The Plains of Passage

Rating:
Summary: Too much repetition.
Review: If Jean Auel would not wait so long between books, then she wouldn't have to repeat so much. Yes, her books are excellent, but 2 stars are deducted because of the repetition and wait. Why didn't she just do us all a favor and come to a conclusion in her last book? I think she has done her readers pretty dirty by keeping us wondering for 10 years or so how the story would end. If she ever comes out with another book I hope it's the last of that series.

Rating:
Summary: my thoughts on an incredible story
Review: I LOVED ALL THE PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES, BUT FOUND THIS ONE RATHER LONG-WINDED. THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AYLA AND THE ANIMALS IS THE PART I ENJOYED THE MOST, ESPECIALLY HER FUNNY DESCRIPTIONS OF WOLF, WHICH I FOUND HEARTWARMING. FOLLOWING AYLA AND JONDALAR'S ADVENTURES HAS BECOME A PART OF MY LIFE IN THE LAST FEW YEARS AND I WAS DISAPPOINTED TO DISCOVER THAT THE FIFTH BOOK HASN'T COME OUT YET. I'LL CERTAINLY BUY IT WHEN IT DOES. UNTIL THEN, I'LL ALWAYS ADMIRE AYLA'S CHARACTER AND COMPASSION. SHE IS A TRUE HEROINE.

Rating:
Summary: The Plains of Passage
Review: I loved all four of the Earth Children books by Jean M. Auel.Does anyone know if the author Jean M. Auel is still living and if she is writing the 5th book (and probably the final in the series) I heard that the author had died...how can we not know the final chapter in Ayla and Jondalar's romance??? Could someone contact author Linda Lay Shuler of "Voice of the Eagle" about possibly completing Jean Auel's excellent series??? Could someone email me with information at [e-mail]. Thanks for your help.

Rating:
Summary: Waiting for next adventure, the next Window...
Review: I read the first of this series when it first came out, I have been caught by it's honesty, sence of adventure and humanity since then.

We see the dawning of the Human race and in it, the people of today reflected in the actions of the people of the stories, and we see how just one thought, statement, action or intevention can make a difference.

This series is one where I wait for the next adventure, the next window into another world, wait as if my life depends on it sometimes. I do not see an end to it until Ayla's great, great, great, great, grandchildren remember her life around a campfire at her funeral, another Haduma and more.

Not the best of the series, but as has been said, better than the rest by far. In it's story, and feeling for life, it's covering of human issues that will never truly go away, bigotry, hatred, weaknes, honour, love, and the whole host of human conditions.

All of us have been Ayla at sometime in our life, and all of us have been each of the other characters also. We see ourselves reflected, and changed.

I think we become better people for reading these books.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: After finishing the book, I opened my eyes and had to find out I was still living in the year 1995. I honestly thought I had left the present. What a pitty men cannot travel into the past. What a beautiful, enthralling story. I was captivated from the beginning to the end. I really want to know what happens next to Ayla and Jondalar. Some time ago I heard that Mrs Auel was very ill. Is this true? Does anybody know if she is still alive and writing. I really hope so. This world is not ready yet to go on without Mrs Auel.

Rating:
Summary: Hope the next one's better . . .
Review: First off, for all of you anxiously awaiting the next segment of the Earth's Children series, it was reported in the 1/14/01 issue of "Parade" that Jean Auel is: A) not dead and B) extremely close to finishing the long-awaited fifth book. Supposedly, she's done so much research that she reassures readers that the fifth and sixth books will come out extremely close to each other. No release date yet, but I have a feeling the new book may be out in time for Christmas.

With that said, one can certainly hope the next book is better than "The Plains Of Passage." I, too, have been an avid reader of the series since "Clan Of The Cave Bear," but I wasn't thrilled with this book. Yes, the nature scenes are repetitive; yes, Ayla and Jondalar are like prehistoric Super Friends; yes, even the sex palls after a while. Auel's biggest sin in my mind, however, is that she makes the characters' words WAY too modern. I sincerely doubt that Cro-Magnons used words like "bifacially" and "extraordinary," and those anachronisms throw all of her meticulous research to the winds. These books were once described as "prehistorical romance," and that description's not too far off the mark. But I have no doubt I'll be buying the fifth book when it comes out . . .

Rating:
Summary: An anti-climax
Review: This is the fourth novel in Jean Auel's Earth's Children series and to be honest, it's probably the weakest of the four. The fault lies not just in the overly long explanations of the plants and animals of the day or the bland sex scenes (That has been addressed in other reviews so I won't bore you with it here). No, the real fault lies in the nature of the storyline itself. Ayla and Jondalar spend nearly the whole book travelling, which means they don't have time to form relationships with the myriad other characters in the novel. This is a real shame, the book lacks focus as a result and Auel wasted a chance for some really interesting character development. It might have been better really if Plains of Passage had been spread over two books, with less travelling and more character interaction. Also, I feel that Ayla has lost a lot of her motivation. She's no longer the strong and independent young woman that she was in Clan of the Cave Bear or even Valley of Horses. Now she seems content to trail around after Jondalar as he makes one dangerous mistake after another. The only time she really shines through is during a confrontation with a man-hating tribe along the way when she has to fend for herself. I only hope that Auel's long awaited fifth book will be better.

Rating:
Summary: I don't know for sure, but I heard...
Review: I saw that in a lot of the online reviews, people were very anxiously awaiting the sequel to "The Plains of Passage," but I heard, some years ago after inquiring about the sequel myself, that Ms. Auel passed away while in the middle of the next book in the series. The person who gave me this information also told me that Ms. Auel had a daughter who was planning to continue the book herself. Whether this is true or not, I have no idea, but it has been some years since I was told this and I have not heard anything since. I do hope that if it is true, Ms. Auel's daughter will in fact complete the next book. Of course, it won't be the same - she couldn't know what was in her mother's mind for Ayla, Jondalar, Durc, the baby and the Zelandonii, but it's been years and I really want to get some sense of completion on that story - especially about Durc. It's killing me! Anyway, I'm just passing along what I know, just to let you all know. Okay, now that I have a forum to get this idea out there, I just want to get some perspective on an idea that I've been thinking about for a few years now - if any of you have read "Sing To Me Of Dreams," by Kathryn Lynn Davis, let me know if you have also noticed any bizarrely similar parallels between the stories of Ayla and Jondalar vs. Saylah and Julian (besides the name thing). It's been weirding me out for years! And as a student in a well-respected college, I VERY rarely use the phrase "weirding me out," so let me know if you see anything, if you have read these books.

Rating:
Summary: More please.
Review: I am tired of waiting. Is there or isn't there going to be more books? If so can someone please tell me when?

Rating:
Summary: "Plains" is a stepping stone
Review: This having been the book most recently reread, I have been dying to rave about this series. I can say the usual, that the narrative is compelling, vivid, painting pictures of the Ice-Age in my head. Her characters-Ayla, Jondalar, Iza, Creb- are all interesting and well-drawn, alive, human. But I must agree with a statement made in another review, that there was WAY too much concentration on the geography of the land. At least, during this rereading, I skipped over it, eager to get to the action. This is where I disagree with my fellow fan. I think Auel has rightly established her protagonists as "Those of the Mother", and Ayla shines as an avenging angel, especially against a despotic Xena-like warrior leader of the S'Armunai people. This is really only the only instance in which they truly save the day. The other places in the story line, such as treating Roshario's broken arm and setting the Clan man's leg ring true because Ayla, after all, is an extraordinary healer. The love scenes between them are "pleasurable", as always. If there is one negative comment I can make, (and it's not so much negative as petulant and whining), is that the wait has been interminable for the next book. As I see it, much of what has been set up in "Plains" will come to fruition in the next novel, such as Ayla's assimilation into the Zelandonii and her impending pregnancy, and the possibility that Durc may make an appearance ( which, at least in my mind, would make for some interesting conflicts.) All in all, I highly recommend all the novels in the series to anyone who has ever felt the urge to curl up with a book.