Rating: 
Summary: Too much detail
Review: I have read all the books in this series, and one thing I've noticed is that each subsequent volume is more superflous than the last in terms of detail. Auel does a great job in the first two books of describing the plantlife, people, and both physical and emotional feelings of each character. Unfortunately, she continues her series with more and more detailed explanations, even of things she's described before. I was curious how many times she felt I needed to be reminded what a "mother statuette" looked like. Once that has been described in a book, it should not be described again unless there are significant differences. Anyway, I love the story and would rate this book at 5 stars easily if only it weren't so long winded.
Rating: 
Summary: Book Four Is Not Quite as Exciting!
Review: There is much geology and botany in this book with its minute details of flora and fauna. The forward movement of the plot is not as exciting and the characters seem to be repeating acts and dialogue from earlier books, but then, naturally, they would be for we are following them through a fourth book. We must take a more patient view and enjoy the stronger elements of this account that is spending more time on descriptive narration and less on action and dialogue. Comfortable, informative read!
Evelyn Horan - teacher/counselor/author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl Books One - Three
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the others
Review: I have absolutely fallen in love with the Earth's Children books. Jean Auel is a masterful story teller. She clearly has done a tremendous amount of research for these books, which adds to the enjoyment. Not only are we getting a fascinating story, but we a learning about man's evolving culture, nature, old world geography, natural healing and many other wonderful things. However, "Plains of Passage" was not quite as good as the first three books. The story line in this book seemed to be a bit repetitive. I also found myself skipping over large parts of the books because too much time was spent on describing the landscape or lifestyles of the animals around at that time. This book could easily have been half as long as it is. I have already started on "Shelters of Stone", which so far seems to show much promise of making up for the less exciting "Plains of Passage".
Rating:
Summary: From bad to worse
Review: About 80% of this book os rewritten from the last books in this series. she has clearly run out of ideas. do not waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: The Great Goddess
Review: The Great GoddessSOME people have gone gaga over the witches and warlocks of J.K. Rowling's seven-part Harry Potter mania. And some have equally gone crazy over the elves and hobbits of the non-existent "existentialist" Middle Earth in J.R.R. Tolkien's three-part Lord of the Rings fad. But dear, I choose to be neither, as I would rather go for the real-life Homo sapiens and extinct Neanderthals in the long forgotten world of Jean Auel's six-part Earth's Children classic. As it is, Earth's Children is realist, justifiable, worldly, down-to-earth. For earthy reasons, I will tell you why. So here's why ... . From the eye-opening Clan of the Cave Bear to the serene Valley of Horses, from the thought-provoking Mammoth Hunters to the uplifting Plains of Passage, readers are immersed into the world of a young girl as she is transformed into a teenage mother and high-spirited woman -- her heart, her mind, her values, her fears, her triumphs. Losing her family after an earthquake, blond-haired and bluish-gray-eyed Ayla is raised by creatures of the land far different from her. They call themselves the Clan, but the white men call them "flatheads" -- or worse, "animals." In the Earth's Children series, Ayla is more than just a three-dimensional heroine as we sense her every struggle and will to live and survive in a cruel world peopled with crueler humans, mostly people of her own kind, whom the Neanderthals call "the Others." Skillfully, author Jean Auel has molded Ayla into a four-(or even five-)dimensional character we can see, hear, smell, feel -- and even taste! The people whom Ayla has inspired and whose lives she touched along the way are all inclined to believe that she is the Mother of the Earth herself. But come to think of it, Jean Auel herself -- the Omniscient Writer and Researcher, the Pleistocene Pre-historian and Chronicler -- could just be the Great Earth Mother of the last 25,000 years. This is no Middle Earth or Hogwarts fake. Neanderthal bones found at the Shanidar Cave north of Turkey are evidence enough that Auel's "flatheads" did exist. They're not orcs or hobbits, much less elves or witches. They may not be anatomically modern men but they are intelligent breathing beings who make tools and gaze on stars and, perhaps, communicate through sign language. Jean Auel has humanized and personified what could have been an abstract or even boring topic in history -- or pre-history, for that matter. Like the fire in a subterranean hearth, Auel has warmed up what could have been an aloof and cold topic as the Ice Age and the glacial epoch. Tell me. Who would be bored at the sight of big ice walls and white snow fields, or red loess soil and dry arid plains? Who would be bored at the sound of woolly mammoths and giant cave lions, at the odor of vicious hyenas and gigantic cave bears, at the touch of domesticated horses and docile wolves -- at the flavor of warm human contact and affection amidst the fury of the Pleistocene Era? Who would not be mesmerized at the crystal clear waters of the rampaging Great Mother River (the present-day Danube), which runs all the way to the Beran Sea (the modern-day Black Sea) in the early days of the vast European continent? Who would not savor the taste of fresh caviar, the eggs from the bosom of 10-foot-long beluga sturgeons which were once abundant and now extremely scarce for being the most expensive and sought-after food in the entire universe? The only thing missing in Earth's Children is the saber-toothed tiger, although there was a brief mention of this dirk-toothed feline. And if Michael Crichton's dinosaurs in Jurassic Park and Lost World were comical enough in the film versions, wait until right-minded people in Hollywood breathe life into the chase for fantastic bisons and huge mammoths, into the hunt for white arctic foxes and pesky little wolverines. As a skillful and classy craftswoman in her own genre, Auel has perfected a work of art as fine as the blade of an expert Zelandonii toolmaker and flint knapper, as sheer as the chiseled tusks of a master Mamutoi ivory carver. In fact, the entire Earth's Children series are more than just a "survival manual" and an "environmentalist's handbook," as some critics view them. Any book in the series would be worthy anytime of a shelf space just beside the Holy Bible, considered as the greatest work of all time. As for Auel, well, She's just heaven-sent. A great Goddess. MITCH R. CONFESOR
Associate Editor
Mindanao TIMES
Davao City, Philippines
CANDLEBOX column
February 3, 2003
"Children of the Earth"
Rating: 
Summary: Frustrating
Review: The frustration I have with this book (and also with the fifth book in the series) is that, after reading the Clan of the Cave Bear, I know the talent of which this author is capable. We do not, unfortunately, see much of that talent in this book. Readers do not appreciate being treated as though they lack intelligence, and the extreme repetition found in this book (and in the fifth book) sends the reader the message that she is just too stupid to remember what went on before. So much of the book became tedious and boring. Even the [love] scenes were repetitive. You could sum it all up by saying that Jondalar is quite a lover. Jondalar has a really big .... manhood. Ayla is as vunerable as a virgin, yet deep enough to take in all of Jondalar, which Jondalar really digs. Readers feel cheated because the first book was so very, very good. But now it seems that all we are getting for our loyalty and anticipation is a lazy, repetitive effort.
Rating:
Summary: As expected
Review: I knew it was going to be repetetive, because I'd read 1,2,3 and 5. Certain phrases just kept popping up, for example," What would I do without you?" says Jondalar. And don't forget the ever-present frown lines for good measure.
The authors description of the Ice Age animals were amazing though, especially the mammoths.
The storyline was just too...well, i suppose romantic. Don't get me wrong, I love romance books, but I expected an adventure. Not to say that a Journey across a continent isn't an adventure, but there were so many aspects of the novel that were too Mills &Boon. There were plenty of opportunities for Jondalar to prove his manliness and possessiveness, lots of petty fights- but of course they make up, kiss, have wild sex with, once again, Jondalar proving his manliness.
After a while, the whole thing with Jondalar being beautiful, Ayla being gorgeous and kind and loving, it just gets too boring. Is anyone else sick if Aylas ptarmigan?
Rating:
Summary: Could have been skipped entirely
Review: This section of the saga could have been combined with the arrival at Jondalar's home, minus the boring travel-log, and would have been a much better read.
Seriously, it read like a travel log.
Day 1 - they saw these plants, these animals. They ate this and that... They had a truly ridiculous conversation to recap the previous books just in case the reader hasn't read them yet.
Day 2 - repeat of day one with different plants and animals and food and another utterly stupid conversation... Frankly, I skipped the other day-to-day travel descriptions, skimming ahead until they encountered other people just so I wouldn't have to read the horrific conversations the two of them had with each other. I told my husband that if we ever got to the point where we had conversations like that during our travels I would have to kill him. Yes, the author needed to recap the other 3 books just in case the reader hasn't read them, but honestly I felt it could have been done in a much more interesting way. Anyone who read this book without reading the others probably wouldn't read the previous (and much better) books strictly because no one wants to read about characters stupid enough to have these idiotic "remember when" conversations. The characters didn't grow with this section of the saga. With the previous books, you could see improvements in the characters, ways that they grew spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, whatever. In this book, they appeared to be stuck in traveler's limbo. The characters themselves became boring and stagnant, making me wonder if they will continue to be characters that I truly want to read about. Truthfully, if I hadn't already purchased "Shelters of Stone", I think I would just pass. However, there is hope since I have started reading the 5th book in the series and so far, it is much better than the 4th. I feel I could have skipped this segment of the saga entirely and not really missed anything.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely too long
Review: I actually bought and read this book when it first came out in hardcover in '91. The book has some interesting points, but it really starts to drag. When you get to the point where Ayla and Jondalar are bickering constantly, it gets really hard to read. Also, by this installment of the series, it really started to bug me that Ayla was always so well liked, and that she could do no wrong. Don't get me wrong, you always want the main character in any book to be smart, likable, etc., and you expect adversity, but it seemed like Ayla is just too eager to please everyone, too eager to help others....it just gets really annoying. We all are waiting for the inevitable- her pregnancy, the two of them arriving at Jondalar's home- it just took too long to develop. The biggest disappointment is that when they finally arrive, oh! guess what? It's the end of the book!! I believe the first three books were way more interesting, and the stories certainly moved quickly. Be thankful that none of you will have to buy it in hardcover!
Rating:
Summary: An improvement over the last...
Review: As my heading states, this book was definitely better than the incredibly dull and predictable Mamoth Hunters, yet still falls short of Clan of the Cave Bear. Ayla herself is interesting, as is her relationships to her many animal friends, but this book's overall storyline was hard to stay interested in at times, at least for the first half of the book. After leaving the realm of the Mamutoi, Ayla and Jondalar travel endlessly to try to cross the glacier before it warms up too much, and reach Jondalar's people. Day after day they eat, sleep, ride a little farther, and, every third chapter or so, sleep together in truly disgusting detail. And that is basically the book. Even so, I would still give this book a highly favorable rating, were it not that the author seems to feel the need to remind me, at least two or three times every paragraph, what a perfect man Jondalar is, and how lucky Ayla is to have him. Particularly when Jondalar is in reality one of the least perfect men in the series. He's jealous, selfish, whiny, and has two thoughts in his brain; sex, and protecting his current investment in continuing sex, Ayla. Still, it ends on a high note, which leaves me with high hopes for the next one.
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