Rating: 
Summary: This is a great read.....
Review: A friend at work recommended the "Children of the Earth" series to me, and as I respect his opinion and know he is intelligent and would not suggest I read something less than challenging (he has a PhD in Sociology), I figured I would read Jean Auel's first book THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR. The first book in the series was pretty good, but not the best. It was good enough to entice me to find out what happened to Alya, the heroine of the CLAN. VALLEY OF THE HORSES is a much better written book than CLAN. As my friend says, usually, a sequel is not nearly as good as it's predecessor but in this case it definitely is better. The story line in VALLEY is wonderful. I personally believe each of us has a soul mate and I love stories that have this plot element (call me Romantic). I don't think I am giving away much to suggest Ayla has one too. To find out, you have to read this book, or sneak a peak at reviews written about later volumes in the series. Although the story line is great, what I most enjoyed was the amazing historical detail Auel added to her tale. I have been a student of archeology for many years, and as one who has "gone out on a dig or two or three" I can tell you one of the requisites of successful archeology is a vivid imagination. As one carefully scrapes and brushes away the dirt encasing fragments of aged bones, utensils and other debris, one begins to wonder mightily 'What were these people like?' Who once held this pot in her hand? Was she happy when she did so? Did she live a long time or die young? What was her world like? Was it wonderful and frightening at the same time? I have my own vivid imaginings about past lives and don't want them disturbed, only improved upon. Auel succeeds in doing this amazingly well.
Rating: 
Summary: Another great story of Ayla and her adventures
Review: The young and courageous Ayla from Clan of the Cave Bear is back and after having the death curse put on her and being exiled from the Clan she is left to go out and try and find people who look like her and people who will accept her. When she leaves the Clan she still feels as if she is a Clan woman who has to live up to certain expectations. As time goes on she starts to realize that in order for her to survive. She manages to make friends with the animals that live around her and form a bond with them not many other people could. At the same time two young men Jondalar and Thonlan are out on a journey. The two young men along the way come across many other Clans of the Earth Children and it is there where they learn many new things. In addition, where tragedy strikes. After the tragic events the two men start there journey again, but only to run into another tragic event. When Jondalar finds himself hurt the young Ayla comes along and saves him and helps him back to her cave. It is there where she realizes that he is one of The Others that Iza had told her about. As times on she starts to realize that the man whom she is caring for is willing to take the time to teach her new things. The two characters when they are together each learn new things and manage to find things out they never each had felt before. This is a beautifully written story and I cannot wait to read the rest of the books in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Good for two-thirds...
Review: This book has gotten decidedly mixed reviews, and I have to say I agree. The first two thirds of the book were excellent, as we see Ayla grow and mature from a frightened young girl alone in the world, to a confident and powerful young women, breaking the taboos of the Clan on a daily basis. The extremely graphic sex scenes I can't really comment on, since, being the prudish teenager that I am I skipped over them all, but there was certainly enough of them that I must have neglected half the book. The book picks up shortly after the end of the previous one, with Ayla, now in her mid-teens, alone in the wilderness once again, and grieving for the famiy she will never see again. She settles into a comfortable valley, begins to learn to use the hunting weapons forbiddon to women, living and surviving on her own. She begins to build a new family as well, adopting first the young colt Whinney, then Baby, an infant cave lion. This section of the book was great, exactly the kind of book I've been waiting to read for years. However, enter Jondalar, a young man of the "others" who embarks on a journey with his little brother. They wander around pointlessly for a while, Jondalar impregnates several women and then leaves, and inevitably meets up with Ayla towards the end of the book. Their love story was stiff and unbelievable, and Jondalar is an over testosterone charged [guy], who has one goal and motivation in life, sex. By the end of the book I was praying someone would just push him off a cliff or something, but unfortunately I was disapointed. Rest ashured parents; this is not a book for children.
Rating:
Summary: Some Parts May Drag-But Overall Great!
Review: In this continuing sequel of Clan of the Cave Bear, Ayla was cruelly tossed out by the Clan members, and told to go find the "Others." So she is wandering about trying to find some place to settle in. And along the way she finds a cave to live in. As she continues her hunting as in the book before, Aylah meets a foal, whom she names Whinney. Later comes another animal friend of whom she names Baby. Ayla is lonely though, with her animal friends for a long time and this is what tends to drag. On the other side of the fence, is the story of Jondular and his Journey across "The Great Mother," river. He has his share of hardships before he and Aylah will cross paths, which I will not explain here. You must read and find out. Overall, I enjoyed the book a lot, and found it an interesting enough read to see what continues to happen with Ayla.
Rating:
Summary: ONE book you won't want to miss!!
Review: This story is a masteriece! Though the descriptions are extensive, the plot never bores and you never cease to wonder what will happen next! I thought that Auel did a wonderful amount of research on the era and used it a lot, but also added enough of her own fictional aspects,(culture, interaction, ect..) to make the story believable and a page-turner!
Rating: 
Summary: Sorry, but i have to agree with the negative reviews
Review: I have read all of Jane Auel's Earth's Children's books and this one is only slightly better than The Mammoth Hunters, which is awful. I absolutely loved Clan of the Cave Bear and have reread it no less than 12 times since it was first published. Unlike Clan, the middle two books are brain candy. It's like Auel is being forced to write a bad tv sitcom. Fortunately, it gets better with Shelters of Stone. Maybe every author really does have only one great novel in them?
Rating: 
Summary: 20th century cheap soap opera thrown into prehistoric times
Review: Let me be mild. This book is bad. There, I've said just about all you need to know, but for the purposes of explanation, I point to our main character, the oh-so-perfect Ayla, demonstrating all the perfect qualities of modern "liberated" woman, but somehow in prehistoric times. Ayla can do everything- as a metaphor, this is great; for any sense of realism, this is ... For all the botanical and geological details the author throws at us, she seems to love to project her own attitudes onto a totally different time scale where none of this makes sense. Then, when our two perfect protagonists, the powerful, empowered Ayla and the sensitive, caring, Jondalar, meet up, they mate (in excruicating detail)and I'm sure they produce the most perfect little blue-eyed blonde haired little baby who then spawns a new race of supermen. As for Ayla's "discoveries", I'm waiting for her to create a supercomputer and start programming artificial intelligence to travel to other planets.
Rating:
Summary: The sex book
Review: I tried really hard to like this book, but the first half really drags. Let's see what we've got here - Ayla talks to herself, weaves, invents the lighter and livestock domestication. On the other side of Europe, Jondalar and his brother wander through villages having graphic sex with pretty girls. They also get injured a lot and get drunk/stoned a couple of times. Oh yeah, and we find out that the Others don't like the Clan. Oy vey.
Finally, Jondalar hooks up with Ayla. Oh boy! maybe things will pick up for the second half! Overall, they do, but Ms. Auel needs to be introduced to the black marker in the worst way. In short, the book is necessary reading if you want to understand the rest of the series, but it's really just a transition book. It could have been a lot more.
Rating: 
Summary: Detailed imaginative story. . .
Review: I thought that the story was well writen as a great view of the historical past but the interaction between male and female characters was a bit tooooo graphic with a little toooo much information. When I read the book I was expecting the struggle of Ayla's survival with the animals but I was taken aback by the strongly written (almost pornographic scenes). I guess I underestimated my reading restrictions since I am only 16. Maybe that is how it was in the early times but I wouldn't recomend this book to students of younger ages. Other than the many scenes such as this, it was an extremely well written novel.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ IN THIS SERIES
Review: I enjoyed this book as much as it's predecessor, The Clan of the Cave Bear. Auel explores new territory with Ayla own her own for much of the book. Unfortunately, you see the beginnings of two annoying trends that are prevalent throughout the rest of the series: repetition (Auel repeatedly offers explanations for things that were previously covered in detail), and Ayla being the first person to discover EVERYTHING. Don't let this dissuade you from reading this book, however. At this point things are still fresh, making for a very entertaining read.
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