the other four books I STRONGLY recamend that you read then first in order to know what some of the referances mean and who the pepole are. The Clan Of the Cave Bear., The Valley Of the Horses,The Mamouth Hunters, the Plains of Passage in that order.
Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing after a very long wait
Review: I really enjoyed the first four Earth's Children books and looked forward to the one where Jondalar and Ayla finally get home. What a disappointment! The pace of the story is very slow and very repetitive. The theme of Ayala and Jondalar as superwoman and superman has become tiresome, as has the emphasis placed on their discovery of animal domestication and the fire-starting properties of certain stones. The discoveries of other people are mentioned only in passing. At one point there is a brief description of what sounds like woven cloth, which in previous books would have fascinated Ayla until she made the technique her own, but in this story it is just dropped. Ayla keeps having the same types of conflicts with the new people she meets, over and over and over. There are even more conflicts with different people in this installment and almost none of them are resolved by the end of this book. Previous Earth's Children stories all ended at a logical place, where a reader could extrapolate a satisfactory future for the protagonists, but the ending of Shelters of Stone leaves too many loose ends and just screams "stay tuned for the sequel!" For the sake of devoted fans, I hope it doesn't take anywhere near as long to write. My advice on this book: check it out at the library and spend your money on something else.
Rating:
Summary: Slow moving
Review: I don't understand why it took Ms. Auel so long to write this book. Almost half of it is either a rehashing of what took place in earlier books or the same thing happening over and over again in this book. The plot also does not advance much. She spends many pages describing the imaginary scenery, which seems beautiful but not necessary to the story. She does introduce many characters, but the character development is limited to only a select few. Indeed, a character introduced early on who appears to be a main protagonist, is then summarily dropped except for a couple of casual mentions 400 pages later. Finally, large spans of time are allowed to proceed without any text. All of a sudden a whole season goes by with only 50 or so pages of text. The book did progress the story, but the same amount of progression could have been done in 100 pages. It feels as if this book was just filler till the next one.
Rating: 
Summary: Transition
Review: After waiting 11 years, I was thrilled and disappointed. Thrilled to finally have book 5 here. Disappointed, as not much happened. There isn't the "drama" to this volume that appeared in earlier. No threats to Jondalar and Ayla's relationship, no threats to their lives, no real cultural problems or fitting in problems. What I do see is Jean setting the scene for the next volume. We will see the resolution of Ayla becomming Zelandoni, there will be some interaction with the clan, and Ayla did make some enemies. I expect to see more drama with them in book 6. All in all, an enjoyable, light read.
Rating:
Summary: Perfection Not As Entertaining
Review: Okay, I bought it, I read it, and sometimes I loved it. Unfortunately, while it starts out powerful, it then gets into this absolutely huge DRAG of a "nothing really happens" for SEVERAL HUNDRED pages. I remember reading "Clan of the Cave Bear" for the first time; I couldn't put it down, and didn't sleep for two days while I buried myself in Ayla's world and life experiences. "Valley of Horses" was much the same, and completely frustrating as the author flipped back and forth between characters in true cliffhanger fashion. (I loved it.) "Mammoth Hunters" was filled with wonderful people who lived, breathed, and had complex relationships with each other (and the idea that Ayla might choose to stay with the Mamuti was completely believable, based on the fact her son was only a mention since the end of Book One). "Plains of Passage" was kind of a letdown as it concentrated on being a pre-historic travelogue, but still interesting. "Shelters of Stone," however, is a disappointment. Ayla is officially perfect. Jondalar is perfect. Everyone is perfect except for a few token bad guys who are never really a threat. There are some stressful moments, but the following things aren't a problem: a) food; b) clothes; c) relationships; d) animal companions; e) careers; f) authority figures; g) sex; and h) (my personal favorite) housecleaning. I should have a life this good! :) Yup, everything is now perfect, and I must confess its kind of boring. I love Ayla and Jondalar because of going through the stresses in their lives with them. Most of what happens in this book could have been summed up in a couple of lines on a Christmas card:
Rating:
Summary: Dreadful
Review: This 5th book in the "Earth's Children" series has been eagerly awaited for a remarkably long time. Given the amount of time Auel has been working on this novel, it is almost mind-blowingly bad. I have a hard time, in fact, believing it is even written by the same person as the other books in the series. The writing is poor, there is very little plot, the pace is excruciatingly slow, and above all it is unbearably repetitious. Not only does Auel remind us over and over again of things that have occurred in other books, which alone would probably be forgivable. She also repeats herself within the book over and over, both by literally repeating what the characters are thinking a few paragraphs after first revealing the information (sometime she tells us three or four times as if assuming the reader to be too dense to get it after being hit over the head with it twice) and also by repeating the same plot point endlessly (for example, Ayla and Jondalar reveal the "firestones" to each other character in the book individually, so that the reader has to suffer through the identical scene at least five times; same with the "spear-thrower" and the animals and the "pole drag" etc. etc. etc.). If she couldn't think of a story, she shouldn't have written the book at all, much less subjected us to 800 pages. It is shameful that she will make any money from this piece of dreck, much less the huge amount she will undoubtedly pull in from it.
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