Rating: 
Summary: She should have taken LESS time to write this one.
Review: IMHO, this book should have been about 150 pages, not 750. Auel's 5th book in the Earth Children series is more of a historical recount of an era then a novel of a people. She spent more time describing the vegetation and rock formations then she did her characters. When she finally did get around to some dialogue, more often then not, it was passages taken from her earlier books, or to recount the same stories over and over again. Gee, was that how Whinney came to be with her, oh, ok, tell it again, please, again, again, oiy!!! The characters did not mature at all, and by the end, I was hoping for an earthquake to put my out of my misery. This book had so much potential, new antagonists, past acquaintances reemerging, not to mention the dynamic duo, however, she just dropped them all in lieu of yet another verbose description of the era. If I wanted a history book, I would have purchased one. This book was truly a disappointment. However, if you're a fan of Auel's characters, as I am, it's still a must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Would give it ZERO stars if Amazon gave me the choice
Review: As epic and as captivating as the previous books in the "Earth Children's Series" were, it's hard to believe that Jean Auel could so utterly miss the mark in this long, boring, and painfully uninspired installment. When most of your time is spent referencing an appendix at the back of the book to keep the 80+ characters straight in your head, when you close the book thinking it could've been a good 400 pages shorter without editing out any of the genuinely good writing, and when you ultimately walk away thinking to yourself, "I waited 12 years for THIS?" you're bound to be disappointed. If well-written epic women's fiction is what interests you most, then do yourself a favor and DON'T BUY THIS BOOK. Before you're brainwashed into thinking THE SHELTERS OF STONE is anything beyond a colordul doorstop, pick up some backlist Jean Auel, the Diana Gabaldon "Outlander" books, or anything by Dorothy Dunnett to remind yourself what good writing really is.
Rating: 
Summary: The shelters of stones
Review: After waiting so long this book in the series was slightly dissapointing mainly because of the referance so frequently to the previous books.
It also felt that nothing important really happens and that the action will start in the next book.
However it was readable and a must if you have read the rest in the series.
Rating:
Summary: WOW - they keep getting worse.
Review: I find it difficult to believe that the same woman who wrote the amazing "Clan of the Cave Bear" has written the subsequent books of this series, which have gotten further and further from the quality of the original. "The Shelters of Stone" wins an award as the book that took off in the most directions, only to let each and every story idea peter out and die a painful death. I kept wondering where everything was going, only to realize I was at the end of the book! The only plus is that using the Earth's Children series as soft-core porn seems to be an idea that has been given up in this book. I read it because I HAVE to, in the hope that she may again wow me. And, of course, I'll read the next one, as will everyone else, so perhaps writing something actually enjoyable won't matter anyway as far as the profit margin goes. Yes, I'm a sucker. I might have given this book 2 stars, but the cover art prohibited me from doing so. Is it just proving that Auel has lost the ability to create a vivid picture in our minds?
Rating:
Summary: A 12 Year wait and this is the best she could do?
Review: Repetitive, slow, and too detailed. How could there have been a 12 year wait for a book that was for at least the first 700 pages a repetition of the first books? How many times do we need to be told Alya has to go to the bathroom more often now that she is pregnant? Do we have to have her show how to make fire over and over and over? Where is the plot, the suspense, the action? I do not recommend buying this book, get on the waiting list at the library.
Rating:
Summary: Paradise lost.
Review: After a wait of 12 years, I finally finished up book five. Boy was I shocked!! The passion that any writer uses to make a book great, was not in this book. The book answers many questions, but leaves alot to be desired as-far-as writing goes. This book tends to read like stero instructions and gives me the impression that Mrs. Auel could of cared less if this book was ever published. Although there are many high points--not alot of graphic sex--it is basically the same old same old. Jondalars' people hate flatheads. Later, Jondalars' people consider them as a kind of human and thinks about trading with them. Some of them hate Ayla and some still do at the conclusion of the book. Although Ayla doesn't invent something new, she does help a man gored by a rhino and loses a man that was trampled by a buffalo. Does these statements seem familiar? One thing is going for this book, is the good possibility that the sixth and final book will be the best one of all. Ayla, for once, doesn't grab all of the attention this time. We see more insites of the people of this time and learn more about the culture and religion of these people. We also find that during this time, there were cave painters long before Ayla and Jondalar's people. Some of the Zelandonii have the understanding that the Clan was the first people and that they had inhabited the caves that the Zelandonii now use. I only hope that the final book is a 1000% better than this one. This is my opinion and I am sticking to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hungry for Ptarmigan?
Review: When I heard that this book was coming out after twelve years, I literally jumped around the room with glee. I was very happy to be reading this book, however much of the content concentrated on death and funerals. While these burials were very interesting, I got a tad morose after awhile with all the sadness. I also had a hard time dealing with all the bureaucracy in the book. I don't really understand how the pre-neolithic folks in southeastern France lived because Ayla spent a lot of time with the powers that be. The zelandonia (holy group) weren't nearly as approachable and "good" as Mamut from The Mammoth Hunters or the other Holy people we have met in the previous volumes of the saga. I was very uncomfortable with the way religion was handled. There were also quite a few logical inconsistancies. Ayla goes hunting, but never does anything with the kill. Ayla takes her amulet off and doesn't put it back on. Ayla earns a hide but never cures it. There are quite a lot of good aspects of this book as well. Much of the plot was very nice. I don't want to talk about that for risk of ruining the charm for some folks. I liked the way that Jondalar's family was fleshed out. I liked the way Ayla thinks about and handles her pregnancy. In short, I really liked this book, but it is not a stand alone work like the others in the Series. I will probably read this book again. Probably tomorrow.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but can we get to the plot now?
Review: I think I first started reading Ayla's saga when I was in junior high. Ayla's determination to survive through great diversity completely captured my imagination. The first three books were so exciting and Ayla's relationship with Jondalar was sexy and intense. Finally, the Fourth book came out when I was in high school. I thought that Plains was ok for a transition book, but I really just wanted to see what would happen when Ayla finally met the Zelandonii. Little did I know that I was going to have to wait another 12 years for that to happen! I think Auel has gotten too caught up in describing the scenery and has forgotten what made her series memorable in the first place: the story. This seemed like a rehash of The Mammoth Hunters except there was no tension between Jondalar and Ayla and the supporting characters were not as memorable. Mammoth Hunters was painful, but that was what made it such a page turner. You didn't know if Jondalar and Ayla would get back together. You didn't know if the Mammuti would turn hostile towards Ayla because of her association with the clan. The supporting characters were fully developed. Rydag and Nezzie seemed like real people. After seeing how Jondalar initally reacted when he found out that Ayla lived with the Clan and had a child of "mixed spirits" I thought that the Zelandonii would completely freak out once they met Ayla. But if anything, they seemed more tolerant than the Mummuti, who were suppose to be a very open people.
Rating:
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: After waiting all of these years for Auel's latest book, this book (like the Plains of Passage before it) was a disappointment. The book is far too full of background material (by book five readers should be clear about the story) and the dialogue leaves a great deal to be desired. Near page 400 the book picks up slightly, but falls off again and never regains speed. Auel's first three books are a delight and a must-read. This last book is yet another transition book (like book four) and leaves the reader baffled. In 12 years the author couldn't seem to get it right, and that's a shame. Do your wallet a favor: buy the paperback.
Rating:
Summary: boring and repetitive
Review: On a first reading, it's all too obvious why this book took Auel 12 years to write. It's saddled down with far too much detail yet still manages to read like a Stone-Age-For-Dummies. There's no suspense, little thrill and it's insultingly repetitive. Auel not only repeats much of the last four books, she constantly repeats the same thing within the book (Ayla's accent is ``foreign'' to everyone she meets and must be noted 1,000 times, the horses obey her because she is their `mother' and 'friend.') Even while suspending my disbelief to some level, it does seem a bit absurd that Ayla and Jondalar betwen them have invented the needle, the spear thrower, the firestone, decided where babies came from, seen how soap was invented. Yes, we all know how wonderful they both are. In fact, that's pretty much all this book reminds us of (and how)-- Ayla is the most perfect woman since Eve fell to the apple. Anyone who watches Martha Stewart knows how boring a woman without any flaws is to watch, much less read 700+ pages about.
| 
